Polluted Pets: High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats And Dogs

Publication Date: April 2008

Publisher: Environmental Working Group

Author(s): Olga Naidenko; Rebecca Sutton; Jane Houlihan

Research Area: Environment

Keywords: pets; bodyburden; toxics

Type: Report

Abstract:

In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group found that American pets are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns. In recognition of the unique roles that pets play in our lives, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) undertook a study to investigate the extent of exposures pets face to contaminants in our homes and outdoor environments. In a novel study representing the broadest biomonitoring investigation yet conducted in pets, what we found was surprising. Dogs and cats were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested, including 43 chemicals at levels higher than those typically found in people, according to our study of plastics and food packaging chemicals, heavy metals, fire retardants, and stain-proofing chemicals in pooled samples of blood and urine from 20 dogs and 37 cats collected at a Virginia veterinary clinic.