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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Tara Cobham

Major study exposes the ‘most underrated threat facing humanity’

  • A new report, 'The Invisible Tsunami', warns that chemical toxicity is the 'most underrated threat facing humanity', with its risks to human and planetary health “widely underestimated”.
  • The investigation found over 3,600 synthetic chemicals, including dangerous PFAS, present in human bodies globally, with PFAS detected in almost everyone tested.
  • The report establishes strong links between chemical exposure and severe health issues, such as escalating cancer rates, declining fertility, obesity, and ADHD, noting that pesticide use may rival smoking in its impact on cancer.
  • Researchers highlight that the production of persistent chemicals has breached a “safe planetary boundary”, leading to widespread contamination, and deem current international chemical management inadequate.
  • The report urges urgent, coordinated global action and improved standardisation to protect human health and the environment from pervasive chemical contamination.

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