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The Observer (UK)

Sunday October 24, 2004

The poisonous cocktail in a minister's bloodstream

By Mark Townsend

He is the man appointed by Tony Blair to protect the public from poisonous
chemicals. Yet the rural affairs minister, Alun Michael, has admitted that
his body contains a cocktail of toxic substances, many of which have been
banned on safety grounds for decades.

The minister agreed to have the results of his blood test published to make
people aware of the issue of pollutants and chemicals contained in everyday
items such as sofas, cosmetics, mattresses and televisions.

Tests on the enthusiastic hill-walker and keen supporter of organic food
detected 33 hazardous man-made compounds in his blood, including pesticides,
flame retardants and industrial plastics.

What is worrying campaigners is that more than 90 per cent of these have
been banned, some as long ago as the 1970s, after being linked to cancer,
immune-system disorders and neurological problems.

The findings have been described as proof that no one is safe from the
build-up of harmful chemicals in the environment, even if the actual
contamination occurred decades ago.

The precise health implications remain unknown because many of the chemicals
have never been tested on humans. In addition, a method for calculating the
cocktail effects of chemicals once they are in the bloodstream has yet to be
devised.

Michael admitted that his results served as evidence that everybody in
Britain was being exposed to chemical contamination, but said the levels
were extremely low and should not be a cause for immediate alarm. 'It does
demonstrate the range of chemicals to which we are exposed,' he added.
Sir Tom Blundell, the biochemist appointed by Tony Blair to chair the Royal
Commission on Environmental Pollution, warned that Michael's results would
fuel a growing consensus that the prevalence of untested chemicals in the
environment could become a major public health issue. Blundell said he had
repeatedly warned ministers that the issue could become the 'next tobacco'.

'We are conducting a huge experiment on ourselves and I am not surprised
that a large number of chemicals have accumulated in the tissues of Mr
Michael,' he said.

One of the substances found in the minister's body belongs to a family of
chemicals including perfluorooctane sulphonate, used in chrome plating and
fire-fighting foam, which the minister banned only last Tuesday.

Announcing his decision to start phasing out the chemical, which has linked
to bladder cancer, Michael described it as a substance that 'presents a real
and significant risk to the health of the population and the environment in
the UK. I am concerned that a substance with these intrinsic properties is
still used.'

Sixty milligrams of blood were taken from Michael and analysed for 103
industrial substances linked to health concerns. He agreed to undertake the
tests in order to raise the issue at a time when Britain is pushing for
tighter regulation.

Blundell believes the government must act quickly if it is to sidestep
litigation. 'The health of millions could be affected by these chemicals and
there could be some very serious outcomes. At the moment it remains very
difficult to prove the relationship between cause and affect, but that could
change,' he warned.

Dr Vyvyan Howard, a toxicologist at Liverpool University and a member of the
government's advisory committee on pesticides, said: 'Asbestos was known to
be bad in about the 1900s, but it still took 60 or 70 years to stop its use.
People are going to die in the next 20 years because of decisions already
taken.' Although the levels of contaminants in the minister's blood were
small, Howard said they could 'hijack the development' of a foetus.

Elizabeth Salter-Green, chemical campaigner for environmental pressure group
WWF, which organised the tests on the minister, said: 'If Alun Michael was a
pregnant mother, it is not unreasonable to assume there could be effects on
the foetus. The fact their health effects are completely unknown is
ridiculous in the 21st century.'

Other chemicals in the blood of the former marathon runner included
polychlorinated biphenyls, which have been banned over concerns that they
could cause infertility.

'We know that in animals some of these substances increase the incidence of
cancer,' Howard said.

'Temporally and biologically, it is plausible these chemicals may play a
role.'

Chemical firms reject claims they are poisoning people and Department of
Health officials who examined Michael's results told him there was 'no
evidence that such trace amounts have adverse effects on health'. Such
guidance has angered experts who claim that government officials had no
evidence to substantiate these claims.

Legislation on the chemicals industry is under consideration by the European
Commission, a move that would place the onus on the industry to prove that
the everyday use of 30,000 substances is safe. Britain has taken a lead on
pushing through the proposals, according to Michael, and has pulled together
both environmental groups and industry to agree on a new testing procedure
for toxic substances.

However, the plans will have to survive lobbying from US interests. A
confidential memo seen by The Observer reveals how the US has campaigned
aggressively against any crackdown on the industry, arguing it would affect
the £20 billion of chemicals that America exports to Europe each year.