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Your kitty or pooch could be polluted with higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals recently found in people, including newborns, according to a study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The results of the analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based consumer-advocacy group, which examined 20 dogs and 50 cats, discovered that the animals were contaminated with 48 of the 70 industrial chemicals tested, 43 of which were at levels higher than those typically found in humans.
In dogs, levels of stain- and grease-proof coatings known as perfluorochemicals were 2.4 times higher than in people. Researchers also found 23 times more fire retardants in cats, as well as fives times the amounts of mercury, compared with average levels in people found in national studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and EWG.
"Like humans, pets are also exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis, and as this investigation found, are contaminated at higher levels," says Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at EWG. "The presence of chemicals in dogs and cats sounds a cautionary warning for the present and future health of children as well. This study demonstrating the chemical body burden of dogs and cats is a wake-up call for stronger safety standards from industrial chemical exposures that will protect all members of our families, including our pets."
Pets can be exposed to chemical pollution the same way children are: By ingesting pollutants in pet water, playing on lawns with pesticide residues, or breathing in a boatload of indoor air contaminants. With their compressed lifespans, however, pets also develop health problems more rapidly. Dog and cats also tend to have limited diets and play close to the floor, often licking the ground and their paws, resulting in even greater exposures to chemicals and the resulting health risks, including cancer. Visit the EWG's Pets for the Environment to download a PDF of ways you can make your home safer for your four-legged pals, including choosing safer kitty litter and choosing foods free from chemical preservatives and fillers. ::Environmental Working Group
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