June 2, 2006

Study points finger at household items

Elizabeth Thompson

The Gazette

Montrealer Viviane Maraghi has always considered herself pretty good when it comes to avoiding pollution.

She works with an environmental group and makes an effort to buy organic and biological food whenever possible. Her son Aladin Bonin, 10, has been raised on organic food since he was a baby.

So it came as a shock to Maraghi, 34, to learn that not only did she and her son test positive for dozens of toxic chemicals in their blood, but in the case of several chemicals Aladin's level was even higher than hers. In fact, Maraghi's and her son's results were the highest among a half-dozen families tested across the country. "I was staggered," the Plateau Mont Royal resident said yesterday.

Her comments came after the group Environmental Defence issued a new study revealing that children as young as 10 are showing signs of contamination by toxic chemicals.

While some of the chemicals, like insecticides, are in the environment, others are found in innocuous everyday items.

Among them are non-stick cooking pans, computers, mattresses or furniture with stain-repellent treatments.

Among the five families surveyed, parents tested positive, on average, for 32 of the 68 chemicals, while children showed an average of 23 chemicals.

While the levels in many cases were low, Environmental Defence says some of the chemicals found can cause reproductive disorders, harm the development of children or are suspected of causing cancer or neurological problems.

"In total, 38 carcinogens, 23 hormone disruptors, 12 respiratory toxins, 38 reproductive/

developmental toxins and 19 neurotoxins were detected in the study volunteers," the study says.

Chemicals like DDT that have been banned in Canada for years tended to be higher in the parents but were also found in children born after the products were removed from the shelves. Children, in many cases, tested higher than their parents for chemicals associated with stain repellents, flame retardants, heavy metals, organophosphates, insecticide metabolites and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence, said the study reveals for the first time the extent to which children are being affected by toxic pollutants.

"Pollution is now so bad in our country that the bodies of our children have higher levels of pollution than their parents," he said. "Our children are being poisoned every day by toxic products in their home, in their schools and when they are at play."

The tests were conducted to underline the group's call for the Canadian government to follow the lead of several other countries and ban some of the chemicals. Following court action, the federal government in the United States has reached an agreement to phase out perfluorinated chemicals found in stain repellents and non-stick surfaces.

If U.S. President George W. Bush's government can ban them, so can Canada, Smith said. Otherwise, products containing the chemicals risk being dumped in Canada.

Smith said his group plans to ask Environment Minister Rona Ambrose and the environment critics from various parties to undergo testing as well, to make them more aware of the problem.