The findings of chemical contaminants in the blood and urine of 10 Oregonians, detailed in a front-page story in The Sunday Oregonian ("Toxics surprise," Nov. 11), brings home what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking in an ongoing national assessment: the toxic stew simmering inside all of us.

In its most recent report, the CDC measured 148 pollutants in a representative sampling of the U.S. population. From pesticides to plasticizers, from protective coatings to PCBs, we embody the era of better living through chemistry. Indeed, the substances that contaminate us pass directly from mother to child so that every baby comes loaded with traces of toxic chemicals mainlined through the umbilical cord.

Advancements in the field of biomonitoring are giving CDC researchers the ability to measure even more substances in humans. Yet, under our nation's notoriously toothless toxics laws, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is unable to conduct routine human health assessments for the vast majority of more than 82,000 chemicals registered for use. No wonder the chemical industry has worked so hard to block every attempt to strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act since it was passed by Congress in 1976.

Faced with indisputable evidence that toxic substances contaminate both people and places, the chemical industry defends the status quo with assurances that the pollutants inside us are too minuscule to cause harm. The facts suggest otherwise.

Consider bisphenol A, the chemical building block of polycarbonate plastic. It leaches from some of the most popular brands of unbreakable baby bottles and reusable water containers favored by the environmentally conscious. It also migrates from the resin linings of metal cans into food.

A panel of 38 world-renowned researchers signed an unprecedented consensus statement last August citing their concerns that bisphenol A causes serious health effects at the trace levels detected in 95 percent of the population. A few days later, an expert scientific panel assembled by the U.S. National Toxicology Program concluded it had "some concern" that bisphenol A exposure to fetuses, infants and children causes neural and behavioral effects.

No less alarming is the research on phthalates, plasticizers used in everything from personal-care products to PVC. Rodent studies demonstrate that fetal exposure to phthalates impacts the male reproductive system. And in humans? A preliminary epidemiological study from the University of Rochester strongly suggests that prenatal exposure to phthalates adversely affects reproductive development in baby boys.

These are just two examples from the dozens of chemicals to which we are exposed daily.

So what do we do to protect ourselves and our children?

We can shop wisely by choosing products that minimize exposures to chemicals of concern. More broadly, we can press our elected representatives to put public health before corporate profits by mandating health and safety data for ubiquitous chemicals and requiring substitutes for the worst of the lot.

Our state has a proud tradition of leadership on end-of-pipe solutions to environmental problems. We can also be a leader in toxics prevention by ensuring that only the safest chemicals are used in everyday products and manufacturing processes in Oregon.

It's not just common sense. Our health and well-being depend on it.

Nena Baker is the author of The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens our Health and Well-being, forthcoming in 2008 from North Point Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.