Harmful Toxic Chemicals Pollute Blood of Canadians
 Groundbreaking Toxic Nation report reveals pollution inside people across
Canada
Ottawa , Ontario -  A cocktail of harmful toxic chemicals has been found
inside every person tested in a Canada-wide study, released today by
Environmental Defence. Two volunteers were tested in British Columbia , one
in Alberta , one in Manitoba , three in Ontario , three in Quebec and one in
Newfoundland and Labrador .
The groundbreaking report, Toxic Nation: A Report on Pollution in Canadians ,
reveals that toxic chemicals, such as DDT, PCBs, stain repellants, flame
retardants, mercury and lead, are contaminating Canadians. Many of the
chemicals discovered in the bodies of Canadians are associated with cancer,
hormone disruption, reproductive disorders, respiratory illnesses and harming
the development of children.
The report is the first in Canada to test for a broad range of chemicals in
average Canadians from across the country, and it demonstrates that toxic
chemicals contaminate people no matter where they live, how old they are or
what they do for a living.
"If you can walk, talk and breathe , you're contaminated," said Dr. Rick
Smith, Executive Director, Environmental Defence. "Canadians are exposed
everyday and in incredibly insidious ways to harmful toxic chemicals. We are
guinea pigs in a massive, uncontrolled, chemical experiment, the disastrous
outcome of which is measured in disease and death."
Toxic Nation: A Report on Pollution in Canadians tested the blood and urine of
11 volunteers from Salt Spring Island in British Columbia to St. John's in
Newfoundland and Labrador . Working with qualified laboratories in Quebec and
Texas , Environmental Defence tested the volunteers for 88 individual
chemicals. The laboratories found a total of 60 of the 88 chemicals tested
(68 per cent), including 53 chemicals that can cause reproductive disorders
and harm the development of children, 41 suspected cancer-causing chemicals,
27 chemicals that can disrupt the hormone system and 21 chemicals associated
with respiratory illnesses. On average, 44 chemicals were found in each
volunteer.
"I think of myself as a healthy person, so of course I found my test results
to be unsettling. No one wants to learn that they have heavy metals, PCBs or
other toxic chemicals in their blood," said Nycole Turmel, National President
of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, based in Ottawa . "But more
importantly, my tests results have underlined for me the importance of
strengthening CEPA. We need a pollution law with teeth - one that is
comprehensive and enforceable. We need a law that will hold polluters
accountable and help create a cleaner environment." The Toxic Nation study
found 51 chemicals in Nycole Turmel.
"I am very alarmed by the results of my blood tests for pollutants," said
David Masty, Chief of the Whapmagoostui First Nation in northern Quebec .
"The movement of pollutants through the atmosphere is a reality we are
concerned about in the North as it harms our lands, waters and air, and
affects the wildlife resources we depend on for our way of life. If other
countries have taken action to reduce or eliminate some pollutants, Canada
should follow suit." The study found 51 chemicals in David Masty.
Chief Masty had the highest levels of mercury and persistent organic
pollutants such as PCBs and organochlorine pesticides. These findings support
the fact that many chemicals tend to accumulate in the North, despite the
distance from most stationary sources of industrial pollution.
The levels of some chemicals detected in the volunteers suggest that effective
regulation to ban the most harmful toxic substances can reduce the pollution
in people over time. Older volunteers in the Toxic Nation study had higher
levels of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), which were banned in Canada in
1977, than the younger volunteers.
 "Participating in this testing program was very important to me," said artist
and naturalist Robert Bateman, from his home on Salt Spring Island . "Not
only am I curious about my own chemical contamination, but it is even more
vital that the public as a whole pays attention." The Toxic Nation study
found 48 chemicals in Robert Bateman.
Toxic Nation: A Report on Pollution in Canadians calls on the federal
government to ensure Canadians receive the same level of protection from
toxic chemicals as Europeans and Americans, two jurisdictions that are on
their way to being well ahead of Canada in regulating harmful chemicals.
With the mandated five-year review of Canada 's national pollution law - the
Canadian Environmental Protection Act  (CEPA) - Environmental Defence calls
on the federal government to:
virtually eliminate the use of toxic chemicals, starting with some of the most
harmful: brominated flame retardants (PBDEs), perfluorinated chemicals and
their precursors (PFOS), and phthalates (chemicals that make plastics soft);
make industry accountable for its chemicals;
regulate chemicals in consumer products through CEPA; and,
create a special section in CEPA to focus on pollution reduction in the Great
Lakes basin.
Individual Canadians can also act to reduce their exposure to harmful toxic
chemicals by taking the Chemical Reduction Pledge on the Toxic Nation web
site - www.toxicnation.ca . By filling out the pledge, people can choose five
ways to reduce their exposure to chemicals through simple changes in their
daily lives. The Toxic Nation test volunteers made individual Chemical
Reduction Pledges which are available to view online at
www.toxicnation.ca/pollutioninyou.
"Our report demonstrates clearly the urgent need for the federal government to
act now to break the cycle of human contamination," said Dr. Smith. "The
federal Minister of the Environment has a new deadline: when can we expect,
as a society, to be able to produce toxin-free babies?"
Toxic Nation: A Report on Pollution in Canadians,  including test results of
the individual volunteers from across Canada , is available for free on the
Toxic Nation web site: www.toxicnation.ca .
About Environmental Defence:  Environmental Defence protects the environment
and human health. We research. We educate. We go to court when we have to.
All in order to ensure clean air, safe food and thriving ecosystems.
Nationwide.

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