Archived press release

High street toxics protests round britain

30 September 2000

High Street protests are planned around the country today over dodgy chemicals in household products. More than 40 Friends of the Earth local groups will be protesting outside branches of Boots, asking for urgent action to remove pesticide residues, hormone disrupters, and bioaccumulative chemicals from products sold over the counter for home use [details of local actions are contained in Note 1]

Last month, Friends of the Earth published a survey of 87 companies, revealing that household names including Boots, Dixons, Do It All, Argos, Safeway, and Mothercare sold products with one or more dodgy chemicals [2] Boots is a major retailer of cosmetics and babies toys, products some of which contain risky chemicals such as phthalates and artificial musks.

Research suggests that chemicals identified by FOE may be responsible for increases in testicular and prostrate cancer, increases in genital malformations, falling sperm counts and accelerated puberty in girl. Babies and young children are most vulnerable to chemicals as their bodies are developing. The European Commission has said that only 14 per cent of the chemicals used in the greatest quantities have a full set of minimum safety data. The vast bulk of chemicals in use have not been properly tested for safety.

Friends of the Earth wants Boots and other retailers to:
* stop selling chemicals which build-up in people's bodies,
* give people the right to know which chemicals are in the products they buy,
* pledge to not use any chemicals which haven't been properly tested,
* and only use the safest chemicals.

Friends of the Earth's Safer Chemicals Campaign will highlight ten key chemical facts [3].

Mike Childs, Safer Chemicals Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“We think that these dodgy chemicals pose an unacceptable threat to people's health. Trusted stores like Boots should not be selling chemicals which haven't

been properly tested or chemicals that build-up in our bodies. Our Safer Chemicals Campaign wants new laws to safeguard public health. We want to be tough on the causes of illness: as well as tough on the illness itself”

NOTES

[1] Local actions will take place in Alton (Hants), Bath, Birmingham, Blackwater Valley, Bolton, Camden,Camel Area, Chester & District, Chesterfield & North Derbyshire, Cirencester, East Dorset, Flintshire,Huddersfield, Lincoln, London (Barnet, Ealing, Hackney, Muswell Hill, Tottenham and Wood Green)Luton, Maidstone, Newbury, New Forest, North Lancs, Norwich, Nottingham, Nuneaton & District,Portsmouth, Preston, Saffron Walden & District, Shrewsbury, South Bedfordshire, South Dorset,Stratford Upon Avon, Taunton, Telford, Tyne Bridge, Walsall, West Cornwall, West Cumbria, West Dorset, Worcester, York & Ryedale.

[2] Chemicals in household products identified in the FOE survey include:

* brominated flame retardants (bioaccumulative: used in fabrics and plastics)
* 'bisphenol a' (hormone disrupter: used in can linings)
* phthalates (hormone disrupter: used in PVC products)
* alkyltin (toxic, hormone disrupter: used as preservative)
* alkylphenols (hormone disrupter: used in industrial detergents and paints)
* artificial musks (persistent, bioaccumulative: used in laundry detergents and perfume)
* pesticides, including DDT, lindane, carbendazim and chlopyrifos

Full survey results available from FOE Press Office.

In the early 1950s around 7 million tonnes of chemicals were manufactured per year,nowadays over 250 millions tonnes are made.Around 80,000 chemicals are currently in widespread use.

Exposure to chemicals which can mimic our natural hormones has been linked with birth defects of the reproductive track, affect birth height, and intelligence. It is thought that increases in breast cancer, prostrate and testicular cancer could be due to chemicals which imitate hormones.

Some European countries have found that the ratio of male to female births has declined over the last 20-40 years. After a chemical accident in Italy in 1976, many more girls were born than boys. This lends support to theories that this decline in boys born could be due to chemicals.

Researchers in America are suggesting that girls are entering puberty earlier and that this may be due to chemicals their mothers were exposed to during pregnancy.

The chemical industry says that they are“extremely highly regulated” yet the Swedish Government says that “the majority of chemical substances is in reality not covered by the current legislation.”

The European Commission has said that only 14 per cent of the chemicals used in the greatest quantities have a full set of minimum safety data. The vast bulk of chemicals in use have not been properly tested.

Over the next ten years our understanding of the human body will develop rapidly and will enable us individually to see if we are more sensitive to particular chemicals than other people. Every one has different susceptibilities. But at the moment we do not have the right to know what chemicals are in many of the products we buy.

Unborn babies, babies and children are most susceptible to chemicals because their bodies are developing rapidly.

Researchers have suggested that over 2 per cent of the population - equal to more than 1,000,000 people in the UK - are thought to be allergic to fragrances in household products. It is thought that the number of people allergic to these chemicals is increasing.
Friends of the Earth is calling for new EU and UK laws to deliver the following:

* A full right to know what chemicals are present in products.
* A deadline by which all chemicals on the market must have had their safety independently assessed. All uses of a chemical should be approved and should be demonstrated to be safe beyond reasonable doubt.
* The phasing out of persistent or bioaccumulative chemicals.
* A requirement to substitute less safe chemicals with safer alternatives.
* A commitment to stop all releases to the environment of hazardous substances by 2020.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust