Monday 16 August 2004

The study looked at the contaminant levels of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) flame retardants in salmon. Of particular concern is the finding that Scottish farmed salmon had the second highest level in the study, which examined farmed and wild salmon from sources around the world.

WWF Scotland says that this latest indication of widespread contamination of our environment, leading to contamination of our food, is one explanation for flame retardant contaminants that WWF found in the blood of volunteers, in their recent biomonitoring studies .

Worrying levels of contamination are widespread - something demonstrated by the discovery of flame retardants recently in wild brown trout in Lochnagar. Despite such findings, the EU recently decided to allow the continued use of one type of PBDE, "deca", although a ban on "penta" and "octa" comes into force on the 15 August, 2004.

Dr. Richard Dixon, Head of Policy at WWF Scotland, said, "This study, by respected scientists in a peer-reviewed journal, fits in with the pattern seen in a growing body of research showing that flame retardants are contaminating the globe. This is particularly worrying since it is recognised that they are persistant and bio-accumulative. In other words, once they are in the body they tend to remain there and are not broken down.

"Although little is known about these chemicals, there are known toxicological effects under laboratory conditions such as liver disruption, hormone disruption and developmental effects. The evidence on whether they cause cancer is not clear. The Food Standards Agency has stated that it is not possible to establish a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) due to the inadequacies of the data. So why are we running a global experiment?"

The EU is currently considering introducing a new law called REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) which would bring tighter regulation of manmade chemicals. WWF is calling for mandatory substitution of some categories of chemicals, such as these flame retardants, with safer alternatives but massive industry lobbying has weakened the original European Commission proposals. Recently a petition of 77,000 names was delivered to the European Parliament by grandmothers who had been tested for toxic chemicals and who were calling for better protection for their grandchildren.

Richard Dixon said, "The REACH law gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cut the contamination of our environment and protect ourselves and future generations. It is in everyone's interests to work to ensure this happens.

"WWF's blood testing has shown that contamination is a lottery for all, with unknown consequences. Many of our volunteers have asked where these chemicals came from and we need more studies like this to provide clarification. This is clearly an issue that food producers and retailers need to take seriously. Although some vested interests have tried to discredit previous work from this University on salmon, the Food Standards Agency did not dispute the figures. This is a challenge to industry to work together with others to achieve safer food and a cleaner environment."