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Household Products & Chemicals Q&A
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According to a National Academy of Sciences
workshop, approximately 15 percent of the American population suffers
from chemical sensitivity.
Researchers have traced this increased sensitivity to the proliferation
of synthetic chemicals in consumer products and furnishings.
According to the EPA, indoor air pollution is
one of the nation's most pressing personal health concerns. Peak
concentrations of
20 toxic compounds - some linked with cancer and birth defects
- were
200 to 500 times higher inside some homes than outdoors, according
to a 5-year EPA study that surveyed 600 homes in six cities.
Residues of more than 400 toxic chemicals -
some found in household products and foods - have been identified
in human blood and fat
tissue.
See a list of
hazardous ingredients in household products.
Symptoms such as runny nose, itchy eyes, a scratchy
throat, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, skin rash, and respiratory
infections are all
common reactions to indoor air pollution. Left untreated, long-term
exposure to indoor pollution can result in lung cancer, or damage
to the liver, kidney and central nervous system. Young children
are especially vulnerable to impaired lung function and respiratory
infection.
The risk for leukemia increases by four to seven
times for children, ages 10 and under, whose parents use home or
garden pesticides.
The risk of childhood brain cancer is associated
with the use of pesticide "bombs" in the home, pesticides
to control termites, flea collars on pets, insecticides in the
garden or orchard, and
herbicides to control weeds in the yard, including exposure to
two common pesticides available in garden shops - carbaryl and
diazinon.
In 1990, more than 4,000 toddlers under age
four were admitted to hospital emergency rooms as a result of household
cleaner-related
injuries. That same year, 18,000 pesticide-related hospital emergency
room admissions were reported with almost three-fourths for children
age fourteen and under.
Methylene chloride, the propellant used in many
aerosol products, is carcinogenic. Some products containing methylene
chloride have
been pulled from the market, but the carcinogen continues to be
found in many consumer products such as spray paint and stripper.
Not a single cosmetic company warns consumers
of the presence of carcinogens in its products - despite the fact
that a number of
common cosmetic ingredients are carcinogenic or carcinogenic precursors.
Some experts estimate that 20 percent of non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma cases among women are attributable to their use of hair
dyes.
Safety Guidelines For Avoiding Carcinogens At
home
- Read all labels carefully before using products.
Be aware of their uses and dangers.
- Leave products in their
original container with the label that clearly identifies the
contents.
- Never put household products in food or beverage containers.
- Do not mix products unless the label directs you to do so.
This can cause explosive or poisonous chemical reactions. Even
different
brands of the same product may contain incompatible ingredients.
- Use only
what is needed. Twice as much doesn't mean twice the results.
Follow the label.
- If you are pregnant, avoid toxic chemical
exposure as much as possible. Many toxic products have not been
fully tested for their
effects on the unborn.
- Use products in well-ventilated areas to avoid inhaling
fumes. Open windows and use an exhaust fan, making sure air is
exiting
outside rather than being recirculated indoors. Take plenty of fresh air
breaks. Be sure to use adequate skin, eye, and respirator
protection.
- Do not eat, drink, or smoke while using hazardous products.
Traces of hazardous chemicals can be carried from hand to mouth.
Smoking can start a fire if the products are flammable.
- Clean up after using
hazardous products. Carefully seal containers.
Household
Products and Chemicals Q&A
Q. What role do chemicals play in household products?
A. Production rates for synthetic petrochemicals skyrocketed from
1 billion pounds per year in 1940 to over 400 billion pounds per
year in the 1980s. Approximately 70,000 chemicals are now in commercial
production, many of which are used in household products. Many
of these chemicals accumulate in the human body and cause cancer
and other diseases, yet they have been inadequately tested or remain
completely untested for their safety. Only about 600 of these chemicals
are known to cause cancer. Many chemicals used in household products
are volatile. That means they become gaseous at room temperature
or are sprayed from an aerosol can or hand pump and thus take the
form of microscopic particles that are easily inhaled. They can
cause damage to the lungs or other organs as they are taken into
the bloodstream.
Q. Are hazardous chemicals from household products
more dangerous than outdoor pollutants?
A. Because indoor pollutants are not as easily dispersed or diluted
as outdoor pollutants, concentrations of toxic chemicals may
be much greater indoors than outdoors. Peak concentrations of
twenty
toxic compounds -some linked with cancer and birth defects -
were 200 to 500 times higher inside some homes than outdoors,
according
to an Environmental Protection Agency Study. Not surprisingly,
EPA experts say that indoor air pollution is one of the nation's
most pressing personal health concerns.
Q. Have products been pulled from the market
because of their chemical hazards?
A. In the last few years consumers have discovered that some
of the chemicals in household products whose safety was taken
for
granted are hazardous. For instance, methylene chloride (also
known as dichloromethane), the propellant used in many aerosol
products,
is carcinogenic. Although some products containing methylene
chloride have been pulled from the market, this carcinogen
continues to
be found in many consumer products such as spray paint and
stripper. More recently, it was learned that indoor latex paints
used widely
for decades contained highly neurotoxic mercury-based fungicides.
But it was not until 1990 that manufacturers finally removed
most of these potent neurotoxins.
Q. What are some of the symptoms caused by chemicals
in household products?
A. Symptoms such as a runny nose, itchy eyes, a scratchy
throat, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, skin rash, and respiratory
infections
are all common reactions to indoor air pollution. Long-term
exposure to indoor pollution can result in lung cancer, or
damage to the
liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Young children
are especially vulnerable to impaired lung function and respiratory
infection.
Q. What types of products have the biggest cancer
risks?
A. Certain cleansers and many brands of cat litter contain
the carcinogen crystalline silica. Some car cleaning products
contain
formaldehyde. Fortunately, there are safe alternative
household products
More…
Cleaning Products Risks Recommended Reading:
Steinman, David and Samuel Epstein, MD,
The
Safe Shopper's Bible, Macmillan Publishing
Company, 1995.
Steinman, David, Diet for a Poisoned Planet, Ballantine
Books, 1990, $12.50.
Berthold-Bond, Annie, Clean & Green, The Complete
Guide to Non-toxic Housekeeping, Ceres Press, 1989, $8.95.
Dadd, Debra
Lynn, The Nontoxic Home & Office, Jeremy
Tarcher Press, 1992.
Harte, John, Cheryl Holdren, Richard Schneider and
Christine Shirley, Toxics A to Z: A Guide to Everyday Pollution
Hazards,
University
of California Press, 1991.
Needleman, Herbert and Philip Landrigan, Raising
Children Toxic Free: How to keep Your Child Safe from lead, Asbestos,
Pesticides
and Other Environmental Hazards, Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
1994.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
Cancer Prevention Coalition
c/o
School of Public Health, M/C 922
University of Illinois at Chicago
2121 West Taylor Street
Chicago,
IL 60612
(312) 996-2297, Fax: (312) 413-9898
Email: epstein@uic.edu
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