Of the more than 75,000 chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, only a fraction have gone through complete testing to find out whether they might cause problems for human health. Many that are produced in enormous quantities have never been tested at all. Usually, it takes dramatic episodes of workplace injuries or wildlife poisonings, combined with rigorous scientific proof of harm and public outcry, before the government will act to restrict or ban any chemical. And that is no accident. The current regulatory system allows synthetic chemicals into our lives unless one is proven beyond doubt to be dangerous.

Today, while scientific research worldwide is finding that every one of us carries traces of synthetic chemicals in our bodies, scientists know very little about the risks of these low level exposures. We do know some chemicals are highly toxic. Some are carcinogenic. Others interfere with the reproductive system. Many others likely present no health threat at all.

The problem is that for most chemicals, we simply do not know how safe – or dangerous – they may be. And they are everywhere around us – in the air, soil, and water; in our homes; and in our bodies. Not a single child today is born free of synthetic chemicals.

When scientists tested Bill Moyers’ blood, they identified traces of 84 chemicals. Find out which health problems can be associated with exposure to the chemicals they detected.
Industrial chemicals are now in every ecosystem on the planet – sometimes turning up thousands of miles from their original sources. Follow the journey of one molecule of PCB as it makes its way to the top of the food chain.
A growing body of evidence is raising concerns that exposure to toxic chemicals may harm children and developing babies far more than adults. Learn why the young could be at extra risk.