Bloody Appalling

Britons' Bodies Contaminated with a Stew of Chemicals

A cocktail of toxic chemicals was found in the bodies of every person tested as part of a British study commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund. In one of the most comprehensive such surveys to date, 155 people from around the U.K. had their blood analyzed for 77 persistent chemicals known to accumulate in human bodies, including DDT, PCBs, flame retardants, and organophosphates. On average, the study participants had 30 different chemicals in their bodies, and 99 percent of participants had breakdown products of the pesticide DDT, even though it was banned in the U.K. decades ago. WWF is pushing for the European Union to pass proposed legislation that would require safety testing and registration of thousands of commonly used chemicals. "We are unwittingly playing Russian roulette with our health because of regulatory inaction," said WWF's Justin Woolford.