Household chemicals linked to range of human ailments

COMMON HOUSEHOLD chemicals could be causing a range of human ailments from reduced fertility to obesity and cancer, the European Environment Agency has warned.

There was strong evidence of harm being caused to wildlife species from the discharge of household chemicals, pharmaceuticals and pesticides, the agency said yesterday on the release of a new study on the issue.

It launched the Weybridge +15 Report (1996-2100) yesterday at Brunel University in Britain. The study represents the results from an international workshop that evaluated the last 15 years of research into “endocrine disruptors”.

The human and animal endocrine system is the source of a whole range of hormones that control essential bodily functions such as metabolism, growth, mood and the reproductive system.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that act like hormones to disturb the natural balance of the endocrine system. The link between some diseases and these disruptor chemicals is now fully accepted, the agency said.

Substances that mimic the hormone oestrogen are a risk factor for breast cancer and other disorders, it said.

Others can reduce fertility in men or lead to thyroid disease. These substances may also be the cause of an average earlier onset of puberty in girls, the agency said.

The last 10 years had seen the creation of better risk assessment and regulatory frameworks to help deal with the problem, the report’s authors said.

Research has also been carried out here including a collaboration between the Environmental Protection Agency and University College Cork.

It found that Irish freshwater rivers and lakes were at relatively low risk given low population levels discharging waste into these watercourses.

Much higher levels of endocrine disrupters, “hot spots”, were detected in watercourses adjacent to urban centres, but as these were predominantly in coastal areas they had no implications for drinking water quality, that report said.

“Scientific research gathered over the last few decades shows us that endocrine disruption is a real problem, with serious effects on wildlife and possibly people,” the European agency’s executive director, Jacqueline McGlade, said. “It would be prudent to take a precautionary approach to many of these chemicals until their effects are more fully understood.”