Children 'face toxic chemical cocktail'

 Children are exposed to a cocktail of potentially harmful chemicals from the
 moment they are conceived, according to a new report.

 Toxins are normally associated with industrial waste but a large number of
 chemicals are used to manufacture products which fill most homes.

 There are growing fears among campaigners that the human body has become a
 repository for these chemicals, with uncertain consequences on health.

 Children are at increased risk, says a report from Greenpeace, and come
 into contact with chemicals even before they are born because of exposure
 through their mothers.

 Greenpeace admit that a corresponding rise in the incidence of certain
 diseases and the manufacture and use of chemicals could be a coincidence,
 but say it raises cause for concern.

 "We may never be certain that there are chemical causes behind these trends,
 but the evidence cannot be ignored," says the report.

 Catherine Dorey, a toxico-pathologist who compiled the study, said there were
 a number of reasons why chemicals posed an even greater danger to children.

 Young children eat three to four times more food - quoted as a major source
 of toxin contamination - than adults in proportion to their body size.

 Another reason given is that during infancy and toddler years, children spend
 a large amount of time near the floor or ground where they are exposed to dust
 and vapours containing chemicals.

 The report says current legislation on chemicals is "failing to protect children
 from a harmful chemical assault that begins from a child's conception."

 It adds: "Many of the chemicals that have been found in the human body have
 been shown to be harmful to human and animal health, and we know that it is
 children that are particularly at risk."

 Ananova
 Story filed: 13:22 Monday 20th October 2003

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