An article in this month's Newsweek entitled The Chemicals Within discusses how the potentially harmful chemicals in many common household prodcuts are actually being discovered in people's bodies.

Two of the chemcials in question are used in plastic: BPA hardens plastic; phthalates (pronounced ‘thowlates’) soften plastic. Another chemical group featured in the article is PBDEs, flame retardant chemicals that are often used in upholstery.

A November report called ‘Is It in Us?’ determined that these chemicals are in fact in us. The biomonitoring project tested people's blood and urine for traces of the chemicals. Every single one of the 35 participants from seven states tested positive for all three chemicals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also conducts similar surveys and has found that 148 chemicals are present in Americans of all ages. Antibacterial components of liquid soap have also been found in breast milk and the cord blood of newborns. In fact, an Environmental Working Group study found an average of 200 chemicals in the cord blood of 10 newborns. As Sharyle Patton of Commonweal (the company that cosponsored ‘Is It in Us?’) puts it, ‘Our babies are being born pre-polluted.’

So how do these chemicals get into us and what harm do they cause? Take BPA, for example. The chemical is part of the plastic that's found in CDs and DVDs, but it's also found in many baby bottles and sippy cups, as well as in the linings of many food and beverage containers. The plastic can leach chemicals when the plastics begin to wear down due to heat or wear and tear. Then it gets into us when we consume food or drink from these chemical-leaching plastics.

Although the chemical industry and the Food and Drug Administration contend that the small amounts are safe, reproductive biologists fear that studies done on animals could point to potential problems in humans as well. These chemicals act like hormones in both animals and human cell cultures, and therefore can lead to reproductive problems.

Cancer and behavioral problems are also potential effects of exposure to these chemicals. Referring to the presence of chemicals in our bodies, Devra Lee Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburg says, ‘We've changed the nature of nature.’

For more information, see 12 Most Dangerous Household Chemicals.