  urlLink Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | We have become allergic to our western way of life : "There is accumulating evidence that the rise in allergies could be directly linked to the way in which we live and the environment which we inhabit. Sir Tom Blundell, chairman of the the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, argues that 'given our understanding of the way chemicals interact with the environment, you could say we are running a gigantic experiment with humans and all other living things as the subject'.
The evidence so far appears disturbing: the thinning of seabirds' eggshells, sex changes in fish and shellfish, reduced human male fertility, and a rise in certain cancers linked to chemicals that have found their way into our environment and food chain. A study by scientists at the University of Lancaster has shown that organophosphorus pesticides that were banned some 15-20 years ago are still detectable in the blood.
The fact that flame retardants, pesticides and dioxins can cross from mother to infant in breast milk is also a cause for concern. Our disregard for the delicate web that sustains our environment is leading to its degradation. There are in excess of 30,000 chemicals in products that we use and dispose of which have never been tested. The application of modern computational techniques coupled with improved environmental and health monitoring would go a long way towards rectifying this situation. " 
