Monday 16 May 2005

WWF and The Co-operative Bank tested the blood of eight well-known personalities from the world of TV, cooking, sport and business and found that, without exception, their blood was laden with chemicals that could be harming them.

The celebrities, who were each tested for a total of 104 different chemicals, were:

• Comedian and author David Baddiel;


• television presenter Melinda Messenger;


• chef and jungle rebel Antony Worrall Thompson;


• property developer and star of Property Ladder Sarah Beeny;


• olympic swimmer Sharron Davies;


• television presenter Donna Air;


• GMTV host Fiona Phillips; and


• Sam Roddick founder of erotic emporium Coco de Mer.

A synopsis of their results and the celebrities reactions are included in the editors notes.

The least contaminated of the celebrities was Sharron Davies, who had only 10 of the chemicals tested for in her sample. The highest levels of contamination were in Sarah Beeny who had 30 chemicals - in some of the highest concentrations yet seen in WWF and the Co-operative Bank's biomonitoring surveys.

The chemicals they were tested for include: Banned organochlorine pesticides like DDT; brominated flame-retardants found in furniture and electrical equipment; phthalates found in cosmetics and flexible plastics; PCBs from old electrical equipment and building materials; perfluorinated chemicals used in non-stick and stain-proofing treatments.

Justin Woolford, Director of WWF's Chemicals and Health Campaign said: "All of the celebrities were contaminated with toxic chemicals. It highlights the shocking fact that it is impossible for any of us to avoid these nasty substances. WWF is fighting to get the chemicals industry regulated better, so that the worst of these chemicals are phased out or replaced with safer alternatives to protect people and wildlife and to stop the chemicals industry contaminating us all in our day-to-day lives."

Kate Daley, Campaigns Manager, The Co-operative Bank said: "Normally, we'd find it comforting to have something in common with celebrities, but not in this instance. These bloodtests demonstrate, yet again, that man-made chemical contamination is a fact of modern life. What's less certain is how safe these chemicals are and what risk they may pose to ourselves, our children and our environment. Our customers are very concerned about persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals like these, which is why we refuse to invest in their manufacture and why we have been campaigning with WWF for stronger regulation and safer alternatives."

Celebrity results:

• David Baddiel
• Melinda Messenger
• Antony Worrall Thompson
• Sarah Beeney
• Sharron Davies
• Donna Air
• Fiona Phillips
• Sam Roddick

David Baddiel

David’s blood sample contained 36 man made chemicals - which is higher than average when compared to WWF and The Co-operative Bank’s previous surveys

He had above average levels of two banned organochlorine pesticides in his blood - hexachlorobenzene and pp DDE, which is formed by the breakdown of DDT in the environment.

The concentrations of three brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) and two perfluorinated chemicals in David’s blood were among the highest WWF have found, but were not the highest. He also had 28 PCBs in his blood - more than the average number, but they were in relatively low concentrations.

David’s chemical burden was quite high, but was not the highest we have found. It’s always hard to pin down exactly how someone has been exposed to these chemicals, but we know that flame retardants used in TVs and furniture can "leak out" into air and dust, so sitting on a beaten-up old sofa, watching the football on TV might be one way.

David said: "If I can have this level of chemicals in my blood just from sitting on the sofa, watching TV and eating huge amounts of junk food, what hope is there for the rest of us?"

Melinda Messenger

Melinda’s blood sample contained 36 man made chemicals - which is higher than the average found in WWF/The Co-operative Bank’s previous surveys.

The biggest group of chemicals in Melinda’s blood was PCBs - which were used in electrical equipment until they were banned. She had 30 different types of PCB in her blood.

One of the most common ways that people expose themselves to PCBs is through eating lots of seafood or oily fish. This could have been a factor in Melinda’s results.

Melinda said: "Why should I allow my body or my children to be filled with man-made chemicals, when I don’t know what the health effects of these substances will be?

"The test I had with WWF and The Co-operative Bank was to show people how difficult it is to avoid these chemicals contaminating your body. We need to let the Government know that we are concerned about these chemicals and ensure the chemicals industry is properly regulated."

Antony Worrall Thompson

Antony’s blood sample contained 20 man made chemicals - which is lower than the average found by WWF/The Co-operative Bank.

In particular, he had the highest levels of some banned flame retardants that had been found in WWF and The Co-operative Bank’s tests (these were called BDE 99 and BDE 154).

Antony’s exposure to these flame retardants may have come from food - they are found in fish, meat and dairy products - or from being around old furniture, electrical items or other goods that were treated with these chemicals, as they can escape into air and dust.

Antony said: "Some of the chemicals that were found in my blood were widely used, but are now banned because of concerns about their safety.

"It is simple common sense to prevent the use of man-made chemicals until we know that they are safe. But at the moment we have to prove they are dangerous before they are controlled. I support WWF and The Co-operative Bank’s efforts to control these chemicals, so that proof doesn’t come too late."

Sarah Beeney

Sarah’s blood sample contained 30 man-made chemicals - which is about average.

But the total concentration of these chemicals found in her blood serum (4406 ng/g lipid) was the highest yet seen in any of WWF and The Co-operative Bank’s biomonitoring surveys.

This high level is due largely to a very high level of one chemical (called p,p' DDE - 3226 ng/g lipid), which is formed when the banned pesticide DDT breaks down in the environment.

But Sarah also had higher than average levels of PCBs, which were used in building materials such as plaster and join sealants until they were banned.

Exposure to the DDT related chemical is probably a result of Sarah’s diet - she is very keen on shellfish, which can contain high levels of this. Her exposure to PCBs might also be due to being around lots of property renovations, as these chemicals were used in old building materials.

Sarah said: "DDT - a highly toxic pesticide - was banned in Britain thirty years ago. But because of the way it builds up and stays in our bodies, most of us still have it in our systems, and so will many generations of our children to come.

"Other man-made chemicals that are still being used accumulate in our bodies in the same way, and we don’t know what the health implications will be in the future. We need to work with WWF and The Co-operative Bank to get this situation under control."

Sharron Davies

Sharron’s blood sample contained 10 man made chemicals - which is the lowest number WWF and The Co-operative Bank found in their biomonitoring surveys when looking at the same range of chemicals.

Like Fiona, she did not have detectable levels of brominated flame retardants, but she did have the highest levels of perfluorooctane sulphonate - a perfluorinated chemical - in the WWF survey. These sorts of chemicals are found in the coatings on non stick pans and in stain-proofing treatments.

One of the reasons that Sharron’s blood sample had such low levels of chemicals in it may be that, because she has been an international athlete for much of her life, she has a very low fat content in her blood.

Many of these chemicals are specifically found in the lipid (or fat to most people) content of the blood, so with a low fat content, it is much harder to find traces of these chemicals.

Sharron said: "Everyday products in the home and the office contain hazardous man-made chemicals that harm wildlife, build up in our bodies and can interfere with our children’s development. I support WWF and The Co-operative Bank, who are trying to ensure the chemicals industry makes its products safer for people and the environment."

Donna Air

Donna’s blood sample contained 10 man made chemicals, one of the lowest numbers of chemicals we have ever found in WWF and The Co-operative Bank’s biomonitoring surveys, when we have looked at the same range of chemicals. But the concentration of two of the chemicals in her blood were among the highest levels we have found.

The first - hexachlorobenzene - is an organochlorine pesticide that has been banned for three decades, but that has persisted in the environment and remains in the food chain.

The other chemical that Donna had some of the highest concentrations of is a perfluorinated chemical called PFDoA (perfluorododecanoic acid). Perfluorinated chemicals are used in non-stick and stain-proofing treatments.

The most likely way that Donna has become exposed to the chemicals in her sample is through food. Persistent chemicals of the kind we have looked for build up in the food chain and can contaminate fish, shellfish and fatty foods. This shows why it is so important to get these chemicals under control so they don’t make it into the environment and into the food chain in the first place.

Donna said: "I love food and in recent years I have made a concerted effort to introduce as much organic produce into my diet as possible. Hopefully this will help prevent further chemicals getting into my system. The campaign by WWF and The Co-operative Bank to get these chemicals more tightly controlled needs our support to ensure future generations aren’t harmed by ours."

Fiona Phillips

Fiona’s blood sample contained 26 man made chemicals - which is slightly lower than average when compared to WWF and The Co-operative Bank’s other surveys. But while the number of chemicals was average, the concentrations were some of the lowest found in the surveys.

One of the most striking things about Fiona’s results was that she didn’t have any detectable brominated flame retardants in her blood. This is obviously good news for her, but very unusual because nearly everyone else that has been tested in our surveys has had some of these.

But she still had PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and phthalates in her. We may be able to escape contamination by some of these substances but it’s almost impossible in the modern world to avoid them all.

Fiona said: "Hazardous man-made chemicals from everyday products and from industry are contaminating people and the environment. We need to work with WWF and The Co-operative Bank to put a stop to it."

Sam Roddick

Sam’s blood sample contained 27 man made chemicals - below average when compared to WWF’s last biomonitoring survey.

But she did have a higher than average concentration of several chemicals in her sample, in particular she had a level of PBDE flame retardants in her blood which was several times higher than the highest level found in any of the families WWF tested.

She also had higher than average concentrations of ppDDE - a breakdown product of the banned pesticide DDE - and of the perfluorinated chemicals PFOS and PFDoA, used in non-stick and stainproofing treatments.

The DDE and perfluorinated chemicals are likely to have contaminated Sam through the food she eats. With flame retardants, although food is an exposure route, they also get into dust and indoor air so inhaling them is a significant possibility. The lack of effective control of the chemicals industry means that our most basic needs - the food we eat and the air we breathe - are being contaminated with toxic chemicals. We need better controls to ensure we don’t harm ourselves and future generations.

Sam said: "Since becoming involved with this campaign, I catch myself wondering how I was exposed to these chemicals. Were they passed down from my parents Is it because I have travelled a lot on planes and spent time in the third world? Is it the food I eat, the tattoos on my body? It is frightening to think that these chemicals could come from a number of sources and I don't have a choice about that. I want to have a choice over what gets put into my body.

"If eating and breathing may be leading to my contamination by man-made chemicals there are some pretty serious questions that need to be asked about the way the chemicals industry is governed.

"I support WWF and The Co-operative Bank's campaign to make the industry more responsible."