Toxic Scrubs Make Home Deadly

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SO CLEAN IT HURTS

TOXIC SCRUBS MAKE HOME DEADLY

BY SIBYLLE PREUSCHAT

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2004-08-12/goods_health.php

 

NOW | AUG 12 - 18, 2004 | VOL. 23 NO. 50

 

Home may be a refuge for the soul – but not necessarily for the body.

Sometimes it seems that people spend more time figuring out their colour

scheme and selecting the doodads than they do worrying about what they're

breathing on their own turf. But indoor air pollution is one of the top

five environmental risks to public health, creating hazards like eye, nose

and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, nausea, cancer and

liver, kidney and nervous system damage!

 

And despite what the ads say, clean air is not necessarily a matter of

putting out an air freshener. In fact, some of those contain formaldehyde,

a highly toxic chemical. And air fresheners' synthetic fragrances, like

many household hygiene products, are also a problem for allergic folks and

could potentially be damaging the rest of us, too.

 

A ubiquitous ingredient in many cleaning products is chlorine. If you see

anything blue or that turns blue when you use it, that's the bad stuff.

Unfortunately, when chlorine combines with organic ingredients like food

scraps (say in your dishwasher) or urine (in your bathroom),

trihalomethanes result, and they're a suspected carcinogen.

 

Another thing to keep in mind about many commercial cleaners is that

they're petroleum-based. If your motto is " No blood for oil, " switch to

vegetable-based products. The natural citrus-based products are excellent

for cutting through grease and grime. You can also do just fine, say those

who've experimented, with lemon juice for cutting grease, vinegar for glass

and shiny surfaces, baking soda, salt or borax as safer scouring powders,

and all-purpose soap . You can make a good furniture polish by mixing three

parts olive oil and one part vinegar.

 

For a comprehensive list of natural home cleaner recipes, see

ems.org/household_cleaners/alternatives. html. Finally, if you're freaked

about germs, remember you can get extra disinfectant power by adding a

little tea tree oil or grapefruit seed extract to your soap and water.

 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

 

" When you bring any chemicals into your home, there's a heightened risk

that you'll be exposed to them for a longer period of time. Chlorine and

ammonia, when they mix together in the air, can form a toxic gas. When

you're cleaning your bathroom and use chlorine bleach on your sink and then

spray glass cleaner with ammonia, there you go. The other most dangerous

cleaners are the scum-killers, the things you just spray on and they eat

away at all the gunk. Those are corrosive: they can burn skin when they

enter the air, they can burn your nose and your eyes. "

 

RICH WHATE , environmentalist, former researcher with Toronto Environmental

Alliance

 

" Over 23,000 substances are used commercially in Canada, and only 69 single

chemicals or chemical groups have been fully evaluated. Standard testing

looks at cancer and skin toxicity. What's missing is evaluating effects on

the developing brain, in utero and in young children. Twenty-eight per cent

of Canadian children have one or more learning or behavioural problems.

Autism was seen in one in 10,000 live births 20 years ago in Canada; now

it's one in 286. We know lead, mercury and PCBs are bad for kids' brains.

The concern is that a whole lot of other products could have developmental

neurotoxic effects. But our information base is exceptionally poor. "

 

KATHY COOPER , senior researcher, Canadian Environmental Law Association,

Toronto

 

" Consumers can be confident that the products they buy have a beneficial

effect on their health by reducing the spread of germs and allergens and by

making their homes and workplaces more pleasant. In Canada, laundry powders

and liquids, fabric softeners and dishwashing liquids are regulated under

the Hazardous Products Act (HPA). Cleaning products are regulated under the

Food & Drugs Act. Any new substances used in consumer products are subject

to assessment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). "

 

SHANNON COOMBS , executive director, Canadian Consumer Specialty Products

Association, Ottawa

 

" Consumers assume that products are safe if the government isn't saying

they're unsafe. However, very little research has been done into low-level

chronic or frequent exposures to many of the ingredients of common

household products, either singly or in combination. Using

non-petroleum-based products with no synthetic fragrances would cut out a

whole bunch of the most likely harmful ingredients. "

 

LYNN MARSHALL , MD, president, American Academy of Environmental Medicine,

medical director, Environmental Health Clinic, Sunnybrook and Women's

College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto

 

" The Consumer Chemical and Containers Regulations (CCCR) set the limits for

each chemical, and it's up to industry to evaluate the toxicity of their

products against government criteria. The CCCR is designed (to address)

acute exposures. We have joined an international agreement to look at

consumer products for their chronic effects. The CCCR is really good

legislation; it gives consumers a lot of direction on how to use a product

safely. We would like consumers to read labels more closely. "

 

CHRISTINE SIMPSON , product safety officer, Health Canada, Hamilton