How
your home may be slowly killing you! You
can't trust labels Health and Wellness
The
following came from a conference call with Kay Heizer, Director of “Healthy
Choices” (a non-profit organization comprised of doctors, nurses,
environmental scientists and educators committed to teaching the public about
the hazards of chemicals in our home and how we can avoid or minimize the
risks):
ü
50% of all
illness is due to poor indoor air quality
[Source: 1989 State of Massachusetts Study]
ü
Since 1950, at
least 70,000 new chemical compounds have been invented and dispersed
into our environment. Only a fraction of these have been tested for human
toxicity. We are, by default, conducting a massive clinical toxicology trial,
and our children and their children are the experimental animals.
[Source: Herbert L. Needleman, M.D., Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., Raising
Children Toxic Free]
ü
150
chemicals found in the home are connected to allergies,
birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders.
[Source: Consumer Protection Agency (CPA)]
ü
The United
States of America Federal Code of Regulations exempts manufacturers from
full labeling of products if used for personal, family or household care.
[Source USA FCR: Section 1910.1200C, Title 29, Section 1500.82 2Q1A]
ü
3 groups of
people are primarily affected by indoor chemical concentrations because they
spend more time indoors and their immune systems are weaker. The 3 groups are:
·
Infants and
toddlers
·
Chronically
ill
·
Elderly
[Source: 1988 EPA, 5-year study]
ü
In 1901,
cancer was rare:
1 out of 8,000. Since the Industrial Revolution, the cancer rate today has
risen to 1 in 3 and by the year 2002, it will be 1 in 2.
[Source: The American Cancer Society]
ü
The top 12
cancer-causing products (called the “Dirty Dozen”) in the average home
include the following:
§
Johnson &
Johnson Baby Powder w/Talc
§
Crest Tartar
Control Toothpaste
§
VO5 Hair
Conditioner
§
Clairol
Nice-n-Easy Hair Color
§
Ajax Cleanser
§
Lysol
Disinfectant [Source: The National Cancer Prevention Coalition]
ü
Liquid dish
soap is the leading cause of poisonings in the home for children under the
age of six (over 2.1 million accidental poisonings per year). Most brands
of liquid dish soap contain formaldehyde and ammonia.
ü
Of the
chemicals found in personal care products:
§
884 are toxic
§
146 cause
tumors
§
218 cause
reproductive complications
§
778 cause
acute toxicity
§
314 cause
biological mutations
§
376 cause skin
and eye irritations [Source: United States House of Representatives Report,
1989]
ü
The State of
California recently passed legislation requiring a 45% reduction in the amount
of toxins found in:
§
Hairspray
aerosols
§
Furniture
polish
§
Window
cleaners
§
Air fresheners
§
Shaving cream
§
Laundry
detergents
§
Nail polish
remover
§
Insect
repellent
§
Hair styling
gel and mousse [Source: Healthy Homes in a Toxic World]
ü
Out of 2,435
pesticide poisonings in a one-year period, over 40% were due to exposure to
disinfectants and similar cleaning products in the home.
[Source: State of California Study]
ü
Just by
reducing (not eliminating) environmental carcinogens alone, we would save at
least 50,000 lives taken by cancer annually.
[Source: Dr. Lee Davis, former advisor to the Secretary of Health]
ü
Most laundry
detergent contains a form of NTA. NTA is a substance we may reasonably
anticipate to be a carcinogen. [Source:
The Merck Index]
ü
Household bleaches
which claim to disinfect are classified as pesticides under the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act. Inadvertently mixing bleach with other cleaners that
contain ammonia produces a toxic chloramines gas. These toxic gases can cause
coughing, loss of voice, a feeling of burning or suffocation, and even death.
[Source: Guide to Hazardous Products Around the Home, Household
Hazardous Waste Project, 1989]
ü
Women who work
in the home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who work
outside of the home. [Source: 17-
year EPA study]
ü
150 chemicals
found in the home have been connected to allergies, birth defects, cancer and
psychological disorders. [Source:
The Consumer Protection Agency)
ü
As more toxic
chemicals have been introduced to our everyday environment in greater amounts
over the last 20 to 30 years, the level of toxins stored in adipose tissues
(fat cells) of our bodies have risen. Bioaccumulation studies have shown that
some toxins store in our bodies for life. Greater and greater amounts are
being stored at younger ages. One study showed that in the fat of 100% of the
people tested was 1,4-Dichlorobenzene, a chemical found in most household
deodorizers and room fresheners.
ü
Diseases that
used to occur later in life are now appearing at younger ages. Diseases that
used to be rare are more frequent. For example:
§
There has been
a 28% increase in childhood cancer since the addition of pesticides into
household products.
§
Cancer is now
the #2 killer of children – second only to accidental poisonings. Since 1977
the rate of cancer among American children has been steadily rising at a rate
of nearly 1% each year. [Source:
National Cancer Institute]
§
There is an
increased risk for leukemia in children where parents have used pesticides in
the home or garden before the child’s birth.
[Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute]
ü
Some products
release contaminants into the air right away, others do so gradually over a
period of time. Some stay in the air up to a year. These contaminants, found
in many household and personal care products can cause dizziness, nausea,
allergic reactions, eye/skin/respiratory tract irritations and some cause
cancer. [American
Lung Association]
ü
Asthma was
once a very rare disease.
Now the condition is extremely common – the asthma rate has tripled in the
last 20 years with nearly 30 million Americans currently afflicted.
[Source: Consumer Federation of America, 1997]
ü
In one decade,
there has been a 42% increase in asthma (29% for men, 82% for women).
The higher rate for women is believed to be due to women’s longer exposure
times to household chemicals. [Source: Center for Disease Control]
ü
Childhood
asthma has increased by more than 40% since 1980. [Source: Environmental
Health Perspectives, June 1997; 105 (6)]
ü
Asthma death
in children and young people increased by a dramatic 118% between 1980 and
1993. [Source:
Environmental Health Threats to Children, Environmental Protection Agency
175-F-96-001, September 1996]
ü
The average
child visits the doctor 23 times in the 1st 4 years of life, with the most
common complaint being respiratory ailment.
[Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 1997]
ü
Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD) in adults and children is also rising – in 1993, 4.5
million children took the drug Ritalin so they could sit still long enough to
learn. By 1998, 11.4 million children were being drugged with this powerful
Class-2 narcotic. [Source:
Your Children and Ritalin, The Detroit news (March 8. 1998)]
ü
Even small
doses of neurotoxins, which would be harmless to an adult, can alter a
child’s nervous system development. [Source: Environmental Health
Perspectives 106 Supplement 3:787-794 (June 1998)]
ü
Developing
cells in children’s bodies are more susceptible to damage than adult cells
that have completed development, especially for the central nervous system.
During the development of a child, from conception through adolescence, there
are particular windows of vulnerability to environmental hazards. Most
disturbing – until a child is approximately 13 months of age, they are
virtually no ability to fight the biological and neurological effects of toxic
chemicals. [Source:
Herbert L. Needleman, M.D., Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., Raising Children Toxic
Free]
ü
Today,
children have chemical exposures from birth that their parents didn’t have
until they were adults.
Because children are exposed to toxics at an earlier age than adults, they
have more time to develop environmentally triggered diseases, with long
latency periods, such as cancer. [Source: Environmental Policy and
Children’s Health, Future of Children, Summer/Fall 1995; 5(2): 34-52]
ü
Formaldehyde
is a highly toxic substance. It is a known cancer-causing agent. It damages
the neurological connectors in the body. It is an irritant to the eyes, nose,
throat and lungs and may cause:
§
skin reactions
§
ear infections
§
headaches
§
depression
§
asthma
§
joint pain
§
dizziness
§
mental
confusion
§
nausea
§
disorientation
§
phlebitis
§
fatigue
§
vomiting
§
sleep
disturbances
§
laryngitis
ü
One in five
people are sensitive to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is commonly found in:
§
drugs
§
mouthwash
§
hairspray
§
cosmetics
§
cleaning
products
§
perfumes
§
waxes
§
hair setting
lotions
§
shampoo
§
air fresheners
§
fungicides
§
fingernail
polish
§
floor polishes
§
dry cleaning
solvents
§
toothpaste
§
laundry spray
starch
§
antiperspirants
§
… just to
name a few
ü
Due to the
increase in toxic buildup in our bodies, including the toxic buildup of
formaldehyde, dead bodies are not decomposing as fast as they used to.
ü
Bodies now
start to decompose within 7 to 10 days after death.
ü
During the
Vietnam War, Vietnamese bodies started to decompose within 24 to 48 hours.
However, Americans didn’t start to decompose for 4 to 5 days.
ü
Twice as much
formaldehyde was needed to embalm a person 20 years ago compared to today.
How
many of these names would you have recognized as formaldehyde?
§
Formalin
§
Methanal
§
Methyl
Aldehyde
§
Methylene
Oxide
§
Oxymethylene
§
Bfv*
§
Fannoform*
§
Formol*
§
Fyde*
§
Karsan*
§
Methaldehyde
§
Formalith*
§
Methylene
Glycol
§
Ivalon*
§
Oxomethane
§
Formalin 40
§
Formalin
§
Formic
Aldehyde
§
Hoch
§
Paraform
§
Lysoform*
§
Morbocid
§
Trioxane
§
Polyoxmethylene
*
denotes trade name
ü
The following
products are just a few that are so toxic that they should be disposed of in a
toxic waste dump:
§
floor care
products
§
furniture
polish
§
window
cleaners
§
bug spray
§
nail polish
remover [Source: Water Pollution
Control Federation]
ü
Warning
labels on containers refer only to toxic hazards from ingestion;
however, only 10% of health problems from chemicals are caused by ingestion. 90%
are caused by the inhalation of vapors and absorption of particles.
ü
Government
regulations require that only the most EXTREMELY toxic substances must contain
a warning label. Labels that say the following should be removed from your
house immediately:
§
“Do not
induce vomiting”
§
“Corrosive
– rinse from skin immediately”
§
“Harmful or
fatal if swallowed”
§
“Call
physician immediately”
§
“Warning!”
(may mean that as little as 1 teaspoon of product can harm or kill adult)
§
“Danger!”
(means that as little as 5 drops can harm or kill an adult)
ü
Phenol is an
extremely caustic chemical that burns the skin. Absorption of phenol through
the lungs or skin can cause:
§
central
nervous system damage
§
pneumonia
§
respiratory
tract infection
§
heart-rate
irregularities
§
skin
irritation
§
kidney and
liver damage
§
numbness
§
vomiting
§
and can be
fatal
ü
Phenol is a
very common chemical and is regularly found in the following common products:
…
just to name a few
DO YOU STILL WANT TO USE PRODUCTS IN YOUR HOME THAT CONTAIN PHENOL?
Please
contact the person who gave you this document if you would like to find out
about a SAFER ALTERNATIVE
Dennis Petersen
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