Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

Harmful chemicals have been found in the bodies of every child and parent tested in the first cross-Canada study of pollution in families.

Environmental Defence tested five families from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick for 68 toxic chemicals in their blood and urine. The family members tested included seven children (aged 10 to 15 years), five parents and one grandparent (aged 33 to 66 years).

Test Results

• 46 of 68 chemicals tested for were detected, including five heavy metals, five PBDEs, 13 PCBs, five perfluorinated chemical, nine organochlorine pesticides, four organophosphate insecticide metabolites, and five PAHs.
• On average, 32 chemicals were detected in each parent volunteer, and 23 chemicals were detected in each child volunteer.
• Of the 46 chemicals detected:

  • 38 are cancer-causing substances,
  • 38 are chemicals that can harm reproduction and the development of children,
  • 19 are chemicals that can harm the nervous system,
  • 23 are chemicals that can disrupt the hormone system, and
  • 12 are chemicals associated with respiratory illnesses.

Key Findings

• In general, the child volunteers were less polluted than their parents by PCBs and organochlorine pesticides. Many of of these 'older' chemicals were banned before the children in the study were born. The decreased presence of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in the children suggests that when governments take action to eliminate toxic chemicals, people's toxic load decreases, even if it takes several decades.
• It is alarming, however, that there were several cases where the children in the study were more polluted than their parents by chemicals that are still in use. The children were more polluted by several chemicals that belong to the following groups: PFCs, PBDEs, organophosphate insecticide metabolites, heavy metals and PAHs.

For more details, read the full report: Polluted Children, Toxic Nation: A Report on the Pollution in Canadian Families

back to top

Summary: Number of chemicals detected in the study volunteers

back to top

Summary: Health effects of chemicals found in volunteers

* Includes both recognized and suspected health effects for each chemical as identified on Scorecard.org Chemical Profiles in April 2006.

back to top

Summary: Chemical concentrations detected in the Toxic Nation volunteers

*Ranges refer to concentrations detected for individual chemicals within the chemical group.
** Values of less than (<) = not detected at the lowest level of detection (LLD)

back to top