Chemical crisis briefing
Publication date: October 2002 (updated March 2003)
Summary
From the moment we are conceived to the moment we die, we are in contact with industrial chemicals. In the water and food we consume, in the magazines we read, in the washing powder we use, through to the mattresses we sleep on, all of the products and goods that we use contain synthetic chemical substances.
As our use of chemicals has increased, so has evidence that some of these chemicals are harmful to the environment and to human and animal health. Not all manmade chemicals are harmful, but some can cause immediate reactions such as skin allergies and asthma. Worryingly, research is starting to suggest that exposure to manmade chemicals can have serious long-term effects depending on when we are exposed to them and for how long.
