Kids’ chemical cocktail

Date: 06/10/05

Europe's children are showing increasing levels of new, synthetic chemicals in their blood compared with their parents, according to a survey published by conservation organisation World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) today (6 October).

WWF tested 13 families in 12 European countries for a variety of chemicals that accumulate in the body or disrupt hormones and found that every person tested had at least 18 different man-made chemicals in their blood.

Newer chemicals - such as the controversial flame-retardants that reduce fire risk in computers or perfluorinated chemicals used in non-stick pans - were found more fre-quently and often at higher levels in the younger generations than in their parents.

Of the group of families, with members aged 12-92, the 'grandmother' gene-ration showed the most serious contamination. They had the highest number of chemicals (63 compared with 49 for their children), including some that have now been banned in Europe such as the pesticide DDT and PCBs (used as a coolant).

WWF undertook the Generation X study to show the importance of the EU chemicals legislation REACH - currently in its first reading at the European Parliament.

The families involved with the survey will be in Brussels on Tuesday (11 October) to discuss the results with their MEPs.

Karl Wagner, director of the association's DetoX Campaign, said: "What you see is an absolute proliferation of toxic chemicals that we and particularly our children, are exposed to."

Professor Anthony Trewavas, head of the institute of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Edinburgh, sounded a note of caution about the findings.

"We consume several thousands of natural chemicals in our food everyday that are potentially just as harmful as synthetic ones," he said. "The point is that if you test any human being you will find a huge list of chemicals in their blood that don't make a blind bit of difference to their health."

But WWF argues that exposure could result in unexpected effects many years later. Wagner said that WWF was aware that the study was not scientific and gave only a "snapshot" view of what might be in a person's blood. But he added: "REACH needs to put an end to the uncertainty concerning chemicals that have been on the market for more than five years."

Europe's children were showing increasing levels of new, synthetic chemicals in their blood compared with their parents, according to a survey published by conservation organisation World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on 6 October 2005. WWF undertook this study entitled Generation X to show the importance of the EU chemicals legislation REACH - currently in its first reading at the European Parliament.

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