They wouldn't SELL it if it wasn't SAFE, WOULD THEY??? HA HA !

[Guest guest]

Just had to send this eye-opening piece on to all of you!

 

Linda Yates

When we pick up a product at the local grocery store, most of us liketo think we are getting something that has been tested and proven tobe safe. After all, we have laws to protect our health and safety,don't we? Actually, the government has very limited power to regulatemanufacturers, or require testing of their products.Here are some disturbing facts:A product that kills 5-% of lab animals through ingestion orinhalation can still receive the federal regulatory designationnon-toxic . Of the 17,000 chemicals that appear in common householdproducts, only 30% have been adequately tested for their negativeeffects on our health; less than 10% have been tested for their effecton the nervous system; and nothing is known about the combined effectsof these chemicals when mixed within our bodies. No law requiresmanufacturers to list the exact ingredients on the package label.Personal care product refers to just about anything we use to cleanour bodies or make ourselves look or smell good. The closest thing toa regulatory agency for the personal care industry is the Food andDrug Administration (FDA), and their power is extremely limited. Hereare more unsettling facts regarding personal care products:The FDA cannot regulate a personal care product until after it is releasedinto the marketplace. Neither personal care products nor their ingredientsare reviewed or approved before they are sold to the public.The FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing on their personalproducts before they are sold to the public.The FDA cannot require recalls of harmful personal care products from themarketplace.The National Institute of Occupational Safety and health (NIOSH)analyzed 2983 chemicals used in personal care products. The resultswere as follows:884 of the chemicals were toxic314 caused biological mutation218 caused reproductive complications778 caused acute toxicity148 caused tumors376 caused skin and eye irritations.Warning: You Can't Trust Warning Labels!You may think you know what is in a product and its potential harms byreading ingredient and warning labels. Think again. Manufacturers arenot required to list the exact ingredients on the label. Also,chemical names are often disguised by using innocuous trade names. So,even if the chemical is listed on the label, you may not recognize itfor what it is. Even if the harsh and dangerous active ingredients arelisted on a package, often time the remainder of ingredients arelumped into a category known as inert (not active) ingredients. Thisterm may lead you to believe that these chemicals are not toxic orhazardous. In fact, many of the 1,000 different chemicals used asinert ingredients are more harmful than the active ingredients. TheEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not require manufacturersto identify most inert chemicals, or disclose their potential harmfuleffects. Even suspected carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) are usedas inert ingredients in household products.Regarding warning labels. One New York study found that 85% ofproducts they examined had incorrect warning labels. Some were labeledpoisonous, but weren't; others were poisonous but weren't labeled assuch; others gave incorrect first aid information. And there areabsolutely no warnings on products about possible negative effects oflong-term exposure. This is unfortunate because most diseases linkedto chemical exposure are the result of long-term exposure.If we don't know what is in it, and we don't know if it can hurt us,how are we supposed to make an intelligent decision about whether ornot to bring this product into our home?Cleaning products(just a few that I know are used in house cleaning)Air freshener- toxic; may cause cancer; irritates, nose, throat, and lungs.Disinfectant- very toxic; causes skin, throat, and lung burns; causes coma.Drain cleaner- toxic; causes skin burns; causes liver and kidney damage.Oven cleaner - toxic; causes skin, throat and lung burns.Window Cleaner- toxic; causes cns disorders; causes liver and kidneydisorders.Floor/Furniture polish - toxic causes cns disorders, may cause lung cancerSpot remover- toxic; may cause cancer, may cause liver damage.All Purpose Cleaner - causes eye damage; irritates nose, throat and lungs.Toilet bowl cleaner - very toxic; causes skin, nose, throat and lung burns.Chlorinated scouring powder- toxic; highly irritating to nose, throat and lungs.Dishwasher Detergent - toxic; causes eye injuries, damage to mucousmembranes and throat.As I said just a few.One Common IngredientAlthough it would take a second book to cover all the ingredientscommonly used in the products above, I want to let you know about one,formaldehyde, as an example. Formaldehyde is used frequently in bothcleaning and personal care products because it is a cheappreservative. The following information is taken from a MaterialSafety Data Sheet (MSDS) which , by law, must be supplied to anyonewho uses any chemical product in the workplace. The MSDS forformaldehyde warns: Suspected carcinogen; may be fatal if inhaled,swallowed, or absorbed through the skin; causes burns; inhalation cancause spasms; edema (fluid buildup) of the larynx and bronchi, andchemical pneumonitis, extremely destructive to the tissue of themucous membrane. All these symptoms and more are caused byformaldehyde. Yet manufacturers can put formaldehyde in shampoo andnot list it as an ingredient! You will be shocked to learn thatformaldehyde is a common ingredient in baby shampoo, bubble bath,deodorants, perfume, cologne, hair dye, mouthwash, toothpaste, hairspray and many other personal care items.Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen. If all cancers start with theabnormal growth of just one cell, then why allow any amount into oronto your body?Toxic Chemicals and the Human BodyYour body is a very complex, very fragile system of chemical reactionsand electrical impulses. When you consider a single cell breathes,uses energy, and releases waste much like your whole body does, youcan begin to understand how even small amounts of harmful chemicalscan affect the performance of the body's processes. Chemicals enterthe human body in three ways: ingestion, inhalation, and absorption.IngestionIngestion brings to mind the image of a young child opening thecabinet under the sink and drinking something deadly. Well, each yearnearly 1.5 million accidental ingestions of poisons are reported toU.S. Poison Control Centers. The majority of the victims are under theage of twelve and have swallowed a cleaning or personal care product.It amazes me how many deadly chemicals are stored under sinks or onbathroom counters and bathtubs within easy reach of young children.InhalationIt may surprise you to learn that poisoning by inhalation is morecommon and can be much more harmful, than ingestion. When somethingharmful is swallowed, the stomach actually begins breaking down andneutralizing the poison before it is absorbed into the bloodstream.However, when you inhale toxic fumes, the poisons go directly into thebloodstream and quickly travel to organs like the brain, heart, liverand kidneys. Many products give off toxic vapors which can irritateyour eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and give you headaches, muscleaches, and sinus infections. The process of releasing vapors into theair is called outgassing. Outgassing occurs even when a chemical istightly sealed in its container. If you doubt this, simply walk downthe cleaning aisle at your local grocery store, and notice howstrongly it smells of toxic vapors, even though the containers aresealed tight.AbsorptionMost people never guess this.Finally, you need to realize the potential threat absorption poses.One square centimeter of skin (less than the size of a dime), contains3 million cells, four yards of nerves, one yard of blood vessels, andone hundred sweat glands. We've all heard the ads for nicotine patchesand analgesic creams. These medicines work by being absorbed into thebloodstream through the skin. Even some heart medicines areadministered through transdermal (through the skin) patches. Anychemical that touches the skin can be absorbed and spread throughoutthe body. This can even happen when you come in contact with a surfacethat was treated with a chemical days or even weeks earlier. I had noidea that my children could be harmed by crawling across the kitchenfloor we had just cleaned. I thought that we were being conscientious,not reckless.Helping One Family at a Time...=)Nina Beinhorn

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