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The Environmental Pollutants Biomonitor
quantifies exposure to select environmental toxins; aromatic solvents, paraben
and phthalates.
See Sample Report
Chemicals in the report include metabolites of:
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Xyelene
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Toluene
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Benzene
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Trimethybenzene
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Styrene
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Paraben
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Phthalate
Acute toxicological effects of aromatic compounds include nausea,
vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, tremor,
loss of consciousness etc. Chronic exposure may affect multiple organ systems.
Aromatic solvents are used commercially in a variety of applications; including
the manufacture of plastics, paints, varnishes, resins, synthetic fibers,
rubbers, lubricants, dyes and detergents. Aromatic solvents are also used in the
printing and leather industries, and can be found in many industrial cleaning
agents. They are a natural part of gasoline, airplane fuel and cigarette smoke.
Parabens are a widely used family of preservatives found in many cosmetic,
pharmaceutical and industrial products. Parabens have inherent estrogenic and
other hormone related activity and have been detected in certain human breast
cancer cell lines.
Phthalates are used in the manufacture of plastics to allow for flexibility and
to soften resins. Phthalatescan be found in everything from makeup to
detergents, and from shampoos to time-released pharmaceutical drugs. Phthalic
acid esters are a well known endocrine disruptor as well as causing neurological
and developmental disorders. It can interfere with tryptophan metabolism
resulting in an increase in quinolinic acid, a pro-inflammatory and neurotoxic
compound.
Phthalates have also been implicated in abnormal fetal development,
especially in male fetuses.
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