Women at home a 54% higher death rate - How Much Impact Do Toxic Chemicals Have on Society? Read the Statistics.

Just a few short years ago anyone who claimed MCS, multiple chemical sensitivity, was derided, generally referred to as a malcontent and/or malingerer, and referred to psychiatric counselling.

There should be no surprise that the products we use and live with daily are harming us. Carpet off gassing, arsenic in wood products (in older homes), lead in paints: read what's in your shampoo, petro-chemicals in handcreams, air fresheners, deodorants, plastic bags, etc., etc. In addition to MCS and cancer, add neurophysical difficulties, pulmonary problems, and the list grows...Air quality in homes is far more toxic than outside air. Ever wonder why?

I am very concerned about the toxicity levels that are now in American air, food and water supplies.

This detoxing regime is now at the stage of on-going, as the toxins are getting worse. Many people don't realize that the air we breathe circulates around the entire planet, so does the water. Well with this war campaign going on and all the bombs being dropped we not only have toxic metals added to the air, along with whatever is on fire, but now there is the Depleted Uranium (low level radiation) that is used in the NATO weapons that is polluting the environment. Yes, folks you will be breathing this polluted air for years to come! Something to think about huh.

Even shampoo, conditioner, soap and body lotions contain hundreds of questionable chemicals which enter the bloodstream directly through the skin.
Deoderants and anti-perspirants have got to be the worst with all that aluminum!

Woman need to detox - Toxic Chemicals in the Home May Double Your Risk of Breast Cancer.

The latest research from The Silent Spring Institute in the United States showed that if you are a female who regularly uses household cleaners and air fresheners your risk of developing breast cancer is double that of those who never use the products. Solid slow-release air fresheners and anti-mould products had the biggest effect while insect repellents, oven and surface cleaners also produced a slight increase.

The researchers themselves say that there could be some bias to the results as women with breast cancer may over estimate their use of cleaning products. Even so, other research has shown that these products are toxic and contain ingredients that can cause cancer. So let’s have a look at the products the researchers have highlighted.

Air Fresheners

Air fresheners are big business. Although we all want our homes to smell fresh if you use synthetic air fresheners you are putting your health at risk from one of the most concentrated sources of poisons in your home. Far from freshening it they just interfere with your ability to detect smells or simply cover them up while adding considerable indoor pollution.

If you use air fresheners you expose yourself to formaldehye, benzene, styrene which are known or suspected carcinogens and toluene a liver and kidney irritant. Air fresheners available in the USA may also contain phthalates, a family of chemicals known as estrogen mimics that can cause hormonal abnormalities and birth defects. It’s worrying that researchers have also discovered that some air fresheners labelled as natural or non-scented contained phthalates.

What’s more, the chemicals from air fresheners can react with other substances to become even more dangerous. Terpenes such as d-limonene, linalool and linalyl acetate released by some air fresheners react with ozone and form formaldeyde for which there is strong evidence that it can
cause cancer in humans.

Mould and Mildew Cleaners

Although not listed as such most contain formaldehyde a highly toxic and known carcinogenic chemical. It can go under more than 50 different names and may be listed as a preservative but formaldehyde damages DNA, is an irritant to eyes, nose, throat, and skin and may cause nausea, headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, memory loss and shortness of breath. It is banned in
Japan and Sweden.

All Purpose Household Cleaners

In spite of the huge array of cleansing products to choose from with all their different claims of cleaning power they generally contain the same toxic chemical ingredients. Many cleaners contain DEA and TEA which can react with added nitrites to form carcinogenic nitrosomines which readily penetrate the skin. Many coloured products are made with carcinogenic coal tar colours. Hormone disrupting parabens may be used as preservatives.

Cleaners may contain ammonia, a strong irritant which can also cause kidneyand liver damage, butyl cellusolve which is neurotoxic and rapidly penetrates skin, and ortho phenylphenol which is a severe eye and skin irritant.

What are estrogen mimics?

They are a class of chemicals that resemble the female hormone estrogen. They can attach themselves to estrogen receptors in cells blocking the action of the natural hormone. They disrupt the delicate hormonal balance of your body and disturb metabolism with disastrous results. Both men and women can be affected by these chemicals.

Over 60 substances have been identified as environmental or estrogen mimics. These include DDT, dioxin and PCB. They are released from industrial processes and agricultural sprays and make their way into your diet through food and water.

Keep your house clean naturally

Old fashioned hot soapy (natural of course) water and a bit of elbow grease cleans just as well if not better than chemical based products. It’s ironic isn’t it that these cleaning products were made to make our lives easier but they are poisoning and killing us?

Mold & Mildew

Tackle mold with tea tree oil: mix 2 teaspoons tea tree oil with 2 cups of water and in a spray bottle and use as necessary. Ot try this: mix one part hydrogen peroxide (3%) with two parts water in a spray bottle and spray on areas with mold. Wait at least one hour before rinsing off.

General Cleaning

Bicarbonate of soda can be used for general cleaning. Simply put a little on a damp sponge for most surfaces. For tough stains, add a little water to 1 tablespoonful of the powder, smear on and leave for 20 minutes. Rinse off.

For an all purpose cleaner combine 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp liquid soap, 2 cups hot tap water in a spray bottle and mix thoroughly

To make a stronger cleaning solution: Mix 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda into 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water. Store and keep. Use for removal of water deposit stains on shower stall panels, bathroom chrome fixtures, windows, bathroom mirrors, etc.

Fortunately there are more and more natural ecological household cleaning products coming onto the market if you want the convenience of ready made products. But if you want to reduce your risk of breast and other cancers it’s wise to get rid of the toxic chemicals in your home and detox the ones you already have in your body.

Very valuable info, Ejasun. Thanks for passing it on. It's really not a surprise because so many different cleaning products are on the market and contain so many different things. Same with air freshners and beauty products.

It makes sense. I dont know how my grandma even has hands left. For 50 years she has been cleaning everyday wrist deep in that comet cleaning stuff.

Of chemicals commonly found in homes, 150 have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychologicalabnormalities.
—Consumer Product Safety Commission

Cancer rates have continued to increase every year since 1970. Brain cancer in children is up 40% in 20 years. Toxic chemicals are largely to blame.
—NY Times, September 29, 1997

When combined, chemicals are even more dangerous. Deadly fumes result from mixing ammonia with bleach (both found in many household products) creating lethal “mustard gas”!
—U.S. Government, E.P.A.

According to the National Research Council, no toxic information is available for more than 80% of the chemicals in everyday-use products.
Only 1% of toxins are required to be listed on labels, because companies classify their formulas as "trade secrets."
—Lorie Dwornick, researcher, educator and activist, 2002

In the past 50 years more than 75,000 chemicals have been introduced into the environment. Today 300 synthetic chemicals are found in the bodies of humans. Even newborn babies have synthetic chemicals passed on from their mothers.
—REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and
Authorization of Chemicals, a European Union program)

Unregulated air pollution has caused one in six children in the Central Valley of California to suffer from asthma. More than 5000 children in the San Joaquin Valley Air District are hospitalized each year for asthma. The death rate from respiratory diseases in the Imperial Valley -- at times more than double that of the rest of the state. Up to 2.2 million Californians suffer from asthma.
—California's State Department of Health Services

Nationwide, air pollution causes between 50,000 and 100,000 premature deaths per year – and soot accounts for a majority of these. Soot is the most deadly air pollutant, accounting for more deaths than homicides or automobile accidents. According to the California Air Resources Board, diesel soot accounts for 70 percent of the cancer risk from toxic air pollution statewide.
—Earthjustice

The Washington (state) Department of Health discovered that one fourth of tested farm workers handling pesticides were overexposed to extremely hazardous chemicals. Carbamates or organophosphates can cause dizziness, breathing problems, muscle twitching, and paralysis.
Scientists are discovering a whole universe of health effects associated with the products of our industrial age with profound implications for public health and regulatory policy. The continuous appearance of toxic effects at lower and lower levels of exposure is especially troubling since low-level exposure to some chemicals is practically universal.
—The 2050 Project Newsletter, Fall 1994;
State of the World 1994, Worldwatch Institute

More than 32 million pounds of household cleaning products are poured down the drain each day nationwide. The toxic substances found in many of these are not adequately removed by sewage treatment plants. Guess what happens when these are returned to the rivers from which cities draw their drinking water?
—Spring 2002 Edition of CCA Newsletter Partners "Cleaning Without Toxic Chemicals"

More than 75,000 chemicals are licensed for commercial use.
More than 2,000 new synthetic chemicals are registered every year.
The EPA tallied close to 10,000 chemical ingredients in cosmetics, food and consumer products. Very few of these chemicals were in our environment or our bodies just 75 years ago.
In 1998, U.S. industries manufactured 6.5 trillion pounds of 9,000 different chemicals.
In 2000, major American companies dumped 7.1 billion pounds of 650 different industrial chemicals into our air and water.
Except in the case of foods, drugs or pesticides, companies are under no legal or regulatory obligation to concern themselves with how their products might harm human health.
—Alexandra Rome, Co-director of
the Sustainable Futures Group
at Commonweal, a nonprofit health
and environmental research institute,
until 2000.

Within 26 seconds after exposure to chemicals such as cleaning products, traces of these chemicals can be found in every organ in the body.
More than 1.4 million Americans exposed to household chemicals were referred to poison control centers in 2001. Of these, 824,000 were children under 6 years.
A New York sanitation worker was killed in 1998 when a hazardous liquid in household trash sprayed his face and clothes.
At any given time, there is 3.36 million tons of household hazardous waste to contend with in our country.
—Chec's HealtheHouse,
the resource for Environmental
Health Risks Affecting Your Children

In 1990, more than 4,000 toddlers under age four were admitted to hospital emergency rooms as a result of household cleaner-related injuries. That same year, three-fourths of the 18,000 pesticide-related hospital emergency room admissions were children.
Over 80 percent of adults and 90 percent of children in the United States have residues of one or more harmful pesticides in their bodies.
Petrochemical cleaning products in the home are easily absorbed into the skin. Once absorbed, the toxins travel to the blood stream and are deposited in the fatty tissues where they may exist indefinitely.
—"In Harm's Way," a study by
"The Clean Water Fund" and
"Physicians for Social Responsibility"
May 11, 2000