OTTAWA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Canadian environmental group say they have found alarming levels of toxic chemicals in four top politicians, in a movement aimed at raising awareness of the pollution in the country.

    The group Environmental Defense released results on Wednesday of laboratory testing done on Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, NDP Leader Jack Layton, Health Minister Tony Clement and Liberal environment critic John Godfrey.

    Of the 103 pollutants tested for, 61 were detected in the four politicians, the group said.

    Combined, their blood contained a chilling mix of nasty substances, including 54 carcinogens, 37 hormone disruptors, 16 respiratory toxins, 54 reproductive or developmental toxins and 33 neurotoxins.

    Godfrey, the report found, had the highest number of pollutantsin his blood, at 55. Clement and Layton followed with 54 toxic contaminants each and Ambrose had the cleanest blood with 49 contaminants.

    The study also found that Clement's blood contains polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, despite the fact they have been banned for years.

    The results are part of the report "Toxic Nation on Parliament Hill: A Report on Pollution in Four Canadian Politicians", which is intended to serve as a wake-up call for leaders about the state of pollution in Canada.

    Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defense, said the study was released intentionally at a time when the governmentis set to review its environmental policy.

    He also urged the government to phase out the use of chemicals found to be harmful and replace them with safer alternatives.