Everyday chemicals linked to fertility issues

Therese Kerr believes the beauty products she used to coat her body in are to blame for the bout of endometriosis she suffered when she was 30.

"Without a doubt," says Kerr, who also had her spleen removed because of tumours in 2001.

For Kerr, mother of Miranda and son Matthew, the endometriosis was "so severe" she was unable to have the four children she longed for.

"I lathered myself in perfumes and creams, not knowing the impact," says Kerr, 49. "The very things we think are making us feminine are taking our femininity away, causing us not to be able to have children."

With reproductive problems on the rise many, like Kerr, are questioning the role of some of the chemicals we are exposed to.

Of 80,000-odd toxins available in America, for instance, only a handful have been tested. Yet they are found in everything from perfume to make-up and personal care products as well as in our food and food packaging.

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A new review of the research has found BPA, a chemical used in food and beverage packages to protect food from contamination and extend shelf life, to be "a reproductive toxicant" that can affect both men and women.

This is of particular concern given that, in a recent study, 80 per cent of the women tested positive for BPA in urine.

The problem many scientists face however is understanding the role of individual chemicals versus the interaction of various chemicals versus genetics and other lifestyle factors when it comes to infertility risk and other issues.

"We're incredibly difficult creatures to study, especially because we're looking at effects that may take a generation to show up," Patricia Hunt, a genetics professor at Washington State University, told New York Times last week.

This may be true, but for some, such an answer is insufficient.

Since her illnesses Kerr is not taking chances. Nor is she waiting for science to come up with a clear conclusion.

"The average baby is now born with over 130 chemicals in their little body," Kerr says.

"Chemicals are deemed safe until proven otherwise. Should we not err on the side of caution as other countries do and not allow the use of chemicals in our everyday products until those chemicals are proven safe? We have reached a point where people need to ask questions."

She eats only certified organic, uses only organic body products and has even developed her own line of natural personal care products including toothpaste, deodorant and hand wash.

In an effort to educate others to the risks of unnatural, untested chemicals, she has also helped to bring The Human Experiment, a new documentary by Sean Penn, to Australia.

According to the film's press release, The Human Experiment "lifts the veil on the shocking reality that thousands of untested chemicals are in our everyday products, our homes and inside of us".

It is not the first exploration of the idea to appear in mainstream media. Slow Death by Rubber Duck and Toxin Toxout authors Bruce Lourie and Rick Smith also recently looked at our chemical exposure through cosmetics, food and food packaging as well as ways to reduce it.

But others deem such presentations of the issue as simplistic.

"Unfortunately, this film appears to present an often-repeated and overly simplistic view of chemicals and disregards the science associated with chemical exposure and decades of research regarding disease," wrote the American Chemistry Council in a statement to ABC News.

"It paints an incomplete and distorted picture of current chemical regulation while ignoring the essential role that chemistry plays in making modern life safer, more convenient and more fulfilling."

But, like the film's makers, Kerr says the film is intended to create awareness so people can do their own research and make more informed choices.

She suggests the Environmental Working Group's website as an "amazing resource".

As a result of her own research and journey to wellness, she says it was a simple conclusion that she came to:

"Maybe, just maybe what I am doing is impacting my health and the health of my children."

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