Political parties are being urged to take a tougher stance on chemical controls, in a new report published today (13 June 2024) by Wildlife and Countryside Link - the biggest environmental coalition in England.
The call comes as results are published from tests for toxic chemicals in the hair and/or blood of 17 leading politicians and environmentalists, including Philip Dunne, Alex Sobel, Caroline Lucas, Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, Ben Goldsmith, Henry Dimbleby, Beccy Speight CEO of the RSPB and Craig Bennett CEO of The Wildlife Trusts.[1]
All of the participants tested positive for multiple PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, endocrine (hormone) disrupting ‘everywhere chemicals’ and heavy metals, with some very high levels of individual hazardous chemicals in multiple samples. Though a small snapshot study the findings suggest UK citizens could potentially face higher levels of contamination from some pollutants than other countries. Chromium, mercury, and multiple phthalate and BPS ‘everywhere chemicals’ were found at considerably higher levels compared to other studies.