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Deadly Household Cleaners- It's Time to rid your House of These Killers!
Kara Possick
Household Cleaners.
Ammonia is a poison; yet, it is used in nearly all-household cleaners.
Besides attacking grease, it attacks the skin causing redness and even
chemical burns. When inhaled it is a lung irritant and extremely
harmful to people with colds, asthma and respiratory
problems. It can also cause severe eye damage if splashed in the
eyes. If ammonia mixed with bleach (or any other product containing
bleach, such as a scouring powder) the resulting chlorine fumes can
be deadly. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,
in 1988 hospital emergency rooms treated more than 2,000 patients for
injuries to household ammonia (approximately 40 percent of these cases
were children under the age of five). Of course, ammonia is not the only
toxic chemical in cleaners. Bleach, ammonia and formaldehyde are a few
that, at least, we have heard of. The
point is, almost all cleaners contain toxic chemicals that the
manufactures say should be used with caution. If I am going to have to
be cautious means they could cause injury or death.
Air Fresheners.
Air Fresheners interfere with your ability to smell offensive odors by
releasing a nerve-deadening agent or by coating you nasal passages with
an undetectable film, contends Nancy Sokol Green.
She also states that commercial deodorizers may contain toxic chemicals
such as methoxychlor, a chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide that
accumulates in fat cells and over stimulates the central nervous system.
Likewise, Para Dichlorobenxene, napthalend and formaldehyde, all of
which are central nervous system depressants, can be found in some air
fresheners.
Oven Cleaners.
One of the most toxic products in your kitchen, oven cleaner, should
never touch your skin or your eyes, should never be inhaled or come on
contact with your mucous membranes. They are even toxic to you oven like
aluminum, chrome, painted areas, linoleum or plastic. And they are
extremely flammable. Why would anyone even bring this product into their
home when there are safe products out there? The answer is that we just
don't know how harmful these things are and no one is spending billions
to tell is about alternatives.
The greatest danger in oven cleaners come from lye, which can eat right
through your skin and ammonia, which is extremely irritating to our eyes
and lungs. Now I ask you, is there any way for you to have your head stuck
inside you oven to clean it without breathing these fumes. And of course,
these fumes don't just disappear when you're done cleaning. They linger
in you home for your whole family to breathe over and over again. And what
about the next time you close your oven and turn it on to
cook that healthy meal.
Furniture and Floor Polish.
Phenol, which is suspected of causing cancer in humans, is used in most
furniture and floor polishes. If phenol touches your skin it can cause it
to swell, peal, burn, break out in hives and pimples. Even a small amount
of phenol, taken internally, can cause collapse, convulsions, cold sweats,
coma and death.
Nitrobenzene is another chemical frequently used in furniture and floor
polishes that are extremely toxic and also easily absorbed by skin. An
accidental spill on the skin can cause skin discoloration, shallow
breathing, vomiting and death. Repeated exposures can cause cancer, genetic
changes, birth defects, and heart, liver, and central nervous system damage,
according So where do your children play? On the floor and on the furniture.
What is the effect of the fumes on them or us? No one knows yet. Do you like
your family being the test group?
Disinfectants
Pick up any household disinfectant and chances are that the label will
list whether phenol or creosol, two powerful and closely related compounds.
Phenol can temporarily deactivate the sensory nerve endings, which is why
contact with it often causes little of no pain. Creosols attack the liver,
kidneys, pancreas, spleen, and the central nervous system, according to
Linda Mason Hunter in book, The Healthy Home (Pocket Books 1980).
In her book, House Environment and Chronic Illness (Charles C. Thomas,
1980), Francis Silver says commercial Disinfectants should never be used
in a health home.
Even with heavy cross ventilation it can take more than a year to
completely eliminate the unhealthy effects of spraying 2-1/2 ounces of a
widely promoted disinfectant.
Think of where we usually spray disinfectant. In the baby's room when the
are sick on their toys, after other children have played with them and
around areas where our pets sleep and eat. Often commercial Disinfectants
are used in our school and hospitals.
Pesticides
The biggest myth that is perpetuated on the general public in
advertising is that pesticides are safe. According to Dr. Russell Jaffe of
Serammune Physicians Lab in Reston, Virginia, as many as sixteen million
people may actually suffer from reactions to pesticides. According to his
study, approximately five million suffer from reactions severe enough to
potentially result in death. Another 500,000 people are affected with
asthma, bronchitis, eczema, or migraine headaches, and the remaining
approximates eleven million break out in hives or suffer from muscle and
joint pain.
But, when the manufactures spend millions to brainwash us with commercials
it is little wonder that around 91 percent of all American households apply
some 300 million pounds of their poisonous substances in and around their
homes, most frequently in the kitchen and bedroom.
Suburban homeowners use more pesticides per acre than farmer's use in
their fields and we spend about $1 billion annually on them in the U.S.
Yet, pesticides are the number two cause of household poisonings in the
U.S. and Debra Dadd cites that about 2.5 million children and adults are
affected each year using common household items as fly spray, and roach
bait, and insect repellents.
Household pesticides can harm us both from breathing the pesticide
directly while we are applying it and from breathing the residue.
Pesticides are specially for formulated to resist natural decomposition.
When used indoors, protected from sun and wind, they last even longer.
Pesticides can remain actively airborne for days and weeks, even up to
thirty days.
Laundry Detergent
Think about what you are doing when you wash your clothes with toxic
chemicals. Of course, all of the chemicals don't wash out so as you wear
your clothes all day you are absorbing them in small amounts through your
skin. Then you sleep on sheets and pillows cases all night and absorb more
toxins and breathe in the fumes particles they continue to give off.
Phosphorous, enzymes, ammonia, naphthalene and phenol are just a few of
the chemicals found in laundry detergent. For example, the EPA reported that
toxic chemicals found in every home (from cleaning products to personal care
products!) are three times more likely to cause cancer than airborne
pollutants.
According to the 1989 report on indoor air quality to the U.S. congress by
the Environmental Protection Agency, the nations worst pollution is found
inside the home. Hazardous and toxic chemical concentrations that are two
to five times higher than outdoors are found in the typical home, regardless
of whether it is located in rural or industrial areas. In one five-year
study, the EPA reported that a number of homes had chemical levels that
were 70 times higher inside the home than outside.
Additionally, a report by the Consumer Products Safety Commission on
chemicals found in the homes identified 150 chemicals that had been linked
to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities.
How does this affect our health? In this country today, one person in
three has allergies severe enough to take him or her to a doctor. One
person in ten suffers from migraine headaches or high blood pressure. One
in five families have a mentally disturbed member. Birth defects are on the
rise. One out of every five people will get cancer in their lifetime...a
26% increase in the last two decades according to the American Cancer
Society. In addition to causing cancer, environmental pollution is
suspected to be a major cause of asthma, emphysema, fibromyalgia, chronic
fatigue and nervous disorders. It also may be a major components of
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.
A scientific paper presented by a Vancouver consulting firm at the Indoor
Air conference of 1990 in Toronto reported that, because of household
cleaners, housewives have a 55% higher risk of getting cancer than do
women who work outside the home.
What About Our Children?
If women are at such a high risk around household cleaners what about our
children. Dr. Sherry Rogers, a practitioner of environmental medicine,
author of environmental medicine, says that young children live dangerously.
Playing on the floor exposes them to asbestos, formaldehyde, and such
contaminates as pesticides and household cleaners.
Children also have higher respiratory rates than adults do, do they inhale
three times the amount of contaminates. But, because their detox systems
aren't fully developed, they can't filter toxins as adults do. We are just
beginning to see how toxins in children's lives are taking a toll. We have
a higher rate of children with cancer and learning disabilities than ever
before. If that doesn't say we're doing something wrong in the environment
then what does.
Indoor air pollution is a suspected culprit in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome), which will take about 5,000 lives this year. The incidence of
SIDS is higher in the winter, perhaps because of decreased ventilation in
the cold months. It is no coincidence that SIDS was only recognized after
the introduction of synthetic chemicals, according to Nancy Green Sokol,
the author of Poisoning Our Children ( Noble Press 1991).
Other behavior and health disorders caused by chemicals in our home
include coughing, wheezing, nasal congestion, burning eyes, headache,
burning, tingling and flushing of the skin, muscles aches, irritability,
mental confusion, lack of coordination and hyperactivity... according to
William Rea, MD. of Dallas, past president of the American Academy of
Environmental Medicine.
On the whole, most physicians know little or nothing about environmental
medicine, unless they have specifically studied the relationship between
sickness and the toxins in our environment.
Exposure to toxic chemicals can aggravate symptoms of allergy and
compromise the immune system to the point where disabling sensitivity to
certain chemicals develop.
Over a long period of time, toxic products can contribute to development
of cancer, birth defects, genetic changes and illnesses. Some estimates
suggest that the costs of what is now called pollution exceeds 6 billion
per year, more than 1 billion in medical bills and 5 billion from sick
leave and reduced productivity in the U.S.
Every year 5 to 10 million household poisonings are reported. Many are
fatal, and most of the victims are children. These poisonings are the
result of accidental ingestion of common household substances. Ordinary
dish detergents account for more poisonings than any other household
chemicals. Ordinary dish detergents are extremely toxic yet we don't put
them out of the reach of children. Doesn't this make you wonder about the
residue left on our dishes after we clean them?
If you are thinking about conceiving a child, or are already pregnant,
consider the effect toxic chemicals might have on your unborn baby. Many
common household chemicals are known to cause birth defects, but most have
not even been tested for these effects.
Other chemicals cause genetic changes, which can lead to health problems
and birth defects in future generations. Each day Americans pour more than
32 million pounds of household cleaning products down the drain. That's
almost 12 billion pounds a year.
What makes these products particularly insidious is the fact that billions
of dollars are spent every year to convince us through advertising that
they are necessary and will enhance our lives, when in fact, many of these
products are poising us.
So What Is A Conscious Person To Do?
Let's start with your kitchen since we spend so much time there. It is
where most of our cleaning products are stored. Speaking of storage, even
when your household cleaners are stored away under your sinks and in
cupboards, many of their chemicals continue to outgas, meaning that even
when the containers are tightly closed, many of their ingredients, like
formaldehyde are still filling your home with toxic fumes. Walk down
the cleaning aisles in your grocery store. What you are smelling is outgas
from closed sealed containers. Formaldehyde is a good example of a common
vapor that is out gassed in many homes. Nine billion pounds of it are
produced every year in the U.S. Formaldehyde is often used because it is
inexpensive, it acts as an effective preservative, fungicides, and
stabilizer, and it makes fabrics wrinkle proof. It is widely used in
cleaning products, personal care products and cosmetics, as well as
building materials and paper products.
It may also be listed under the name formalin, fromal, and methylaldehyde.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health states that
formaldehyde should be handled carefully, because it is a potential human
carcinogen (causing cancer). It is also suspected of being a tetarogen
(causing birth defects) and a mutagen (causing genetic damage).
Some of the primary concerns with exposure to formaldehyde are that it can
irritate the respiratory system, cause skin reactions, and trigger heart
palpitation,headaches,depression, joint pain, chronic fatigue, chest pains,
ear infections,dizziness, and loss of sleep. It can also aggravate coughs
and colds and trigger asthma.
Dish Washing Detergents
Most dish washing detergents include a chemical called naphtha, which is a
central nervous system depressant; diethanolsamine, a potential liver
poison; and chlorophenylphenol, a metabolic stimulant which is very toxic.
Chlorine is used in nearly all dishwashing detergents, which cause
chlorine fumes to leak out of the dishwasher, and into the kitchen.
Common symptoms of chlorine fumes to leak out of he dishwasher and into
the kitchen. Common symptoms of chlorine gas exposure are: headaches,
fatigue, burning eyes, difficulty breathing when exposed to
even small amounts of chlorine released during normal dishwashing.
A hazardous ingredient used in laundry detergents called NTA or Sodium
Nitilotriacetate was found to be a cancer-causing agent by the National
Cancer Institute.
Although it was voluntarily withdrawn from the market by 1970, because of
pressure from one of the biggest manufactures of household and laundry
products in 1980, there resulted a little publicized decision by the EPA
not to block NTA in products, except those designed to have direct dermal
or oral contact. NTA is again found in leading laundry detergents. Why is
this being allowed? Aren't our clothing and bedding coming into dermal
contact with us?
Fabric Softeners
You ever notice how your clothes feel after using a fabric softener on
them? I don't mean the fluffy ones like towels that do feel better. Fabric
softeners leave a kind of oily residue on everything. Why does this happen?
It's planned by the manufactures to cut down static cling. So it doesn't
wash out.
When you use a fabric softener, what you are putting next to you skin is
ammonia, propellants and very strong synthetic fragrances. These residues
can be very irritating to the skin and cause stuffy noses and watery eyes.
Just as bad, they also make clothing highly flammable.
Bleach
We've talked about bleach used in other cleaning products and how toxic it
is but in the laundry we dump it in by the cupful to whiten our clothes.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 1988, hospital
emergency rooms treated more than 9,000 patients for injuries related to
household bleaches, (more than 60% were children under 5).
The main hazardous ingredient in bleach is sodium hypochlorite. It is a
poison if ingested, but we also get it on our skin and we inhale it, not
just during laundering our clothes, but while wearing them.
Tub and Tile Cleaners
Again Tub and tile cleaners contain ammonia, detergents, ethanol and
fragrances. Most tub and tile cleaners don't contain warning labels.
Personal Care Products Personal care products are not legally required to
be tested for safety. The FDA can take action only after a cosmetic is
on the market and enough evidence exists
to prove in court it is hazardous. At a hearing numerous cosmetologists
testified of symptoms such a headaches, loss of balance, memory loss,
asthma, and irreparable nervous system and respiratory problems as a
result of working with cosmetics. Because of these testimonies, a house
subcommittee asked the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health to analyze 2,983 chemicals used in cosmetics.
The results were as follows:
884 of the ingredients were found to be toxic
Of these 844 ingredients;
314 can cause biological mutation
218 can cause reproductive complications
778 can cause acute toxicity
146 can cause tumors
376-cause skin and eye irritation
An article in the Washington post cited research reported in the journal
of Toxicity and Environmental health that claimed that nearly 40 percent
of the group of hairdressers studies by Cornell University researchers
were found to have traces of solvents and other toxic chemicals in the
urine. Some of these chemicals were mutagens, which can alter the DNA of
cells and in some cases cause cancer.
Common Toxic Substances In Personal Health Care Products: - Acetone - A
solvent which can affect the nervous system and respiratory system, is
used in nail polish remover. - Butylate Hydroytoune - Commonly used in
deodorants, shampoos, mouthwashes, toothpaste, nail polish, after shave,
and perfume. (not to mention the unbelievable long list of household
cleaners it is used in). Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen in animals
and a suspected one in humans. - Methylene
Chloride - Can still be found in many cosmetics, even though in 1985
the FDA recommended that it be removed from hair spray because it
conclusively causes cancer in laboratory animals.
Solutions:
I believe that part of this first step is to address the toxic overload we
create in our home environment. We can do this by using environmentally
safe non-caustic cleaners, and personal health care products that do not
leave toxic residues.
Many companies provide safe alternatives. Personally, I have found a company
that has products that work extremely well. I use them all. I recommend
these products because of my own personal experience. In addition,
they are guaranteed 100% or your money is refunded. I have found that
many cleaning and health products provide an environmentally safe solution
but do not work. The key is to find products that actually do the job but
do not create the toxic environment. After all, what use is cleaning your
body of toxins if you just keep pumping them back in.
Please visit http://www.moms-connection.com to learn more about safeguarding
your home and family against deadly toxins.
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