Researchers say there is need for regular detoxification

A report by Greenpeace International, on Wednesday said there was need for regular detoxification of the body to get rid of toxins from the use of some industrial and domestic gadgets.

According to the report, some trousers, jackets, footwear, backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, gloves and ropes contain Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) that are toxic to the human body.

It explained that the continuous use of the gadgets could predispose people to cancer.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PFCs are widely used in the production of teflon and related fluorinated polymers.

They have also been used to confer hydrophobic, stain-resisting properties to fabrics and fire-fighting foam.

Detoxification is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver.

The report said that “more than 30,000 Greenpeace supporters around the world selected products for us to test for PFCs.

“We tested jackets, trousers, footwear, backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, gloves and ropes — 40 products in all.

“Almost all of the products we tested — 36 out of 40 — contained PFCs.

“In some, we found high concentrations of PFOA (one of the more toxic PFCs) that has the potential to cause cancer’’.

It said that Ms Mirjam Kopp, Toxics Campaigner Greenpeace, Switzerland, noted that PCFs are released into the environment during industrial production and then persist for many years, contaminating water, air and food.

“On expeditions around the world last year, we found PFCs in secluded mountain lakes and remote snow-covered locations.

“Studies show that PFCs accumulate in the liver of polar bears and occur in human blood.

“Some PFCs affect the reproductive and hormone systems and animal studies showed that they have potential to cause cancer.

“More than 200 scientists from 38 countries have signed a statement discouraging the use of PFCs in the manufacture of consumer goods,’’ it quoted Kopp as saying.