Nationwide Biomonitoring Project Reveals Contamination in Cross Section of Society. Advocates Call for Government and Corporate Action to Phase out Dangerous Chemicals in Favor of Safer Alternatives

Huntington Station, NY, November 8, 2007 – Three toxic chemicals used in everyday products were found in Americans who participated in a nationwide biomonitoring project, according to a new report issued today. The report comes at a time of heightened awareness of toxics in consumer products, including recent revelations about lead in jewelry, toys and lipstick.

The report, entitled Is It In Us: Chemical Contamination of our Bodies — Toxic Trespass, Regulatory Failure and Opportunities for Action, documents the results of blood and urine testing of 35 people from Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota and New York for the presence of three classes of chemicals; phthalates, bisphenol A and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

Each of these chemicals is ubiquitous in common products people use everyday, including baby bottles, food and beverage containers, shower curtains, cosmetics, couch cushions, computers, toys, building materials and scores of other common items found in most American homes, schools and workplaces. Human and animal studies have linked the three types of chemicals to birth defects, cancer, learning disabilities, infertility, asthma and other health impacts. For some toxic chemicals, the levels found in people are near or above levels linked to health impacts in laboratory animals.

The New York participants include an epidemiologist from Buffalo, a State Assemblyman from Rochester, a mother of two and director of the Learning Disabilities Association of NYS from Clifton Park, an environmental justice organizer from New York City and a former Ironworker and 9/11 first responder from Long Island. Each volunteered to find the answer to the simple question: If toxic pollution is in the products we use everyday, is it in us?

The results, though alarming, are not surprising. We found all three types of toxic chemicals in every person tested:

Of 35 participants, all had at least 7 of the 20 chemicals for which we tested in their bodies.

The person with the most chemicals had 17 of the 20 for which we tested.

We found diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate and di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in all 33 participants who provided urine samples. Thirty-two had dibenzyl butyl phthalate.

We found six types of PBDEs in all 35 participants, and deca-BDE in all but one participant.

All 33 participants who provided urine samples had bisphenol A in their urine.

Assemblyman Bob Sweeney, Chairman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee and sponsor of A. 7977, the bill to ban decaBDE in certain products, said, “The legislation to ban decaBDE passed the Assembly by a vote of 142 to 1, but unfortunately it was not taken up in the Senate. There is an urgent need for action here. We must move away from the use of chemicals that are environmental and health hazards, towards better alternatives. We have a duty to address this issue to protect our children and families.”

Assembly member Steven Englebright, sponsor of the phthalates and bisphenol A ban in toys legislation, (A. 6829) stated, “Children are uniquely vulnerable to toxic exposures. We must err on the side of caution when making choices that affect the long-term health and well being of our youngsters. I applaud the Just Green Partnership for releasing this bio-monitoring report, which documents the extensive presence of chemicals that are hormone disruptors and estrogen-mimicking endocrine disruptors. Representing Long island, a region where breast cancer rates are among the highest in the nation, I am particularly sensitive to the relationship of early childhood toxic exposures and the manifestation of cancers and other diseases later in life.”

Dr. Leo Trasande, Assistant Director of the Center for Children’s Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, said, “We are the humans in a dangerous and unnatural experiment in the United States, and I think it’s unconscionable, we are in an epidemic of environmentally mediated disease among American children today,” he added. “Rates of asthma, childhood cancers, birth defects and developmental disorders have exponentially increased, and it can’t be explained by changes in the human genome. So what has changed? All the chemicals we’re being exposed to.”

John Sferazo, project participant and President and cofounder of Unsung Heroes Helping Heroes, which advocates for and assists workers from the World Trade Center and other disasters, noted, “As someone whose life has already been dramatically changed because of environmental exposures, who has taken medications to purge toxic chemicals from my bodies, I was shocked to find these chemicals. It’s clear action is needed to protect all of us.”

Karen Joy Miller, Founder of Prevention is the Cure, stated, “Cancer researchers and national breast cancer organizations estimate over 2/3 of cancer cases can be attributed to environmental toxins that we are continuously exposed to. Recently published research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests a strong association between exposure in early life and later risk of breast cancer.”

Laura Weinberg, President of the Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition, added, “Fifty years ago these ubiquitous chemicals were not in our bodies, and fifty years ago incidents of diseases like breast cancer and other cancers did not rise to epidemic proportions as they do today. Isn’t this parallel enough evidence for consumers to take action and for legislators to address this
public health threat?”

Ted Schettler, MD, the Physician of Record for the project and a medical and public health expert, stated,“The chemicals looked for and detected in this project have been linked to birth defects, asthma, cancer, learning disabilities, obesity and diabetes—conditions of urgent public health concern. Just as disturbing, we have no information at all about the potential health effects of many other chemicals to which we are exposed because pre-market safety testing is not required for most of them in the US.”

Project organizers point out that the federal law regulating chemicals – the Toxics Substances Control Act– was enacted in 1976 and has not been updated to reflect recent scientific advances, including evidence that even tiny doses of toxic chemicals may cause harm.

The JustGreen Partnership, a collaboration of over 30 diverse organizations working for environmental health and justice for New York’s people and communities, identified New York participants and is releasing Is It In Us, authored by Clean New York, a JustGreen founding group. The Partnership called on the State to take quick action and implement existing Public Health Law Article 1376-a, to protect children from lead and other heavy metals. In 2008, they will work with policymakers to pass broader legislation that removes toxic chemicals from products intended for children. Ultimately, the Partnership seeks enforceable laws that require safer substitutes for toxic chemicals while providing incentives and supporting research and development
for those alternatives.

According to Kathy Curtis, co-author of the report and Policy Director of Clean New York, “When people are routinely exposed to a multitude of chemicals through everyday products, it’s no surprise they’re being found in our bodies. Clearly, our chemical safety system has failed. It’s time to join together to support, enact and enforce sensible policies that truly protect people from involuntary exposure to toxic chemicals.”

The report notes that because these chemicals are used in so many different products, consumers are not able to ‘shop their way’ out of the problem:
Government action is needed. In New York, legislation (A. 6829 –Englebright, S. 6058 – Alesi) is pending to remove bisphenol A and phthalates from toys and child care products. A bill (A. 7977a – Sweeney), to require replacement of decaBDE in certain products passed the Assembly, and a companion bill is pending in the Senate (S. 6058 – Marcellino). The seven states in this project, Alaska, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan Minnesota, Connecticut and Illinois, are taking the lead to create new solutions governing chemical use in those states as well as nationally.

A full copy of the report and information about specific state proposals is available at www.IsItInUs.org.

This is a project of the Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center and the Body Burden Working Group