All 35 participants tested positive for three toxic chemical groups in a study conducted by the Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center and the Body Burden Working Group. The report on the study, Is It In Us?: Chemical Contamination in our Bodies, released Nov. 8, is the first multi-state, multi-organizational effort to evaluate the presence of this particular combination of chemicals in Americans.

The study tested for chemicals from the following three categories — phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and bisphenol A (BPA). These are all common industrial chemicals found in everyday products. Uses of the chemicals include the following:

• Phthalates — make plastics flexible and are used in everything from shower curtains and vinyl flooring to IV bags and toys. They are also used in detergents, adhesives and personal care products such as soap, deodorant and nail polish. Phthalates have been connected to reproductive, developmental and respiratory problems. They do not bioaccumulate (build up in bodies over time), but humans are constantly exposed.
• PBDEs — used as flame retardants, common in TVs, computers, couches, cars and airplanes. They do bioaccumulate and are associated with reproductive and developmental problems and endocrine disruption. North Americans have PBDE exposure levels up to 40 times higher than Europeans, and it is speculated that this is due to the greater use of PBDEs in American products.
• BPA — mainly known for its use in #7 plastics for food and drink containers but is also used in metal can linings. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey of more than 2,500 people found BPA in 95 percent of urine samples. Studies have shown BPA to be an endocrine disruptor that may also cause reproductive and other developmental problems.

The results of the study indicate that the chemicals of concern are virtually impossible to avoid. Of the 20 chemicals tested, at least seven were found in all the participants, including six types of PBDEs. Almost all of the participants, 33 of the 35, tested positive for at least 13 of the 20 chemicals. Three types of phthalates and BPA was present in every participant who provided a urine sample (33), and 25 participants were above the CDC median level for BPA.

Disturbingly, participants conscientious to avoid chemicals had some of the highest levels —likely due to exposures beyond their control. Heather Loukmas, executive director of the Learning Disabilities Association of New York State, has worked to link learning disabilities and toxic chemicals. Loukmas had the highest level of a certain PBDE flame retardant in the study, probably from an accidental grain contamination event in the 1970s in Michigan, when she was two years old.

The purpose of the small study was to add to the growing awareness and research about toxins in our bodies, highlight the lack of knowledge about these toxins and their health implications, and to advocate for updated laws and policies that will adequately protect public health. Due to its small size, the project is not a health impact study and should not be used to generalize about the entire U.S. population. The detection of such ubiquitous toxic contamination in any sample group, however, adds to growing concerns about the use of dangerous chemicals in common products and the current policies that trigger government action only after confirmed harm.

The lack of information about new chemicals and their impact on humans is a major problem, and legislation has been introduced to address this knowledge gap. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced the Healthy Communities Act of 2007 (S. 1068) to specifically identify gaps in research and provide biomonitoring project grants. Another bill, the Coordinated Environmental Public Health Network Act of 2007, has been introduced in the Senate (S. 2082) and House (H.R. 3643) by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), respectively, to increase funding for CDC biomonitoring projects.

While there has been little to no effort on the federal level to take action against these chemical exposures beyond increased testing, states have begun to be more proactive in their effort to protect citizens. Some states — California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington — have started efforts to either ban phthalates and/or BPA in children's products or phase out PBDEs. It remains to be seen if similar federal legislation will follow.