Pollution In People

Scientists have been studying pollutants in air, water and on land for decades. Now they're studying pollution in people, and the findings are troubling. In 2003, we tested the blood and urine of nine volunteers for 211 possible contaminants — and discovered 167 pollutants, including an average of 56 carcinogens in each person.
With this study we set a benchmark for the exploding science on the human "bodyburden" — the pollution in people — that raises deep concerns about a system of public health protections that doesn't ask chemical companies to safety test their products before they are sold.

EWG's bodyburden programs join a growing body of science documenting human exposures to industrial chemicals beginning in the womb and continuing to the end of life. The fact is, more than 80,000 industrial chemicals are registered for use in this country. The government approves seven new chemicals every day. It is little wonder that even newborn babies are filled with the products of the chemical industry.

Scientists see troubling signs that we face growing risks for some health problems, and that these may be related to the human body burden of industrial chemicals. Read from our work below to learn more about what's in your body, and what it might mean for your health.

EWG Investigations & Reports

BodyBurden2: The Pollution in Newborns

July 2005 - A benchmark investigation of industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides in umbilical cord blood -- Though scientists once thought that the womb largely protected developing babies, a new study of umbilical cord blood from newborns found an extensive array of industrial chemicals, pesticides and other pollutants. Ten newborns averaged 200 contaminants, and 209 pollutants had never before been detected in cord blood.

Mothers' Milk

September 2003 - Record levels of toxic fire retardants found in American mothers' breast milk -- In the first nationwide tests for chemical fire retardants in the breast milk of American mothers, EWG found unexpectedly high levels of these little-known thyroid toxins in every woman tested. Milk from several of the mothers in EWG's study had among the highest levels of these chemicals yet detected worldwide.

BodyBurden: The Pollution in People

January 2003 - This is the most comprehensive study ever conducted of multiple chemical contaminants in humans. -- Blood and urine from nine people were tested for 210 chemicals that occur in consumer products and industrial pollution. We found an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the nine volunteers.

EWG News Releases

EWG Supports Proposed Toxics Legislation

July 2005 - "Kids-Safe Chemical Act" Would Overhaul Weak Safety Standards -- The Environmental Working Group (EWG) strongly supports legislation introduced today by U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John Kerry (D-MA) that would overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The legislation, entitled the "Kids-Safe Chemicals Act of 2005," contains much-needed fundamental reforms of TSCA, the nation's notoriously weak chemical safety law. TSCA has not been reformed in nearly 30 years.

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