Every day products, every day toxins report says

Submitted 11/15/2007

Story by Keri Lynch

Potentially toxic chemicals are entering our bodies from every day items such as tin cans, water bottles, shower curtains, electronics, sofa cushions and other textiles. These are the surprising results of a biomonitoring project released last week that found all three types of industrial chemicals being studied in participants from seven states, including Illinois.

Environmental organizations and health professionals tested participants’ hair, blood and urine samples for evidence of the chemicals. They released the report, Is It In Us?: Chemical Contamination in our Bodies, which included test results and recommendations for fixing what they called a “broken chemical safety system.”

“We found toxic chemicals in all 35 participants,” said Max Muller, advocate for Environment Illinois, who helped coordinate the project. “And our research is corroborated by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), which does regular biomonitoring of the American public.”

The three types of chemicals measured in the study were Bisphenol A, used in plastic water bottles, baby bottles and linings of tin cans; phthalates, used in vinyl shower curtains, toys, flooring and medical equipment and to bind scents and colors to cosmetics and hair products; and a flame retardant called PBDE, used in plastic cases of televisions, electronics, automobile components and textiles such as foam cushions and upholstery.

“The chemicals we tested for are known toxins; we know they’re toxic,” Muller said. “But the fact is there are 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the United States and the vast majority – ¾ of them (or 60,000 chemicals) according to the General Accounting Office (GAO) report on toxics in the U.S. – have never been screened for safety.”

These chemicals have caused concerns for public health officials for years, said Dr. Peter Orris, professor at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health, where the results were released, and now they have gotten into people’s bodies.

Reproductive issues, cancer, obesity and developmental problems are linked to these chemicals, Orris said, which have been banned in some states and countries. And there is virtually no research on the impact of multiple chemical exposures.

“The previous thinking that these are consumer products at arm’s length from us clearly is not the case,” Orris said. “Many industrial materials used to produce these products… leach out and get into human beings and into our bodies in regular daily life.”

Of particular concern are children, who are more susceptible to the potentially toxic effects of chemicals due to their small size and developing systems, experts said. Since chemicals have also shown up in breast milk, this is of particular concern to doctors and parents, including one Illinois mother who participated in this study, Stephanie Felten.

“I am extremely concerned with the false sense of security held by the American public,” said Felten, a 27-year-old veteran from Aurora. “The average American is not aware that manufacturers are using these chemicals and they are contaminating people’s bodies.”

Like Felten, participant Dorian Breuer said he is very conscious and careful about making healthy choices, such as being a vegetarian, eating organic and riding his bike to work.

“I felt sure when I participated that I would have really low levels of these chemicals,” said Breuer, a 35-year-old IT worker from Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. “In fact, I had almost all the chemicals (20 varieties) in my body, and I’m extremely concerned.”

There is insufficient regulation of chemicals in this country, Muller said, and the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has not been updated to reflect advancements in science.

“It’s a Jurassic Age law regulating Space Age chemicals,” Muller said. “There are 2,000 new chemicals introduced each year. Under TSCA, the Environmental Protection Agency (which registers them) considers one chemical at a time. They just can’t keep up, and that’s why we know next to nothing about most chemicals currently used in this country.”

But there are a lot of things that could be done, Muller and other advocates said, that would make the U.S. chemical regulatory system more protective of public health. For instance, safety testing results should be disclosed to the public, he said, so consumers can make informed choices.

Illinois Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook), who was also a participant in the study, wrote biomonitoring legislation (HB 680) that passed the Illinois General Assembly this year but was vetoed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the budget process. If restored, it would establish a pilot program at UIC that could help guide legislation and public health priorities.

“We’ve been working for years for (banning) just one chemical, a toxic flame retardant (deca- BDE),” Nekritz said. “(But) we can’t go after these chemicals one at a time when there are tens of thousands of them out there. We need a broader approach.”

Besides making chemical safety data available, Muller said there should be incentives for manufacturers to use safer chemicals. The groups want TSCA updated to disclose information to the public about which chemicals are used and they may reintroduce the Kid Safe Chemical Act on the federal level, in addition to working on the state level.

Nekritz read a recent quote in the from President George Bush about product safety.

It read: “They – the American people – have the right to expect the food they eat, or the medicines they take, or the toys they buy for their children to be safe.”

“That’s all we’re asking for,” she said.