Thursday 7 October 2004

More surprisingly, some are found to have higher numbers and levels of industrial chemicals than both their parents and grandmothers.

The alarming results of blood tests for 104 man-made chemicals carried out this summer on 33 people from seven families in Scotland, England and Wales are revealed in the report, Contamination: the next generation. Of the 104 chemicals tested for, 80 were detected – the group of children were found to have 75 chemicals in their blood, 75 were found in the group of parents and 56 in the grandmothers group.

A family living in central Edinburgh who had their blood tested for man-made chemicals were shocked by their results. Mother, Jan, had the highest number of chemicals found in the survey, (62) and her daughter Holly had the second highest (56). Although Holly is only fifteen and the manufacture of PCBs stopped in the 1970s, PCBs still were found in her blood.

Holly's Grandmother Marion said "I assumed that at my age I would have had the highest number of chemicals in my blood and was shocked to find that my granddaughter had higher levels than me. I am concerned about the effect that this chemical build-up will have on future generations. What will it be like in ten years time when my grandchildren are themselves thinking about having a family?"

"Like many families we are fairly careful about our lifestyle and what we eat," said Jan. "Holly and I eat a lot of oily fish and we wonder if this may be why we both have high levels of PCBs. I was surprised by the high levels of flame retardants in our blood and have no idea where they came from. The results show how little control we all have over our exposure to these chemicals, they are in our food, in the air and in the dust in our homes."

The survey reveals that children as young as nine years old are not only contaminated with a cocktail of hazardous man-made chemicals but can have higher concentrations of certain newer chemicals than older generations. Scientists are finding that these chemicals are building up in the wider environment, in wildlife and in people. These chemicals such as brominated flame-retardants are used in everyday products such as furniture and TVs, and perfluorinated chemicals used in the manufacture of non-stick pans and stain resistant treatments for carpets and clothing.

"These results are very worrying. Every generation of these families, including young children, is contaminated with hazardous chemicals, including those banned decades ago. The indiscriminate use of chemicals in our modern lifestyle means that the contamination of our bodies and those of the next generation is unacceptable" said Dr. Richard Dixon, Head of Policy at WWF Scotland. "This is a wake-up call to Government to stop repeating the mistakes of the past. WWF Scotland will be petitioning the Scottish Parliament to ensure they make representation to help get these chemicals which are still legal banned and replaced with safer alternatives."

82 per cent of the people tested have at least one perfluorinated chemical in their blood. DEHP – a phthalate – was found in over three-quarters of the volunteers including children. It is a suspected hormone disrupting chemical used in plastics, PVC flooring, food packaging, cosmetics and toiletries. Despite being banned in the UK at least a decade before the children were born, chemicals such as DDE, a breakdown product of DDT, were found in everyone but on average the older generations had higher concentrations. The survey reveals that deca-BDE, a brominated flame-retardant, was found in seven people in the survey, four of whom were children.

The connections observed between products used and diets of those surveyed, and the chemicals detected in their blood, are compelling. For example, it is widely accepted that oily fish contain high levels of PCBs. The highest levels of these chemicals were found in family members whose diets are high in such food. In addition, the flame-retardant deca-BDE used in plastic housings for TVs and computers, was found in several people. Studies have shown that there is a correlation between the number of electrical appliances in an office, e.g. computers, and the levels of these chemicals in office air samples. This may help explain these contamination levels.

While our dietary choices, lifestyle activities and the use of certain products within the home may influence slightly the types and levels of chemicals that people are exposed to, the only way to stop this ongoing threat is with robust legislation. EU proposed chemicals legislation, known as REACH, is currently with member states for consideration. It provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure adequate controls for these substances.

Additional Information

• The contamination survey tested for 104 individual chemicals in these six groups: Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Brominated flame-retardants (BFRs), Phthalates, Perfluorinated chemicals and Artificial musks
• Children, women and men, aged between 9 and 88 years were tested as part of the survey. The families tested are located in Edinburgh, Welshpool, Manchester, Stourport, Gloucester, South Devon and Suffolk.
• The blood samples were analysed by SAL (Scientific Analysis Laboratories Ltd), Manchester, UK.