We are all carrying dozens of chemicals in our bodies that were not in the bodies of our great-grandparents. Many of these chemicals have been linked with illnesses such as testicular cancer and prostate cancer, which are both on the increase. The effects of hundreds of others is not yet fully understood.

Did you know? Our bodies are now contaminated with more than 300 man-made chemicals. We think that chemicals that build up in our bodies should be phased out.

Double jeopardy

The most worrying types of chemicals are those which are hormone disrupters and/or which can build up inside in the human body. Friends of the Earth thinks these chemicals should be phased out and replaced with safer alternatives.

Hormone disrupters

What the experts say: "Humans are exposed daily to chemicals that have been shown, or suggested, to have hormone-disrupting properties". "Despite the uncertainty, it is prudent to minimise the exposure to humans, especially pregnant women, to endocrine [hormone] disrupting chemicals" - The UK's Royal Society report June 2000

Professor Patrick Bateson Chair of the Royal Society's working group on hormone disrupting chemicals

Hormone disrupters interfere with our body's hormones. Our hormones regulate our day-to-day bodily functions and are vital for making sure we grow up healthy.

Bio-accumulation

Some chemicals that we can't break down properly will accumulate in the body's tissues. This is known as bio-accumulation.

The risk with these chemicals is that it's not known what the long term effects of some of them might be and we would be unable to remove them from our bodies and environment if they were found to be harmful.

So what can you do now to reduce the risk? One thing you can do is to try to avoid coming into contact with risky chemicals - ultimately, though, we will only be protected by tighter laws.

Cutting the risk