Updated

A study released from the University of California, San Francisco reveals that an overwhelming percentage of pregnant women in the U.S. may have highly toxic environmental chemicals — some illegal — in their bodies.

The trial found that out of the 268 pregnant women tested for toxins, 100 percent showed traces of several individual chemicals in their blood or urine. They include certain PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, PFCs, phenols, PBDEs, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and perchlorate.

Some of the chemicals have been illegal since the 1970s — and others were comparable to those found in non-stick cookware, furniture, and beauty products.

Researchers concluded that pregnant women in the U.S. are exposed to far too many environmental chemicals, and further studies are planned to understand the exact sources of exposure, and how they can be avoided.

Click here to read the study from journal Environmental Health Perspectives.