Thousands of women can’t be wrong about the dangers of chemicals
18 Jan 2005
Brussels, Belgium – Twenty-five women and their families from the UK Women’s Institute were in Brussels this week with WWF to lobby Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the importance of controlling the use of dangerous chemicals.

"We’ve come from all parts of England and Wales to make sure MEPs understand how important it is for REACH to be passed," said Tracy Sortwell, of the Women's Institute's Public Affairs Committee.

"This shows how seriously we feel about the issue. We hope that MEPs will be listening to the genuine concerns of their constituents."

REACH (Register, Evaluate and Authorize Chemicals) is the proposed new EU chemical law that is expected to lead to the identification and phasing out of the most harmful chemicals.

The Women's Institute (WI) — with over 215,000 members and 7,000 groups — has organized a vigorous campaign with WWF for REACH, including collecting many of the 77,000 signatures on a petition presented to the European Parliament last year.

The control of hazardous chemicals is an issue that has captured WI members’ interests. Many have spoken of their concern as mothers and grandmothers about the chemicals that their children have in their blood and how, as nursing mothers, they could have passed these on in breastfeeding.

WI members lobbied their MEPs and addressed the Petitions Committee, which was one of the high points of their visit. Ruth Bond spoke passionately to the Committee of MEPs:

"I am here to represent the very real concerns of ordinary people. I speak as a citizen of Europe, a consumer, and above all as a mother. I hope this demonstrates the vast amount of concern – especially from women."

The WI lobby coincides with the beginning of the legislative process. This week all European Parliamentary Committees involved in REACH are meeting. The women are anxious that the strong lobbying by chemical companies doesn’t cause MEPs to overlook the dangers of many chemicals in everyday use.

The WI is also asking for "the right to know" what chemicals each product contains. As part of their lobbying efforts, they brought cutting boards, cleaning materials, carpets, and cosmetics to demonstrate that everything they used is heavy with chemicals.

"We want chemicals labelled with a label we can understand, so we know what’s in things and then its up to us whether we buy it or not," explained Ruth Bond.

The WI is also asking that the precautionary principle be used.

"Society needs to take precautions about what chemicals are used," she explained.

WI's interest in the campaign started after WWF organized a series of blood tests, which demonstrated to members how polluted they were.

"I found I had 22 chemicals, including DDT and the pesticide lindane," Ruth Bond said about her own experience. "They shouldn’t be there at all. I want to pass good things onto my children, not chemicals."

Others at the lobby, including the Poll family from Suffolk, England, explained that they were in Brussels to meet MEPs because their blood tests had shown that their daughter’s level of flame retardants was as high as her mother’s.

"We are meeting MEPs to tell them what we found and to persuade them to support the initiative to phase out hazardous chemicals," the family said.

The WI has vigorously campaigned in England and Wales, holding public days explaining about chemicals and health and organizing ‘toxic tours’ of their houses to find out which products contain chemicals. They have also produced their own guide, Simple Solutions, with tips on reducing exposure to chemicals in the home.

"The response from Members has surpassed anything the WI has been campaigning about for years," said Barbara Gill, WI’s National Chair. "Most of us feel passionately that our children and grandchildren shouldn’t be polluted. We hope that as parents, MEPs feel the same."

NOTES:
• WWF's international DetoX campaign is calling for REACH, the proposed chemicals legislation in the EU, to phase out chemicals that are persistent and bioaccumulative, or those that can disrupt the endocrine system and only allow their continued use where there is an overwhelming societal need, where no safer alternatives exist, and where measures to minimize exposure are put in place.

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http://www.womens-institute.co.uk/wwftoxic.shtml

WI and WWF take a bus full of toxics to the EU

The National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) and WWF descended on the European Parliament on Tuesday 18 January in a double-decker bus filled with hazardous chemicals.

Many of these chemicals are potentially damaging to health, while the long-term health impacts of others are still unknown. All of them are found in ordinary household products ranging from cosmetics and antibacterial soap to carpets and computers.

Elizabeth Salter Green, head of the WWF Toxics Programme said: "Most consumers do not know that they are buying these chemicals when they do their weekly shop, and they are even less likely to be aware of the potential health impacts of them.

"REACH provides a once in a generation opportunity to ensure that the safely of both people and wildlife is ensured by better regulation these chemicals."

The chemicals that WWF and WI are particularly concerned about include:

* Phthalates- which are used in nail varnish, cosmetics and plastics. This group of chemicals has been linked to asthma and genital abnormalities.
* Perfluorinated chemicals - used to make non-stick coatings and stain-proof treatments for furniture and textiles. These chemicals have been linked to bladder cancer in workers who are exposed to them.
* Brominated flame retardants - used in electrical appliances, carpets and furniture. These chemicals have been shown to affect brain development and thyroid hormone function, which controls physical development, in mammals.
----------------------------

now, i think i remember something about ' sebamed (skin products, kid products) 'something' containing phtalates'-news a year or so back...

http://www.womens-institute.co.uk/campaign...ackground.shtml

Chemicals and Health Campaign-
In Depth

The Issue:

Tens of thousands of chemicals are manufactured, used and released into the environment every day. Some of these chemicals are particularly 'persistent' - meaning they stick around in the environment for a long time and do not break down - and are 'bioaccumulative' - meaning they build-up in the body. Others cause 'endocrine disruption' - meaning they interfere with hormone systems.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are chemicals that have the ability to interfere with the normal functioning of natural hormones, even at very low levels of exposure. There has been accumulating evidence and growing recognition that EDCs are threatening populations of many species world-wide and are a hazard to life on Earth. Populations of mammals, birds, fish, shellfish and reptiles have been shown to suffer many disorders, including the following: brain damage, cancer, reproductive problems, birth defects and severely weakened immune systems. Such chemicals have been found to contaminate not only the environment and wildlife, but also our own bodies, babies and breast milk. Since concentrations accumulate via the food chain, and can be passed from generation to generation, we are creating a legacy of chemical contamination.

This legacy poses unknown health risks to our children, future generations and the environment as a whole. It is impossible to eliminate every risk but most of these chemicals can be avoided - if their production and use is reduced. NFWI hopes that this campaign will protect future generations of wildlife and humans, and indeed the planet itself, from the potentially harmful effects of hazardous chemicals that are used on a daily basis.

NFWI is a signatory to the following joint declaration on chemicals and health:

People and wildlife across the globe, even the unborn, are contaminated with a cocktail of man-made chemicals which build up in the body and/or persist in the environment.

This is unacceptable. Such chemicals must be phased out - whether or not they are currently known to be toxic. EU legislation currently being drafted presents an unprecedented opportunity for European Governments to protect us and our children from further contamination. This opportunity must not be wasted. We urge the UK Government and MEPs, with other EU Member States, to put in place without delay new European legislation that eliminates the production, use and marketing of chemicals that build up in the body and/or persist in the environment.'

Other statement signatories: Baby Milk Action, Women's Environmental Network, WWF, Greenpeace, National Childbirth Trust, Friends of the Earth, UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative and the London Hazards Centre.

Why now?
On the 7 May the European Commission published the draft regulation and launched an internet consultation - both WWF and NFWI responded to this internet consultation making clear our view that the draft legislation is weak and will not meet the campaign's demands for hazardous man-made chemicals to be properly regulated - replaced where safer alternatives exist, or banned where necessary.

This consultation and the responses received can be viewed at the following on the EU website (http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/chempol/whitepaper/reach.htm )

Further information

On 26 June 2003 The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) released it's report on Chemicals in Products. The report states clearly that there are grave problems with the control of chemicals that need to be tackled immediately.

NFWI welcomed the report as a timely addition to the current debate on Chemicals and agrees with the RCEP'S conclusion that the chemicals that are being released into the environment are poorly managed, and that there is a lack of safety information for many widely used chemicals. NFWI also concurs with the RCEP's conclusion that a precautionary approach towards chemicals is needed.

NFWI is currently campaigning to end the unnecessary use of hazardous chemicals to ensure a safer environment for future generations. NFWI is therefore in full agreement with the RCEP recommendation that "where synthetic chemicals are found in elevated concentrations in biological fluids such as breast milk and the tissues of humans, marine mammals or top predators, regulatory steps should be taken to remove them from the market immediately."

However NFWI does not feel that the RCEP recommendations go far enough, and believes that reliance on self-regulation, despite being underpinned by economic charges (i.e. taxes) and a more robust legal liability will not necessarily result in a chemicals industry shift to using chemicals of lower concern, as the vast majority of voluntary approaches to phasing out hazardous chemicals have failed. NFWI views the RCEP's recommendations as a way of ensuring that action is taken in advance of waiting for EU-wide legislation not as an alternative for EU-wide legislation.

NFWI believes that the only way to guarantee the safety of humans, wildlife and the planet itself is for our protection from hazardous man-made chemicals to be enshrined in law. In line with over four of its mandates, NFWI is currently lobbying the EU to strengthen the draft legislation for the new Chemical Regulation to ensure that hazardous man-made chemicals will be properly regulated - replaced where safer alternatives exist, or banned where necessary.

NFWI hopes that this campaign will protect future generations from the potentially harmful effects of hazardous chemicals that are used on a daily basis.

lots of similar stuff here:

http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden/

http://www.womens-institute.co.uk/publiceye/cu-child.shtml

Update on Childrens Diets, Exercise and Health
/.../
FSA launches major salt awareness campaign

The Food Standards Agency is launching a major public health campaign to tackle excessive salt consumption to help reduce the 170,000 deaths a year in England where high blood pressure is a cause or contributing factor. Scientific experts agree that high salt consumption increases the risk of high blood pressure, which, in turn, increases the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Studies show that reducing salt in the diet can lower blood pressure within four weeks. The first phase of the campaign will run from September to November 2004.

It aims to move consumers on from broad knowledge that consuming too much salt is bad for their health to a better awareness of why and how it can affect them. The campaign will be high profile and involve messages on television, in the press and on posters (in UK). Further information on salt will be available on downloadable factsheets from the campaign website and from consumer leaflets. Research commissioned by the Agency has shown that there is a low level of public understanding about the relationship between salt and health.

Therefore the FSA campaign is based on raising awareness and understanding over time to encourage informed consumer choice that leads to improved public health.

The awareness campaign is part of an overall salt reduction strategy to improve public health, which includes:

* Working with industry to reduce the salt content of processed foods
* Improved labelling to assist informed choice by consumers
* Information geared to help consumers become aware of the risks of consuming too much salt

In 2001, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) reviewed recent medical evidence on the impact of salt on health and made a series of recommendations. SACN concluded that a reduction in average salt intake would lower average blood pressure levels and have significant public health benefits by contributing to a decrease in cardiovascular disease. Other lifestyle factors that contribute to high blood pressure include being overweight, alcohol consumption, high cholesterol and lack of physical activity. The Board of the Food Standards Agency has set a target to reduce the average population salt intake to 6g a day by 2010.

SALT FACTS
The recommended average intake of salt is 6g a day (about a teaspoon). The UK’s current salt intake averages 9.5 grams per day. Adult men are eating 11g of salt a day while women are eating 8.1g a day.

Around 75% of salt intake comes from processed foods, including foods which do not appear to be high in salt such as breakfast cereals, biscuits, bread and tinned vegetables.

In England high blood pressure, or hypertension, affects 37% of men and 34% of women. If you suffer from high blood pressure, you are three times more likely to develop heart disease or stroke and twice as likely to die from these conditions than people with normal blood pressure levels.

Information about the campaign can be found on the dedicated website at http://www.salt.gov.uk

Campaign for a children’s food bill gears up

The campaign for a children’s food bill, has geared up as MPs return to the House of Commons for the new parliamentary year. If passed, the bill would regulate the promotion to children of food that can contribute to an unhealthy diet, ensure that all schools operated ‘whole school’ policies on food, and that practical food skills were reintroduced onto the curriculum.

/.../
Cereal Offenders?

Research released by the Consumers Association earlier this year found surprisingly high levels of sugar and salt in a range popular breakfast cereals. Researchers compared the content 100 popular cereals with advice from the Food Standards Agency. It found that 85 brands had "a lot" of sugar, 40 had "a lot" of salt and nine had "a lot" of saturated fat. Many of the worst offenders identified in the study are marketed primarily at children. Nine the worst offenders contained at least 40% sugar and contained "a lot" of salt.

The researchers found that Nestle Lion Cereal contained so much sugar it was like the chocolate bar of the same name. They also found a serving of Kellogg's All-Bran, Quaker Oat Krunchies or Nestle Golden Grahams contained four times the amount of salt as a 25g bag of roasted peanuts. Responding to the report, Public Health Minister, Melanie Johnson, said that most people were aware of the risks associated with high sugar or fat - but were often unaware of the effect of high salt intake. “What many people consider a health conscious diet is often high in salt. Despite claims by the industry that they've taken substantial action, we need to see real steps forward to cut salt levels. If we don't see progress then action on food labelling could be the answer."

http://www.which.net/campaigns/food/ nutrition/misc/0403cerealoffenders.pdf

http://www.womens-institute.co.uk/publicey...chemicals.shtml

Cleaning, the WI way...

* Bicarbonate of soda or toothpaste for cleaning refrigerators.
* Salt for stains on china
* Naturally beautiful...
o Use a slice of lemon as a powerful and effective alternative to shop bought deodorants.
o Mashed strawberries make an effective, refreshing and gentle facial exfoliator.
* Grated potatoes..can lighten and clear dark under-eye circles. Run one potato through your food processor and stuff the raw mash into a piece of cheesecloth. Apply to the area directly beneath your eye — don't let the potato juice come in contact with the eye itself — and leave for 15 to 20 minutes. Wipe away the starchy residue to leave fresh, clear eyes.
* Fresh eggs make a rich and refreshing conditioner. Lightly beat two eggs mixed with some milk and run through hair. Leave on for 5 minutes and rinse.
* Grated ginger makes a stimulating and invigorating bath. Ginger stimulates and invigorating the circulation, warming in cold weather, clears sinuses and has a spicy, exotic aroma. Take one piece of fresh ginger and a muslin or cotton bag. Grate the ginger and place it in the muslin bag. Allow the bag to dangle under the running hot tap for a truly refreshing bath time treat.

http://panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/toxi...m?uNewsID=17471

WWF Toxics News

Swedish politicians more contaminated than EU Swedish commissioner
23 Dec 2004

Goran Johansson, Leader of the Council in Sweden’s second city Gothenburg, is one of Sweden’s best known politicians.

It seems that he may also be one of the most contaminated! Local environmental group ‘Engineers for the Environment’ revealed they had detected 67 chemicals in his blood.

Mr Johansson was one of five people who took part in the tests which were inspired by WWF’s chemical check up on Sweden’s European Commissioner Margot Wallstrom.

"We wanted to awareness of how chemicals appear in our body and become a possible threat to our health. Measures have to be taken to diminish future contamination" said Lars Odén, founder and leading member of ‘Engineers for the Environment’.

"The results were a bit surprising for everyone. Due partly to sophisticated laboratory analysis, the five people we tested were found to have – on average – more chemical substances in their blood , and at higher levels, than Mrs Wallstrom."

Sofia Oberg, one of the five people tested by ‘Engineers for the Environment’, commented:

"Sixty eight chemicals were found in my blood – and the lab only looked for seventy two! Among them some chemicals that have been forbidden in Sweden for a very long time.

I am young and healthy but what effect might these chemicals have as I get older? And I am not at all happy at the thought of passing some of these chemcials onto my children if I become pregnant."

Sofia’s total of 68 chemicals detected in her blood was the average for the whole group of five people tested.

The analysis covered 72 substances from 4 chemical families: PCBs, pesticides, perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and flame retardants. WWF’s tests found 28 chemicals in Mrs Wallstrom and 33 in Swedish Environment Minister Lena Sommestad.

"Industry accuses WWF of scaremongering" said Karl Wagner, Director of WWF’s DetoX Campaign "but the Swedish tests suggest that what WWF revealed about chemical contamination is just the tip of the iceberg."

"The tests conducted by Engineers for the Envionment highlight some very important issues" said Professor Lars Barregard of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

"The fact is that research on the effect of chemicals tends to concentrate on single substances rather than mixtures. What the Engineers for the Environment tests highlight is that in reality we are all contaminated by a cocktail of chemicals."

Professor Barregard added "Although the levels of chemicals detected does not seem to be very high, there is very little knowledge about the effects of substances such as PFCs and flame retardants. For pregnant women it may be the timing of exposure that may be significant."

http://panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/toxi...m?uNewsID=16552

WWF Toxics News
Polish celebrities contaminated with chemicals
16 Nov 2004

Warsaw, Poland - Chemicals used in non-stick frying pans, air fresheners, and pesticides have been found in the blood of 15 Polish celebrities, including racing driver Krzysztof Holowczyc, actress Edyta Jungowska, and TV presenter Maciej Orlos.

Of the 39 chemicals analysed, 25 were found in the participants’ blood. The average number of chemicals detected per person was 21.

"As many as 22 of the 39 analysed substances have been detected in my blood," said Ireneusz Chojnacki, Director of WWF Poland.

"I think that measures should be taken as soon as possible so that these substances don’t become parts of my children’s and grandchildren’s bodies."

The volunteers’ blood was screened for toxic substances of four groups: organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, phthalates, and perfluorinated compounds.

The first two groups of substances were phased out over 30 years ago due to their harmful effects. Unfortunately, due to their persistence and the ability to bioaccumulate they still remain in the environment.

"Modern science keeps providing more and more arguments and theories connecting the increase in the incidence of some forms of cancer, reproduction problems, birth defects, immunodeficiencies, or allergies with a prolonged exposition to synthetic chemicals," warned Professor Jan Ludwicki, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene (PZH).

"The current situation is like an uncontrolled experiment that has for many years been conducted on a great scale on people and the environment."

The other substances tested are still in common use and can be found in plastic toys, bottles, can linings, cosmetics, non-stick pans, upholstery, and air fresheners.

"Until now, I have been unaware of the weak control over commonly used chemicals," said Polish actress Edyta Jungowska. "In my blood, they found the same substances that occur in my carpet, in the foil that I use every day to preserve my food, and in my cosmetics."

"I hope that the WWF campaign will persuade our Parliament members to vote for stricter legislation on chemical use."

WWF's international DetoX Campaign is calling for REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of chemicals), the proposed new chemicals legislation in the EU, to phase out chemicals that are persistent and bioaccumulative, or those that can disrupt the endocrine system and only allow their continued use where there is an overwhelming societal need, where no safer alternatives exist, and where measures to minimize exposure are put in place.

"We’ve become involved in the chemical legislation reform campaign, because this is a problem of extreme importance, not only for us, but particularly for future generations," said WWF-Poland Director Chojnacki.

"We want the new legislation to be accepted in the form that ensures the best protection of the natural environment, as well as human health and life, rather than the interests of the chemical industry."

Notes:

The blood sample analysis was organized by WWF Poland.

The volunteers who participated were:

•Anna Achmatowicz (Chief Editor of Twój Styl)
•Claudia Carlos (TV sports presenter)
•Ireneusz Chojnacki (Director of WWF Poland)
•Krzysztof Holowczyc (racing car driver)
•Joanna Horodynska (model)
•Edyta Jungowska (actress)
•Reni Jusis (singer)
•Prof. Jan K. Ludwicki (Director of the National Institute of Hygiene)
•Maciej Orlos (TV presenter)
•Piotr Najsztub (journalist)
•Maciej Piróg (Director of the Child’s Health Centre)
•Magdalena Ploszajska (Environmental and Quality Director at DHL),
•Anna Popek (journalist)
•Joanna Pruszynska-Witkowska (President of the PR Agency Headlines)
•Arkadiusz Tatar (Medical Systems Director at the LUX MED clinic).

All Public schools such as

UC Berkeley, U of Michigan, UCLA, UCSF, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, UVA, U of Wisconsin Madison, etc..

should look into this immediately.

http://panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/toxi...m?uNewsID=16355

WWF Toxics News
WWF-Italy launches week against harmful chemicals
9 Nov 2004

Rome, Italy - WWF-Italy has launched a "week against harmful chemicals." Sponsored by the Rai (Italian State TV) Social Secretariat, special events are being held throughout the week to raise awareness about contamination and the effects of exposure to hazardous man-made chemicals.

Wildlife, people and entire ecosystems are threatened by chemicals that can alter sexual and neurological development, impair reproduction, and undermine immune systems.

This week, more than twenty Italian TV programmes are profiling the WWF DetoX campaign, and will discuss the problem of chemical contamination. Major Italian newspapers will print an advertisement, produced by Saatchi&Saatchi.

In order to show the constant exposure of Europeans to harmful chemicals, blood samples have been taken from Italian Members of Parliament, Ministers and TV personalities, and will be tested for man-made chemicals.

WWF with the help of FIDAS, a blood-donors association, carried out blood tests. The results will be published at the end of January 2005.

The tests are part of WWF’s DetoX Campaign, which is aimed at achieving stricter EU law on the production and sale of chemicals used in everyday consumer products.

During the week of events against harmful chemicals, WWF will hold awareness raising events in every region of Italy. On the 13th of November more than 100 cities will host special "info-points," where people can find information about chemical contamination and how you can reduce your risk.

Note to Editors:
The "week against harmful chemicals" was launched during a press conference in Rome on the November 5th. Attendees at the press conference included; On. Antonio Guidi (Undersecretary of Health Ministry), Carlo Romeo (Rai Social Secretariat), Fulco Pratesi (President of WWF-Italy), Silvano Focardi (Dean of Natural, Physics and Mathematical Science at the University of Siena), Donatella Caserta ( Associated Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of L’Aquila), Mariagrazia Midulla ( Head of International Campaigns, WWF-Italy) Aldo Ozino Calligaris (President of FIDAS, blood-donors association), Giovanni Anversa (TV journalist), Margot Sikabony (TV actress on a famous Italian sit-com " A doctor in my family"), Donatella Bianchi (TV journalist), Serena Rossi (TV actress on a famous Italian sit-com), Michelangelo Tommaso (TV actor on a famous Italian sit-com), Massimo Wertmuller (TV actor of a famous Italian TV-fiction).

http://panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/toxi...m?uNewsID=16091

WWF Toxics News
Toxic cocktail in blood of Spaniards: Narbona tops Ministers chemical contamination ‘league’
26 Oct 2004
Madrid, Spain and Brussels, Belgium - WWF released today the results of tests carried out on seven Spaniards, among them Environment Minister Cristina Narbona, for chemicals in the blood. The tests were part of WWF’s DetoX Campaign, which is aimed at achieving stricter EU law on the production and sale of chemicals used in everyday consumer products.

The results also revealed that the Spanish Environment Minister had more chemicals detected in her blood than all 14 Ministers tested.

In order to show the constant exposure of Europeans to harmful chemicals, WWF analyzed the blood of other Spaniards including, WWF Spain Secretary General Juan Carlos Del Olmo and Spanish trade unionist Estefania Blount. The results were released in a press conference in Madrid.

The blood samples, taken in June 2004, were analyzed for 103 chemicals from 7 groups of chemicals: organochlorine pesticides (including DDT), PCBs, brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds, phthalates, artificial musks, and anti-bacterials.

The results revealed that those tested have a cocktail of persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic substances in their blood. Fifty-two diffferent chemicals were detected in the blood of the seven Spaniards.

The highest number of chemicals detected in any one person was 43, while the average number was 35. At least 22 of the same chemicals were found in everyone. These included 17 PCBs, 1 brominated flame retardant, 3 organo chlorine pesticides, and the phthalate DEHP. Six of the seven people analyzed had the perfluorinated chemical PFOA in their blood.

"Even if the concentration of chemicals in the blood is below the level that would produce an immediate effect there are still two important causes of concern," said Enrique Segovia, Director of Conservation of WWF Spain, "the effect of the cocktail of chemicals in our body, and the fact that we are being exposed to hundreds of chemicals without even being aware of it."

For this reason WWF considers its blood testing initative as a contribution to the debate about the proposed EU chemical law called REACH, which should identify and phase out the worst chemicals for health and the environment.

Chemical contamination poses a threat to human health and the environment. The chemicals found in the blood tests have also been found in polar bears, dolphins, and many other species from a wide range of ecosystems. Many of the persistent and bio-acumulative chemicals are also hormone-disrupters. However, there is no publically available safety information for 86 per cent of the 2,500 most heavily used chemicals.

"WWF cannot accept the presence of this cocktail of chemicals in the environment as it threatens our future and that of future generations," concluded Juan Carlmos del Olmo, Secretary General of WWF Spain.

"This is why we are asking for a strong REACH law, based on the precautionary principle and on safety data. We should not be using chemical products until we know that they do not harm the environment and health."

Note to Editors:

The seven Spaniards tested were:
•Cristina Narbona, Minsiter of Environment
•Arturo Gonzalez Azpiri, Secretary General of Contamination Prevention
•Antonio Serrano, Secretary General of Biodiversity
•Concepcion Toquero, Under Secretary General of the Environment
•Juan Manuel de la Torre, Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Environment
•Estefania Bount, Istas-CCOO (Spanish trade union)
•Juan Carlos del Olmo, Secretary General WWF Spain

Minister, Country, Ministry, Number of chemicals found in blood (out of 103 tested for)

•Cristina Narbona, Spain, Environment 43
•Constantina Akkelidou, Cyprus, Health, 39
•Juozas Olekas, Lithuania, Health 39
•Libor Ambrozek, Czech Republic, Environment 38
•Jan-Erik Enestam, Finland, Environment 38
•Serge Lepeltier, France, Environment 37
•Laszlo Miklos, Slovakia, Environment 37
•Hans Christian Schmidt, Denmark, Environment 36 (now Agriculture)
•Roberto Tortoli, Italy, Environment 35 (Vice Minister)
•Olavi Tammemäe, Estonia, Environment 33 (Vice Minister)
•Miklós Persányi, Hungary, Environment 33
•Lena Sommestad, Sweden, Environment 33
•Alun Michael, UK, Environment 33

* Phthalates- which are used in nail varnish, cosmetics and plastics. This group of chemicals has been linked to asthma and genital abnormalities.

these cause cancer, abnormalities in fetuses. Plastic/saran wrap used to be full of it (DEHP) and fat containing foods leached into the plastic on storage, however they had to change it to a different chemical (DEHA). Workers in plastics plants had high levels of DHEP in their bodies (can't get rid of it) and had high incidence of cancer. However, the governments due to pressure from the big chemical companies have played it down.

http://www.commondreams.org/pressreleases/feb99/022299a.htm
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/safety/dehp.html
http://www.ghasp.org/publications/toxics_report/fadep.htm
http://www.phthalates.org/yourhealth/food_packaging.asp