Learn how to read labels and buy greener products that are free of toxic chemicals.

Duck of doom: Some seemingly benign objects can contaminate us with chemcials.

Both Bruce and I have worked in the environmental world for years, and going back to 2005, we started to test Canadians for measurable levels of pollutants in their blood and urine. We tested all sorts of people—urban folks, rural folks, folks from blue collar backgrounds, upper middle class white collar folks, people from different ethnicities. In total, we tested 60 Canadians, and it doesn't matter who you are or what you do for a living, or if you eat organic spelt every day of your life, we all have these measurable levels of pollutants in our bodies all the time.

Then, a couple years ago, we were trying to think of ways to take this idea of testing to another level. We thought that if we were really serious about this, we'd test on ourselves and see whether it was possible to manipulate the levels of these chemicals in real time. It was a novel approach that nobody had taken before—to try to pin down the sources of exposure in daily life. We had tested lots of Canadians for measurable levels of pollutants in their bodies, but when they asked the question, "How did this stuff get in me?" we didn't have satisfying answers.

What's the most disturbing aspect of what you found?

The ease with which these chemicals increased in our bodies and the scale of increase we saw so quickly. Levels of phthalates [hormone-disrupting chemicals found in artificial fragrances as well as soft vinyl] increased 22 times just by using personal-care products that contained those chemicals. The most mind-blowing increase was with triclosan [the active ingredient in antibacterial products that's been linked to reproductive problems and hormone disruption]. Our levels of triclosan increased by 2,900 times over a two-day period, just by using common household products. A 2,900-time increase in a two-day period is just mind-boggling. You've got to think that all those people who really like antibacterial products—and there's a lot of people like that out there—would have massive levels of that chemical in their bodies all the time. And at the same time, the American Medical Association has called for a ban on the household use of antibacterial products because they're afraid these chemicals are creating a whole new generation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

And we just tested chemicals one at a time. When you think of the implications of all the hundreds of chemicals we're exposed to and the marinade we're soaking in every day, the results of our experiments are quite disturbing.

Do you get the impression that these companies know the risks or are completely ignorant of them?

Ultimately, we're very optimistic. That might sound weird, considering what we found, but it's quite an optimistic book. The stories we tell are generally good news stories about companies trying to do things differently, both manufacturers and retailers. Now if you're shopping for toys for your kids, quite often you'll see big honking "No Phthalate" and "No BPA" stickers, put there by companies that want to advertise that they got these chemicals out of their products. I’m quite optimistic about corporate behavior, even given the fact that most chemical companies are still acting as though it's 1950 and your average consumer is a dummy and will just take whatever the chemical companies dish out.