Chemical Cocktail Found in Blood of European Ministers

BRUSSELS, Belgium, October 20, 2004 (ENS) - The blood of ministers from 13 European Union countries is contaminated with dozens of industrial chemicals, including some that were banned decades ago. The officials have an average of 37 industrial chemicals in their blood, according to tests conducted in June and released Tuesday by the international conservation organization WWF.

The chemicals found in the European officials include those used in fire resistant sofas, non-stick pans, grease proof pizza boxes, flexible polyvinyl chloride, fragrances and pesticides.

"The ministers are all contaminated with industrial chemicals whose effects are largely unknown," said Karl Wagner, director of WWF’s DetoX Campaign. "It is hard to believe that legislators have been willing to allow this uncontrolled experiment to continue for so many years."

Swedish Environment Minister Lena Sommestad is one of the ministers whose blood was tested. (Photo courtesy Government of Sweden)

The highest number of chemicals found in any one minister was 45 and the lowest was 33.

All the officials tested positive for 25 of the same chemicals, including one flame retardant, two pesticides and 22 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

WWF tested ministers from Great Britain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

The conservation group carried out the tests in a bid to rally support for tougher European laws on chemical testing and identification, in particular for the draft European Union proposal known as REACH for for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of CHemicals – a law that could lead to the identification and phasing out of the most harmful chemicals.

Some 86 percent of the 2,500 chemicals used in large quantities do not have enough safety information publicly available to do a basic safety assessment, according to WWF.

Senator Serge Lepeltier is Environment Minister of France and one of the participants in the blood testing. (Photo courtesy Senate of France)

The latest REACH proposal was unveiled in October 2003 and would require companies to prepare a safety report on new and existing chemicals.

The reports would be submitted to the European Chemicals Bureau, a new body that would be responsible for the classification and labeling of dangerous substances.

Each report would include: data on the identity of the chemical, toxicological, and ecotoxicological properties of intended uses, estimated human and environmental exposures, production quantity, proposed classification and labeling, a safety data sheet, a preliminary risk assessment, and proposed risk management measures.

WWF supports the proposal, but is keen to see it strengthened to phase out the use of the most hazardous chemicals and to improve the quantity and quality of safety data submitted by chemical producers and distributors.

The chemical industry – both in Europe and the United States – contends that the proposal is too strict, too costly and impractical.

British Environment Minister Alun Michael allowed his blood to be tested. (Photo courtesy Cardiff Council)

"The chemical industry argues, apparently seriously, that it cannot afford to find out if its products are dangerous," Wagner said. "WWF says that for the sake of all life on our planet – including our own – we cannot afford not to find out."

Scientists are not just uncertain about the health concerns from individual chemicals, but are in the dark about the danger posed by the cocktail of chemicals found in the ministers.

The release of the blood test results comes amid increasing evidence that bioaccumulative chemicals are contaminating wildlife across the world – in particular in the Arctic.

Recent studies have found the polar bears are contaminated with poisonous chemicals that were released into the environment far from their Arctic habitat.

The studies suggest the contamination may be harming the health of the polar bears and adversely affecting their development, behavior and reproduction.

The study of the European Union ministers can be found here: http://www.worldwildlife.org/toxics/pubs/badblood.pdf