The United States of America Federal Code of Regulations exempts
manufacturers from full labeling of products if used for personal,
family or household care. [USA FCR: Section 1910.1200C, Title 29,
Section 1500.82 2Q1A]
Environmental Protection Agency studies have shown that indoor air pollution can be 3 to 70 times higher than outdoors.
Almost 50% of all illness is due to poor indoor air quality [1989 State of Massachusetts Study]
According to the National Safety Council, more children under the
age of 4 die of accidental household poisonings than are accidentally
killed by guns at home
The EPA conducted a study that found that toxic chemicals in
household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than
outdoor air pollution.
Of 2,983 chemicals analyzed that are found in personal care products:
* 884 are toxic
* 146 can cause tumors
* 218 can cause reproductive complications
* 778 cause acute toxicity
* 314 can cause biological mutations
* 376 can cause skin and eye irritations
[Source: United States House of Representatives Report through NIOSH, 1989]
Ingestion only accounts for about 10% of household poisonings. 90% of poisoning happens through inhalation and skin absorption.
Women who work in the home have a 54% higher risk of dying from
cancer than women who work outside of the home because of their
increased exposure to household chemicals. [Toronto Indoor Air
Conference of 1990 from a 15+ year study]
150 chemicals found in the home have been connected to allergies,
birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders. [The Consumer
Protection Agency)
In an EPA report to the US Congress regarding the Indoor Air Quality
Act of 1989, they stated that indoor air quality is one of the nation’s
most important environmental health problems.
“Chemicals have replaced bacteria and viruses as the main threat to
health. The diseases we are beginning to see as the major causes of
death in the latter part of (the 1900's) and into the 21st century are
diseases of chemical origin.” [Dr. Dick Irwin, Toxicologist, Texas
A&M University]
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.
[National Cancer Institute]
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]
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 is not
improving. [The American Cancer Society]
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. [Center for
Disease Control]
Just by reducing (not eliminating) environmental carcinogens alone,
we could save at least 50,000 lives taken by cancer annually. [Dr. Lee
Davis, former advisor to the Secretary of Health]
Even small doses of neurotoxins, which would be harmless to an
adult, can alter a child’s nervous system development. [Environmental
Health Perspectives 106 Supplement 3:787-794 (June 1998)]
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. [State of California Study]
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.
[Herbert L. Needleman, M.D., Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., Raising Children
Toxic Free]
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. [Environmental Policy and Children’s Health, Future of Children,
Summer/Fall 1995; 5(2): 34-52]
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]
There is an increased risk for leukemia in children where parents
have used pesticides in the home or garden before the child’s birth.
[Journal of the National Cancer Institute]
Formaldehyde is a highly toxic substance and one of the most common
indoor air pollutants. It is a highly suspected cancer-causing agent. It
is an irritant to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs and may cause a wide
variety of reactions, including skin reactions, ear infections,
headaches, depression, joint pain, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, vomiting,
sleep disturbances, and many more. How many of these names would you
have recognized as formaldehyde? Manufactures can legally use over 30
different trade names for this chemical. Below are some… (http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/02/Aug02/080602/98f-0052-sup0014-vol5.txt and http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html for more info on formaldehyde)
* Formalin
* Quaternium-15 (formaldehyde releasing agent)
* Methanal
* Methyl Aldehyde
* Methylene Oxide
* Oxymethylene
* Bfv*
* Fannoform*
* Formol*
* Fyde*
* Karsan*
* Methaldehyde
* Formalith*
* Methylene Glycol
* Ivalon*
* Oxomethane
* Formalin 40
* Formic Aldehyde
* Hoch
* Paraform
* Lysoform*
* Morbocid
* Trioxane
* Polyoxmethylene
* denotes trade name
More Online Research Resources for you and your customers:
PLEASE NOTE: Below are more online resources for your educational purposes.
Work At Home United is not responsible for any of the content or claims.
Take a virtual home tour with the EPA: http://www.epa.gov/kidshometour/
Video Clip of “Are you Exposing your Children to a Toxic Brew in your Home?” http://www.rmbarry.com/audio_video/media/TBWM_preview_dsl.html
Children and Household Toxics: http://www.rmbarry.com/research
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