Everybody's Chemical Burden

On January 31, 2003, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) unveiled its largest and most comprehensive body-burden assessment to date, the Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, which traces 116 chemicals through some 2,500 participants' bodies. Traces of dioxin and PCBs were too low to be detected, according to researchers, but the study also revealed some troublesome trends:

• children had twice the levels of pesticides and cotinine (a residue from secondhand smoke) as adults

• adolescents had higher levels of phthalates (used in many personal-care products) than adults

• Mexican-Americans had three times as much DDT (a pesticide that has been banned in the U.S. since 1973) in their blood as other Americans had

"This is a huge assessment, bigger than anything that's been done before," says Dr. Jim Pirkle, deputy director of science for the CDC's environmental-health lab. "We've never had this amount of information about what [contaminants are] getting into people via food, air or skin contact. And that's the most relevant information: If it's not getting into you, it can't harm you." (For how to avoid these chemicals, see "What You Can Do," below.)

A joint study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York City, tested nine identified individuals, including journalist Bill Moyers, for residues of 210 chemicals, and found an average of 91 residues per person. Two thirds of the compounds found (many of which have been banned) "can threaten nearly every organ in the body at every stage of life," the authors said. None of the participants work with chemicals on the job.

Both studies sought to lay the groundwork for further research and public-health policies and priorities. Bill Moyers, who discussed his test results on Now with Bill Moyers, said his doctor had told him he shouldn't worry, given his age, but in his March 2001 documentary, Trade Secrets, he expressed grave concerns about the chemical industry's history of contamination and cover-up.

The High Cost of Lead

Although lead has been banned in paint since 1978 and in gasoline since 1986, an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 children ages one to five have high levels of this toxic heavy metal in their blood, and lead-paint hazards persist in an estimated 38 million American homes. A study released May 31, 2002 by the Center for Children's Health and the Environment and four other groups used economic forecasting models to estimate that "diseases of toxic environmental origin" in children cost the U.S. $54.9 billion annually. Researchers found that lead-poisoning-related diseases--measured by decreased cognitive ability, "diminished lifetime earning power" based on decreased IQ levels and behavior changes--represent about 79 percent of these costs.

Mercury Poisoning

The CDC report on body burden concluded that 8 percent of women between the ages of 16 and 49 had methyl-mercury blood levels higher than the EPA's precautionary standard. Fish consumption is the primary way that adults are exposed to this nervous-system toxin, which can cause sensory and cognitive disturbances, dermatitis, developmental delays and muscle wasting. Methyl mercury also can cross the placenta from a mother to a fetus, causing damage to the developing nervous system at high levels of exposure.

Fossil-fuel combustion and mining are two significant sources of airborne mercury, which is converted into toxic methyl mercury after settling into rivers, lakes and streams. There is "sufficient evidence" to warrant "further international action to reduce the risks to human health and the environment," delegates at a United Nations Environment Programme conference in early February agreed. Legislative supporters of the Bush Administration's Clear Skies plan predict that it will reduce mercury and other emissions by 70 percent over the next 15 years, but an analysis by 15 environmental groups found that Clear Skies will in fact increase mercury pollution by allowing old coal-burning plants to purchase pollution credits from newer, more efficient plants.

Atrazine in Water

Atrazine, banned in several E.U. countries, is one of the most commonly used weed killers in the U.S., with over 76 billion pounds applied annually on everything from cornfields to front lawns. Although low-dose effects on humans are still unknown, studies have shown that atrazine exposure causes sexual abnormalities in frogs, and that workers at the North Carolina atrazine-production plant of Syngenta--the world's biggest agricultural comglomerate--have a higher than average incidence of prostate cancer.

Environmental groups have been calling for a ban, and the EPA says that it will decide whether or not to remove atrazine from the market in October. National Resource Defense Council senior scientist Jennifer Sass commented in an NRDC press release, "We're flabbergasted. We've reviewed the science on atrazine, and it is clear that it's dangerous at levels the EPA says are harmless."

What You Can Do

To reduce your personal levels of chemical exposure in a world laden with toxins:

*Choose pesticide-free organic produce (feeding children organic foods can reduce their exposure to pesticides by six times).

*Use nontoxic pesticides, cleaners and other products--and steer clear of sites where pesticides have been recently applied. (See the Nontoxic Pest Control Product Reports at thegreenguide.com.)

*Minimize your intake of mercury-contaminated fish, such as tuna, swordfish, sea bass and pike. (See Green Guide #93.)

The heaviest atrazine applications occur throughout the Midwest and southeastern U.S. If you're concerned, contact your community water system to find out if atrazine screening is taking place. Well water should be tested in a lab. If you need a drinking-water report, contact your water utility or the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline, 800-426-4791, or go to www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm.

*Take the EWG/Mount Sinai Body Burden monitoring test (you can also access profiles of the study's participants) at ewg.org/reports/bodyburden/index.php.

*Test old paint for lead.

*Write a letter to the Bush Administration to oppose its attempts to weaken the Clean Air Act with its Clear Skies agenda (a sample letter is at nrdcaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=1463).

Shayna Cohen is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, New York.