Women demand end to pollution of humans

Call for Action: Towards a Toxic Free Future. Women and children should not be the testing ground for industry

15.04.2004 |Sascha Gabizon

Toxic chemicals that pollute the human body and threaten health and fertility should be phased out within a generation, say the organisers of a European conference being held at the end of June.

They are producing a toolkit of ideas for citizens to help improve the environment. Women and children are most vulnerable to the effects of some industrially-made chemicals in every day use which can disrupt hormones and affect human development and health.

Up to 300 synthetic chemicals have been detected in humans, including pesticides and other compounds known to disrupt hormones, contribute to cancer and harm immune or nervous systems.