TOXIC CHEMICALS COMMON IN BODY
TESTS REVEAL SCORES OF SUBSTANCES IN STUDY VOLUNTEERS
By Robert Hager
TBC NEWS
Jan. 30 – When scientists sampled Andrea Martin’s blood and urine to see what toxins she’d picked up from the world around her, she got a surprise. “I had 95 chemical contaminants in my little body. And it was very mind blowing,” said Martin. The test results indicate that we all pick up tiny amounts of an astounding number of chemicals that are known to be dangerous in larger doses.
MARTIN and eight others were tested by Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York and an advocacy organization called the Environmental Working Group. On average, the nine participants had traces of 53 chemicals known to cause cancer in human or animal tests. In addition, they had an average of 62 chemicals toxic to the brain or nervous system, plus 55 associated with birth defects. The scientists did not find any single substance in amounts the government describes as unhealthy, but said the sheer number of chemicals was unnerving, especially given the uncertainty about the health effects of trace amounts.
Biomonitoring our bodies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have embraced “biomonitoring.” The technology allows researchers to measure chemicals directly in blood and urine rather than having to rely on exposure estimates based on air, water or soil samples. Click on a category for recent biomonitoring breakthroughs.
Breast cancer
CDC and Danish researchers found that the risk of breast cancer significantly increased with increasing levels of dieldrin, a pesticide, in women’s blood. This result suggests that exposure to dieldrin and other “organochlorine” compounds may increase the risk of breast cancer.
Children & pesticide
Methyl parathion, a pesticide that should never be used indoors, has been found inside thousands of homes in at least seven states and led to the deaths of two children in Mississippi. In response, the CDC’s Environmental Health Lab developed a method to measure methyl parathion in urine and did so in more than 15,000 people. The results helped identify who needed treatment and who needed to be moved out of their homes until the homes could be cleaned.
Drinking water
Trihalomethanes, chemicals that evaporate easily into the air, are thought to be linked to birth defects, bladder cancer, and colorectal cancer. Formed during the water sanitation process, they are often found in drinking water. The CDC’s lab developed a way to measure trihalomethanes in blood, and it’s being used in studies to find out how much enters people’s bodies and whether the chemicals are causing illness.
Cigarette smoke
The CDC’s lab developed ways to measure cotinine — a chemical formed by the breakdown of cigarette nicotine in the body — in saliva, blood, and urine. These methods are being used to find out: how much secondhand smoke is getting into children, adolescents and adults; what levels of chemicals in tobacco smoke cause health problems; how well actions to protect people from secondhand smoke are working; and how well actions to help smokers stop smoking are working.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“(This is) irrefutable proof that humans carry in their bodies scores of industrial contaminants, most of which didn’t exist 75 years ago,” said Jane Houlihan, co-author of the study. Scientists have found chemicals called pthalates, which are known to cause birth defects in animals, in many personal care items like makeup, hair spray, soap and also plastic food wrap. Other chemicals found in the participants’ bodies target the nervous system, including:
- Acetone in nail polish
- Synthetic fragrances in perfume and soap
- Poisons in weed killers and bug sprays
- Perchloral ethyline in dry cleaners
- Zylene in paint, which can also cause organ damage
Some chemical manufacturers called the study nothing but hype. “I think it was an attempt to be more alarmist than necessary, and sort of over-inflate the message and the facts,” said Jay Vroom of Croplife America. But for those intent on avoiding even traces of toxic chemicals, the study’s authors suggest eating organic produce, minimizing fatty foods since chemicals concentrate in body fat, minimizing the use of beauty products, avoiding stain removers and avoiding seafood known to be high in mercury. These precautions may be more hassle than many care to deal with, but the scientists in charge of the study say it is amazing how many potentially toxic chemicals get in our bodies.
How do you know which substances to avoid? Toxic chemicals with particularly powerful effects include heavy metals, organic solvents and pesticides. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as dioxin, PCBs and phthalates — substances that leach out of plastic packaging and wraps — may also be harmful to your health.
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