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Tuesday, May 23, 2006 · Last updated 1:57 p.m. PT
High levels of chemicals found in volunteers
Eight months ago, 10 Washingtonians volunteered blood, urine and hair samples to the Washington Toxics Coalition.
The test results are in and they're not pretty.
It wouldn't be kind to say that these 10 are walking toxic waste dumps, but the levels of phthalates (found in everything from shower curtains to fragrances), PBDEs (found in flame-retardants, mattresses and furniture), mercury, pesticides, lead and other chemicals were high enough to make both scientists and subjects sit up and take notice.
Tests were conducted on eight classifications of chemicals. Almost all tested positive for six or seven of those categories.
Dr. Patricia Dawson, a Seattle surgeon, had the dubious honor of having 38 chemicals detected in her chemical profile. Her PBDE levels were near those found to cause reproductive problems in laboratory animals.
Her DDT (banned since 1972) levels were greater than 90 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Toxics Coalition.
When the participants gathered for a news conference this morning at Yesler Community Center, they expressed shock, sadness and opinions on what should be done.
"My reaction (upon hearing the results) was relief and alarm -- relief that I'm not planning on having more children and alarm that I'm likely to be buried in a toxic-waste dump," Denis Hayes said with a grin.
Hayes, the founder of Earth Day and the oldest participant at 61, was found to have mercury above a level deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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