Danger products in YOUR home

Levels of toxic chemicals in the environment are rising at an alarming rate. Recent research of contaminants in fish has raised questions over whether we should be eating it at all. But our own bodies are also polluted with more than 300 chemicals, ingested and absorbed through the skin from hundreds of household items. So what polluting chemicals are there in your home?

Perfumed household products

Many shower gels, including Dove and Physiosport, contain artificial musks, used as cheap fragrance. Musks are also found in air fresheners, cosmetics and household cleaning goods. These chemicals are easily absorbed through the skin. There are two main types of artificial musk - nitro and polycyclic - which build up in our bodies and become more concentrated. They have been found in breast milk and body fat. These musks mimic female hormones and one type of nitro musk, musk xylene, has been shown to be capable of causing cancer in animals. Most cosmetics companies have withdrawn nitro musks. Polycyclic musks are under review.

What can you do? Unfortunately the offending chemical will simply be labelled "parfum" - a term that covers 2,600 chemicals. Greenpeace has asked manufacturers to reveal if they are using any of the chemicals of concern. See www.greenpeace.org.uk.

Nail varnish/hair sprays

Many nail varnishes, hair sprays and mousses contain phthalates, an industrial chemical used to soften PVC. Linked to damage to the kidneys, liver and sex organs, phthalates build up in the body. Four types of phthalates have been found to restrict the function of the male sex hormone androgen. Research shows that it disrupts development of male sex organs in rats.

What can you do? You won't be able to check the labels for phthalates. A recent Consumer's Association survey of manufacturers published in Which? magazine found that Avon cosmetics, Olay and Max Factor admitted using phthalates. Boots (17, Glitter Babes and Natural Collection), Helena Rubinstein, L'Orèal Paris, Lancòme and Maybelline are phasing them out.

PVC toys

Phthalates are also used in vinyl flooring and PVC toys. Phthalates in PVC teethers and toys for children under three were recently banned, because the chemical has been proved to leach when sucked or chewed on by a child, but there is no restriction on toys for overthrees. Friends of the Earth points out that under-threes are not discerning about what they put in their mouths.

What can you do? These companies do not use phthalates in their toys: Ikea, Tonka, Action Man, Star Wars action figures, Lego and Duplo. The Consumer's Association said that manufacturers Barbie, Fisher-Price, Hot Wheels and Sindy failed to provide sufficient information about phthalates.

Canned food

The chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) is used in the lining of cans, including Heinz and John West. In female mice it causes early puberty, reduced fertility and effects the development of reproductive organs. Research has shown that one in six girls in Britain starts to show signs of puberty at the age of eight, compared to one in a 100 a century ago, for reasons that are not known. BPA can migrate from the linings in the cans to the food, in minute quantities. The Food Standards Agency last year found BPA in 38 of 62 samples of canned food at trace levels, well below permitted levels. Manufacturers say that the linings ensure the safety of foods by preventing the contents from reacting with the container.

What can you do? Around 90 per cent of canned food uses BPA, although most companies don't admit it. Heinz, Princes and John West are some of those that do say they use it.

Baby bottles

BPAs are used in polycarbonate plastics, to make food-storage containers and baby-feeding bottles including those by Mothercare, Avent and Boots. A DTI study in 1999 showed that BPA is released after bottle brushing, dishwashing or sterilisation, suggesting bottles should be discarded when they show signs of wear.

What can you do? Replace often.

Shampoo and shaving foams

As well as containing artificial musks, some shaving foams, including Gillette, contain alkylphenols, another group of gender-bending chemicals also used as industrial detergents and in some paints. Alkylphenol ethoxylate becomes hormone-disrupting in the environment when it breaks down to alkylphenols. They have been linked to human fertility problems. They can imitate the female hormone and have been shown to change male cod to female.

What can you do? This chemical will not appear on the label. The following brands do not use it: Colgate Palmolive, Proshave ultragels and ultrafoams; shampoos: Pantene, Head and Shoulders, Wash and Go, Vidal Sassoon Salon, Clairol's Herbal Essences, Organics, Timotei, Salon Selectives, Johnson and Johnson Baby and Kids, Neutrogena, Elvive, Fructis and Nutralia.

Anti-bacterial products

Triclosan appears in some anti-bacterial products, and in Sainsbury's Microban range (chopping boards, liquid soaps, dishcloths and washing-up liquids). Research suggests that triclosan is hormone-disrupting. It is absorbed through the skin and has been detected in fish and human breast milk.

What can you do? Avoid anti-bacterial products. Triclosan is labelled on Microban products. Call 0808 800 1111 for a free Friends of the Earth leaflet.