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Toxic chemicals found in pets

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SLP2000043001- 30 APRIL 2000- ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA: Rosanne Smith places a micro-chip in the shoulder blades of Bogart, a four-year-old maicoon cat, during Chip-a-Thon 2000 at The Humane Society of Missouri, April 30. The Humane Society of Missouri sponsored the event which allows owners to have a mico-chip installed in their pets. The chip in turn holds valuable information, should the pet get lost. Bogart's owner is Lissa Lewis of St. Louis. bg/Bill Greenblatt UPI 
Published: April 18, 2008 at 12:27 AM
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WASHINGTON, April 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. environmental group said high levels of industrial chemicals have been found in household pets.

Analysis of blood and urine from 20 dogs and 37 cats conducted by the Environmental Working Group found that the animals were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested, including 43 chemicals at levels higher than those typically found in people.

EWG said the findings serve as an early warning of widespread chemical contamination in humans.

"Just as children ingest pollutants in tap water, play on lawns with pesticide residues, or breathe in an array of indoor air contaminants, so do their pets," EWG said Thursday in a release. "But with their compressed lifespans, developing and aging seven or more times faster than children, pets also develop health problems from exposures much more rapidly."

The report said dogs showed high levels of perfluorochemicals in the Teflon family, plastics chemicals called phthalates, and fire retardants called PBDEs. Cats showed high levels of PBDEs and methylmercury.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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