Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

Shari: polluted with 24 of 68 chemicals
Sandy: polluted with 37 of 68 chemicals

Skip down to Sandy and Shari's test results. The Toxic Nation body burden testing project has included five individuals from Sarnia, three family members from the Amjiwnaang First Nation Community (who were included in the Polluted Children, Toxic Nation--click here to see their results), and Shari and Sandy, a mother and daughter from what is known as 'Chemical Valley'. Sarnia is a highly industrialized area, home to dozens of petrochemical, polymer and chemical facilities. The area is an occupational health hazard hot spot, which has touched the lives of Sandy and Shari who lost their husband and father, Blayne, to mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the chest wall. While mesothelioma is an exceedingly rare cancer, it is exceedingly common around Sarnia among workers and

From left to right: Sandy (mother, age 58) and Shari (daughter, age 33

their families who were exposed to asbestos in industrial facilities throughout the 1960s and 70s.

It is suspected that members of the Amjiwnaang First Nation Community near Sarnia are also feeling the brunt of chemical contamination from Sarnia's Chemical Valley. Birth records for the community from 1994 to 2003 revealed that twice as many girls as boys were born. Researchers who identified the declining male to female birth ratio indicated that they cannot be sure that the changing birth ratio in the community is due to environmental exposures, but the possibility merits immediate study. It is well known that, in comparison to male fetuses, femal fetuses are stronger and more able to survive in harsher conditions, so when exposed to pollutants, male fetuses may be more likely to perish in the womb or suffer obstetric complications.

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Sandy's Results

Compared to the volunteers in Polluted Children, Toxic Nation, who were tested at the same time as Sandy and Shari, Sandy had the highest total number of chemicals detected in her body (37 of 68). The average number of chemicals detected in the adults in the family study was 32.

Sandy had an above normal level of arsenic at 130 nmol/L in whole blood, the normal level established by the laboratory that conducted the analysis is 0-80 nmol/L, and the median arsenic level detected in the study was 12 nmol/L. The laboratory did not flag Sandy's arsenic level as exceeding the alert threshold.

Sandy had the highest levels for several PCBs and organochlorine pesticides, and PFCs. For PCBs, Sandy had the highest level of PCB 105, 118, and 163. Sandy was also the only volunteer with PCB 28. Sandy had the highest concentration detected for four organochlorine pesticides: hexachlorobenzene, toxaphene parlar 26, p,p’-DDE (the metabolite of DDT), and β-HCH, as well as for three perfluorinated chemicals (PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS). For the groups of chemicals, Sandy had the highest total concentrations for PFCs and organochlorine pesticides.

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Shari's Results

Compared to the adult volunteers in Polluted Children, Toxic Nation, Shari had a lower than average total number of chemicals (24/68), mainly because she had a low number of PCBs (6 of 16). Shari did, however, have the highest concentrations detected for two organophosphate insecticide metabolites: dimethyl phosphate (DMP) and dimethyl thiophosphate (DMTP). Shari's DMP level was 40 ug/L in urine, while the study median for DMP was 4.6 ug/L; her level of DMTP was 26 ug/L in urine, compared to the study median of 7.7 ug/L

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Number of chemicals detected in the Sarnia adults that are linked to a listed health effect

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

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Number and concentration of chemicals detected in the Sarnia adults

* nd = not detected