Polluted Children, Toxic Nation is the first Canadian study
to test for harmful chemicals in children's bodies, and the results show that
Canadians young and old are polluted regardless of where they live, work, play
or go to school.
For the study, Environmental Defence tested children and
parents from five Canadian families for 68 chemicals, such as pesticides, PCBs,
stain repellants, flame retardants, mercury and lead. Many of the chemicals
discovered in the families are associated with cancer, hormone disruption,
reproductive disorders, damage to the nervous system, respiratory illnesses and
harming the development of children. In some cases, the children in the study
had higher levels of certain chemicals than their parents.
Polluted Children, Toxic Nation calls on the federal
government to acknowledge this evidence of human contamination by strengthening
the regulation of toxic chemicals during the Review of the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act (CEPA).