-- Quick Index --HomeAsbestosArsenic/WoodBodyBurdenCosmeticsFarm SubsidiesFarmed SalmonFlame Retardants (PBDEs)FluorideMercury/SeafoodMining/Oil & GasMTBENuclear WasteOrganic Food GuidePerchlorate/Rocket FuelTeflon/PFCs
-- Site Contents --BodyBurden HomeExecutive SummaryIndiv. Test ResultsHealth EffectsProducts/ManufacturersFindings & RecommendationsWhat's in your body?BodyBurden Table of ContentsRelated News Coverage-- Print Report Excerpts --How do chemicals end up in me?How many chemicals are in me?Can low doses hurt me?Health effects of low doses?Aren't chemicals well-tested?What must industry do?What should government do?What can you do?MethodologyStudy ParticipantsOther Internet ResourcesReferences: Health EffectsReferences: Chemical Info
EWG Home >> BodyBurden >> Executive Summary || Next Page: Test Results
KEY TO CONTAMINANTS
PCBs — Industrial insulators and lubricants. Banned in the U.S. in 1976. Persist for decades in the environment. Accumulate up the food chain, to man. Cause cancer and nervous system problems.
Dioxins — Pollutants, by-products of PVC production, industrial bleaching, and incineration. Cause cancer in man. Persist for decades in the environment. Very toxic to developing endocrine (hormone) system.
Furans — Pollutants, by-products of plastics production, industrial bleaching and incineration. Expected to cause cancer in man. Persist for decades in the environment. Very toxic to developing endocrine (hormone) system.
Metals — Lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium — Cause lowered IQ, developmental delays, behavioral disorders and cancer at doses found in the environment. For lead, most exposures are from lead paint. For mercury, most exposures are from canned tuna. For arsenic, most exposures are from arsenic (CCA) treated lumber and contaminated drinking water. For cadmium, sources of exposure include pigments and bakeware.
Organochlorine insecticides. DDT, chlordane and other pesticides. Largely banned in the U.S. Persist for decades in the environment. Accumulate up the food chain, to man. Cause cancer and numerous reproductive effects.
Organophosphate insecticide metabolites — Breakdown products of chlorpyrifos, malathion and others. Potent nervous system toxicants. Most common source of exposure is residues in food. Recently banned for indoor uses.
Phthalates — Plasticizers. Cause birth defects of male reproductive organs. Found in a wide range of cosmetic and personal care products. Some phthalates recently banned in Europe.
Volatile and Semi-volatile organic chemicals. — Industrial solvents and gasoline ingredients like xylene and ethyl benzene. Toxic to nervous system, some heavily used SVOCs (benzene) cause cancer.
THE LATEST ON BODY BURDEN
Newsfeed from
Environmental Health News
11 September Toxic exposure bill clears hurdles. A bill that would set up the nation's first statewide program to measure exposure to toxic chemicals by testing thousands of volunteers has overcome industry opposition and reached the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. San Jose Mercury News, California.
11 September Babies in womb exposed to 'gender-bending' chemicals. Tests on blood taken from the placentas of pregnant women revealed up to fifteen different types of pesticide, new research found. Daily Mail, UK.
10 September Green bills await governor's pen. Emboldened by the success of California's anti-global warming initiative, environmentalists are now eyeing other green bills that they believe can help save the planet. Sacramento Bee, California.
5 September Toxic nation, toxic families. For some, ignorance is bliss. But a small group of Canadians swallowed their fears and had their blood tested to find out just how many environmental toxins are flowing through their veins. Vancouver 24 Hours, British Columbia.
22 August Elevated dioxin levels found in people living near Dow plant. People living in parts of two counties near the massive Dow Chemical complex in Midland, Mich., have slightly higher levels of dioxins in their blood than do people who live elsewhere in the state. Chemical & Engineering News.
In a study led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, in collaboration with the Environmental Working Group and Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the blood and urine of nine volunteers, with a total of 167 chemicals found in the group. Like most of us, the people tested do not work with chemicals on the job and do not live near an industrial facility.
Scientists refer to this contamination as a person’s body burden. Of the 167 chemicals found, 76 cause cancer in humans or animals, 94 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 79 cause birth defects or abnormal development. The dangers of exposure to these chemicals in combination has never been studied.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 1: The chemicals we found are linked to serious health problems
Health Effect or Body System Affected
Number of chemicals found in 9 people tested that are linked to the listed health impact
Average number found in 9 people
Total found in all 9 people
Range
(lowest and highest number found in all 9 people)
cancer [1]
53
76 [2]
36 to 65
birth defects / developmental delays
55
79 [3]
37 to 68
vision
5
11 [4]
4 to 7
hormone system
58
86 [5]
40 to 71
stomach or intestines
59
84 [6]
41 to 72
kidney
54
80 [7]
37 to 67
brain, nervous system
62
94 [8]
46 to 73
reproductive system
55
77 [9]
37 to 68
lungs/breathing
55
82 [10]
38 to 67
skin
56
84 [11]
37 to 70
liver
42
69 [12]
26 to 54
cardiovascular system or blood
55
82 [13]
37 to 68
hearing
34
50 [14]
16 to 47
immune system
53
77 [15]
35 to 65
male reproductive system
47
70 [16]
28 to 60
female reproductive system
42
61 [17]
24 to 56
* Some chemicals are associated with multiple health impacts, and appear in multiple categories in this table.
Source: Environmental Working Group compilation
Footnotes | References: Health Effects
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These results represent the most comprehensive assessment of chemical contamination in individuals ever performed. Even so, many chemicals were not included in the analysis that are known to contaminate virtually the entire U.S. population. Two examples are Scotchgard and the related family of perfluorinated chemicals, and a group of compounds known collectively as brominated flame retardants.
A more precise picture of human contamination with industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides is not possible because chemical companies are not required to tell EPA how their compounds are used or monitor where their products end up in the environment. Neither does U.S. law require chemical companies to conduct basic health and safety testing of their products either before or after they are commercialized. Eighty percent of all applications to produce a new chemical are approved by the U.S. EPA with no health and safety data. Eighty percent of these are approved in three weeks.
Only the chemical companies know whether their products are dangerous and whether they are likely to contaminate people. As a first step toward a public understanding of the extent of the problem, the chemical industry must submit to the EPA and make public on the web, all information on human exposure to commercial chemicals, any and all studies relating to potential health risks, and comprehensive information on products that contain their chemicals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Chemicals listed as linked to cancer are those classified by the National Toxicology Program as "known" human carcinogens, or "reasonably anticipated" to be human carcinogens; or those classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as "known" or "probable" human carcinogens.
[2] Cancer: 3 heavy metals, 1 phthalate, 9 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins and 48 PCBs
[3] Birth defects / developmental delays: 4 heavy metals, 2 phthalates, 7 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 3 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[4] Vision: 1 heavy metal, 1 phthalate, 2 organochlorine pesticides and 7 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[5] Hormone system: 4 heavy metals, 5 phthalates, 3 organophosphate pesticides and metabolites, 9 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 2 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[6] Stomach or intestines: 3 heavy metals, 3 phthalates, 2 organophosphate pesticides and metabolites, 9 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 4 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[7] Kidney: 4 heavy metals, 5 phthalates, 3 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 5 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[8] Brain, nervous system: 4 heavy metals, 4 phthalates, 7 organophosphate pesticides and metabolites, 9 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 7 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[9] Reproductive system: 4 heavy metals, 2 phthalates, 8 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins and 48 PCBs
[10] Lungs/breathing: 4 heavy metals, 3 phthalates, 2 organophosphate pesticides and metabolites, 5 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 5 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[11] Skin: 3 heavy metals, 5 phthalates, 2 organophosphate pesticides and metabolites, 4 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 7 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[12] Liver: 4 heavy metals, 6 phthalates, 3 organochlorine pesticides, 48 PCBs and 8 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[13] Cardiovascular system or blood: 4 heavy metals, 2 phthalates, 2 organophosphate pesticides and metabolites, 7 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 4 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[14] Hearing: 1 heavy metal, 48 PCBs and 1 other semivolatile or volatile organic compound
[15] Immune system: 4 heavy metals, 1 phthalate, 6 organochlorine pesticides, 8 furans, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 3 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[16] Male reproductive system: 4 heavy metals, 5 phthalates, 2 organochlorine pesticides, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 4 other semivolatile or volatile organic compounds
[17] Female reproductive system: 2 heavy metals, 2 phthalates, 1 organochlorine pesticide, 7 dioxins, 48 PCBs and 1 other semivolatile or volatile organic compound
www.ewg.org is the website for both Environmental Working Group and EWG Action Fund
Copyright 2006, Environmental Working Group. All Rights Reserved.
Headquarters 1436 U St. N.W., Suite 100 | Washington, DC 20009 || Contact Us
California Office 1904 Franklin St. Suite 703 | Oakland, CA 94612 || Contact Us
