 |
 |
|
Farming family to be tested for toxins Jun 16 2004 Duncan Higgitt, The Western Mail A FARMING family from Wales is to be used as human guinea pigs in a World Wildlife Fund experiment to see how many toxic chemicals they have in their bodies. Three generations of the family, from Llanfair Caereinion near Welshpool, are to have samples of their blood taken to see what harmful chemicals they contain. It is part of a WWF campaign to call on the European Union to ban hazardous man-made chemicals from everyday items such as cosmetics, electrical equipment and furniture. Enid Jones, 51, of Melin Grug Farm, is taking part in the tests together with her husband Arwel, her mother Morfydd Thomas, 88, and the couple's daughter Bethan, 11, and son Alwyn, nine. WWF will analyse the research to see if there are links between the levels and types of chemicals and the lifestyles of the Powys family and six others that are being tested throughout the UK. It will also look at the possible differences in first and second-born child and between families with breast fed and non-breast fed children. Mrs Jones said she was not nervous about finding out what was in her body, even though the test will follow the farm's two-day dipping of 4,000 sheep, including lambs. She said, "We will have completed the year's sheep dipping by the time we are tested at the start of July, so I expect the dip will catch us out. "I'll probably have as much dip in my blood as the sheep," she joked. "Arwel spreads fertiliser and sprays on the farm but he is usually away from it sitting in the tractor cab. "I wash his clothes and we spray weed killer on the nettles from the back of a quad bike so I expect that chemical will show up in our blood too. We would be closer to the spray than Arwel, but it's only once a year." The family has lived on its 450-acre working farm in Mid Wales for decades and has 850 ewes, 52 cattle, a pig, hens and dogs and cats. The family buys most of its food from Farmers' Markets in Welshpool and Oswestry in Shropshire, and likes to support its local butcher. "When you buy fruit and vegetables from the supermarket you don't know what pesticides they've been sprayed with," she said. WWF Toxic policy officer, Giles Watson, assured the family that the tests would be painless. He said, "From just one blood sample we will be able to search through a whole suite of chemicals to find the persistent ones that will not break down and get into the fatty tissue, the blood and then into the food chain, affecting wildlife. He said the tests were unlikely to show traces of modern chemicals used for sheep dipping but he expected to find traces of Lindane that the family could have been exposed to 25 to 30 years ago when it was in use. Wide range tested for WWF will be testing for the presence and levels of, among others, the following types of man-made chemicals: BFRs (Brominated Flame Retardants) - This group contains suspected hormone disrupters used to flame retard many everyday items, including plastics, textiles, furniture and electrical appliances, and are believed to be contaminating humans and wildlife throughout Europe, the Arctic, and North America. PCBs (Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls( - Industrial chemicals used in electrical equipment in the 1970s but banned in the UK after found to be toxic and to be building up in animals and people across the globe. Phthalates - Detected in drinking water, soils, household dust, fish and other wildlife, as well as in meat and dairy products, human blood, breast milk and adult and children's urine. PFCs (Perfluorinated Chemicals( - Used in applications such as from non-stick pans, stain/water repellents for clothing/furniture to floor waxes and paper coatings. Found in a wide range of wildlife and humans. Artificial musks - Man-made chemicals used to fragrance a wide variety of toiletries, cosmetics and cleaning products. Artificial musks have been measured in rainwater, river water, lakes, sediment, sewage sludge and wastewater treatment plant effluent. Triclosan - Chemical used as antibacterial/antimicrobial agent incorporated into kitchenware, soaps and personal care products. It has been shown to be accumulating in environment and wildlife and has been detected in human breast milk.
Copyright and Trade Mark Notice | |