Making your home a safer
and less toxic place for your family
1) Breathing easier:
Cleaning up indoor air pollution
In the past 20 years, the construction of “tight” energy-efficient
buildings has led to a sharp reduction in the amount of fresh
air entering our homes, schools and workplaces. At the same
time, our buildings have been filling up
with fumes from
paints, stains, furniture, household cleaning products, and
other synthetic materials, and the results are startling.
According to research conducted by the EPA, the air inside
the average home is typically 2 to 5 times more polluted than
the air just outside its walls. One five-year study found
that the levels of certain chemicals in many homes were
70 times higher than they were outdoors. Another study
examining indoor air quality in six cities discovered that
peak concentrations of 20 toxic chemicals were a remarkable
200 to 500 times higher inside than the highest
concentrations recorded outside. When the Consumer
Products Safety Commission studied air pollution, it found
that outdoor air contained an average of less than 10 volatile
organic compounds (or VOCs, a type of airborne pollutant)
while indoor air contained approximately 150.
This indoor air pollution has many sources. A wide variety of
household cleaners and products like window and all-purpose
cleaners, paints and stains contain toxic materials called
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are designed to
quickly evaporate into the air to aid drying. Hot chlorinated
water, such as that emitted by an automatic dishwasher or
a shower, can fill the air with chloroform and other
chlorine-related compounds. For up to five years after their
manufacture, furniture constructed from pressed composite
wood products like plywood or particleboard gives off
formaldehyde gas, which comes from the resins used to
make these materials. Improperly vented gas stoves and other
combustion devices add carbon monoxide and particulate
pollution to indoor air. Other common sources of indoor air
pollution are aerosol sprays and air fresheners. In homes
where these products were used frequently, mothers suffered
from 25% more headaches and 19% more depression, and
infants under six months of age had 30% more ear infections
and 22% higher incidence of diarrhea, according to a study
at Bristol University in England that was published by New
Scientist in 1999.
To reduce the impact of indoor air pollutants, circulate fresh
air through your house as often as possible. Use cleaning
products made from natural and non-toxic ingredients.
When remodeling, ask for low-VOC paints and stains.
Avoid the use of spray paint. Purchase furniture made
from whole wood. Make sure your furnace, stove, and other
combustion devices are inspected and vented to the outside.
Fill your home with houseplants, which naturally filter air
and provide fresh oxygen.
2) The green clean:
Choosing safer cleaning products
The average household contains anywhere from 3 to 25
gallons of toxic materials, most of which are hiding in the
cleaners we use. These materials fill the air inside our
homes with hazardous fumes and leave unhealthy residues
on household surfaces. Unfortunately, cleaning products are
not required to list ingredients on their labels so we have no
concrete way of knowing how hazardous a particular product
is. Instead, we must rely on labels that use words like
‘Warning,’ ‘Caution,’ ‘Danger,’ or ‘Poison.’ And even then,
not all hazardous cleaners will offer such warnings. In
2000, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10%
of all toxic exposures reported to U.S. Poison Control
Centers, accounting for over 206,000 calls, over half of
which were about children under the age of six.
To detoxify your house, rid yourself of cleaners that are toxic
or that you suspect may be toxic. Do not dispose of them
in the garbage; your local Department of Sanitation or
Solid Waste can tell you where to take these hazardous
household wastes.
When you buy new cleaning products, look for manufacturers
that list their natural ingredients on the label and purchase
cleaners containing non-petroleum-based surfactants, that
are chlorine and phosphate free, that claim to be “non-toxic”
and that are biodegradable. These products often clean as
effectively as their petrochemical counterparts, but don’t
pollute your home in the process. Awareness of this issue is
growing, and product lines of environmentally sound cleaning
products (such as ours!) are available in natural foods stores,
online and in many supermarkets. A note of caution: some
cleaners may advertise that they are “environmentally sound”
but will fail to provide a full list of ingredients. Remember,
the manufacturer that gives you the most information about
its product is usually a manufacturer you can trust.
3) Clearing out the chlorine in cleaners
Many household cleaners contain hazardous chlorine. This
dangerous toxin often masquerades behind aliases such as
“sodium hypochlorite,” or just “hypochlorite,” or in
chlorinated compounds that can be identified on product
labels by the use of “chlor” in the chemical’s name. Chlorine
is a dangerous chemical to keep in the house. In 2001, 51,815
household exposures to chlorine were reported to poison
control centers, more than any other chemical.
Whether found alone or in a mixture of other chemicals,
household products that contain chlorine pose a number
of serious health risks. These products typically include
automatic dishwashing detergents, non-oxygen laundry
bleach, disinfectant cleaners, mildew removers, and
toilet bowl cleaners. Breathing in the fumes of cleaners
containing high concentrations of chlorine can irritate the
lungs. This is particularly dangerous for people suffering from
heart conditions or chronic respiratory problems such as
asthma or emphysema. And the risks are compounded when
the cleaners are used in small, poorly ventilated rooms, such
as the bathroom. Chlorine is also a highly corrosive substance,
capable of damaging skin, eyes, and other membranes.
Using dishwasher detergents that contain chlorine can pollute
the air in your home. Hot water in these machines transfers
the chlorine from the detergent to the air through a process
called volatilization. Chlorine gases are then released in
a steamy toxic mist when the machine door is opened
after washing.
Whenever chlorine is used in the home, it typically ends
up getting washed down the drain by the person or machine
who used it. In this way, chlorine enters the environment.
Once there, it easily reacts with naturally occurring organic
materials, like rotting leaves, in water and soil to create
carcinogenic compounds called trihalomethanes, or
chloroform, which poison our environment and harm
human health.
Whether you use it for household cleaning or laundry
bleaching, replace chlorinated cleaners with safer alternatives.
Since chlorine is primarily used as a sanitizing or bleaching
agent, such strategies can include the substitution of sanitizing
agents made from hydrogen peroxide, and bleaches that use
oxygen or peroxide.
4) It’s a gas, gas, gas: What you don’t know
about your carpets can hurt you
What’s one of the most polluting elements in the typical
home? Would you believe it’s the carpet? Carpets are made
primarily from synthetic fibers attached to a petrochemical
backing material. Beneath the carpet is probably padding
made of polyurethane. Often carpets are bonded to the floor
with special glues that may contain as many as 120 chemicals,
including benzene, toluene and formaldehyde. All of these
materials slowly give off toxic fumes as they age. This process
is called outgassing or offgassing. While outgassing generally
decreases over time and is most hazardous during the first
several months of a carpet’s life (for example, when you smell
that “new carpet smell”), it can continue for years, especially
if the house is in a hot and humid location.
Choose rugs made from cotton, wool, jute and sisal rugs
instead of synthetic fibers. Do not use glues to affix them.
Make sure any carpets you purchase are not treated with stain
repellents, mothproofing agents, or any other chemicals. If you
do use synthetic carpeting, insist that it is aired out first in the
dealer’s warehouse for a minimum of a week and ideally 2 to 3
weeks before installation. This will let the peak outgassing
period occur outside your home. If this isn’t possible, leave the
carpet as loosely rolled as possible for as long as possible in
your garage before installation.
5) You’ve been taken to the cleaners by your dry cleaner
The process called “dry cleaning” is not dry at all. Rather,
garments are soaked in perchloroethylene (perc), a persistent
toxic chlorinated chemical that is highly volatile and has been
linked to cancer, birth defects, damage to the central nervous
system, and a host of short-term effects such as dizziness,
nausea and shortness of breath. While all the perc is suppos
to evaporate while clothes are at the dry cleaners, it is
trapped by the plastic bags that wrap the garments and can
then outgas for up to a week after you bring these garments
home. If you must use a traditional dry cleaner, always air out
any freshly dry-cleaned clothing in a remote location like a
garage for 3 to 4 days before bringing it into your home.
In the last several years, “wet cleaning” technology has been
developed to clean clothes that need delicate handling. The
process requires the cleaner to spend less money on
equipment and chemicals and more on training store
personnel to combine hand washing, spot cleaning, steaming
and pressing. The stores use precision washing machines that
can clean delicate fabric safely without stressing it. The
cleaning agents used at “wet cleaners” are purchased with an
eye toward protecting the environment and worker and
customer health. Toxic solvents like perc are not used.
6) This time it’s personal:
Non-toxic personal care products
The average American bathroom cabinet is a veritable chemicopia
of soap, mouthwash, toothpaste, shampoo, and hygiene
products. These products contain a wide variety of chemical
compounds and synthetic substances, the safety of which
remains questionable. In spite of this important point, federal
government regulations continue to allow incomplete
ingredient disclosure on the labels of many personal care
products. The result in these cases is that consumers simply
don’t know what chemicals they are applying to sensitive
areas of their bodies every day.
There are a number of natural products on the market. The
best ones will provide a list of ingredients, and most of these
ingredients will have familiar names. (Natural soaps, for
instance, will contain coconut, corn, soy, canola, or olive oil.)
Of particular concern are tampons, which are made from
rayon (highly chlorine-bleached wood pulp) and/or low-grade
cotton, which has often been grown overseas and has been
treated with DDT or other pesticides. Many tampons are
subjected to chlorine-based bleaching. These kinds of
feminine care products can expose women to the highly toxic
dioxin they contain. The best rule of thumb is to have
minimum impact. Unbleached is better than bleached,
organic cotton is better than non-organic. Sanitary pads are
less invasive than tampons; these also come in non-chlorinebleached
varieties.
7) Baby products with grown-up problems
Out of all the members of our families, the littlest people in
our lives need the greatest protection from toxic products
because they are at the greatest risk from harm. Pound for
pound, babies’ and children’s higher metabolisms mean they
ingest more food and air than adults and so are exposed to
higher relative levels of common toxins. At the same time,
young bodies have fewer defenses against these toxins because
their immune and detoxification systems are still very much
under construction. In fact, depending on the organ or system
in question, development of these crucial protection systems
lasts into the early teens.
Given these facts, it’s surprising to learn that many of the
personal care and other products designed specifically for
children contain the same toxic ingredients as products made
for adults. These ingredients include petrochemical dyes,
artificial fragrances, harsh alcohols, mineral oils,
formaldehyde, talc, and many other chemicals.
In general, the less baby care products you use, the healthier
your baby will be. When selecting those products you do
choose to use, look for those with all-natural and non-toxic
ingredients, and as few total ingredients as possible. When it
comes to our kids, simpler is always better! Choose products
which contain natural soaps instead of synthetic surfactants,
essentials oils instead of artificial fragrances; aloe and herbal
moisturizers instead of petroleum jelly and mineral oil, and
no dyes, alcohols, parabens, chemicals like quaternium-15
or ethanolamines, or anything else that looks like it might
be synthetic in nature. Stay away from fluoride toothpastes
because fluoride is poisonous. (That’s why such toothpastes
have warning labels!). Never use talc or talcum powder
products because talc is a mineral that can be contaminated
with asbestos; use corn starch powders instead. Choose
unbleached or non-chlorine-bleached paper products, wipes,
and diapers to keep the threat of dioxin away from your baby.
8) We’re not playing around:
there’s trouble in toyland
The last thing you would expect to be toxic would be a child’s
toy. Yet, many of our children’s toys are manufactured with
materials which, if found in a landfill, would be considered
toxic waste. Many toys (including Barbie dolls) are made
of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a chlorinated plastic whose
production and disposal creates large amounts of highly toxic
wastes. More importantly, PVC requires the use of plasticizing
chemicals called phthalates to keep it flexible and soft. Recent
studies have clearly shown that the phthalate plasticizers in
PVC toys are easily transferred to the bodies of the children
who play with them when those children put the toys in their
mouths or inhale the minute amounts of volatile phthalate
fumes PVC products routinely emit.
This news is troubling because recent studies have linked
exposure to phthalates to reproductive and developmental
disorders, cancer, and organ damage. According to
Greenpeace, children are exposed to a variety of these
plasticizers via vinyl childcare products like toys. Product
testing by researchers showed that phthalates are being used
in children’s products at levels as high as 33% of some
products’ total weight. Although the Consumer Products
Safety Commission has requested that toy manufacturers
cease using polyvinyl chloride, many PVC toys are still on
the market.
The best option is to purchase non-plastic toys. That may be
seen by some parents as unrealistic given today’s toy market,
so if you do buy plastic toys, look for toys made from
polyethylene or polypropylene, both of which are nonchlorinated.
Writing letters of concern to manufacturers
that still use PVC is an effective way to ensure safer toys
in the future.
9) The 12 most important foods to eat organic
Organic foods are grown and processed without toxic and
persistent chemical pesticides and fertilizers. They’re sold free
of petroleum waxes and fungicides. Emerging research also
shows that they likely contain higher levels of important
nutrients than conventionally (i.e. chemically) grown foods.
In short, no matter how you slice them, organic foods are a
better, healthier choice all the way around the plate.
According to recent studies, the following specific foods
are most likely to be contaminated by unhealthy levels of
pesticides and are therefore the 12 most important foods
to eat organic:
strawberries
bell peppers
nectarines
cherries
peaches
spinach
celery
apples
pears
potatoes
imported grapes
red raspberries
10) Banish pests without poisons
We use pesticides because they are good at killing pests, but
that’s their problem: they’re good at killing! And the damage
these toxic chemicals can cause often extends to human
beings as well.
Compounding the problem is the fact that pesticides are not
required to provide a complete list of ingredients on their
labels. While the active ingredients must be listed, these
materials usually make up a tiny percentage of the total
volume of the product. Missing from product labels are
ingredients like carrier and dispersal agents, and other
so-called “inert” ingredients. In many instances, however,
these other “inerts” are anything but and are often as toxic
as the active ingredients.
A healthy home is one without chemical pesticide products.
There are non-toxic alternatives for almost every use of
pesticides. Keep food stored in securely closed containers.
Use mousetraps instead of mouse poison. Boric acid and
pepper sprinkled in the back of cupboards and along
baseboards and the inside of crawlspace walls are effective
insect barriers. Cedar chips and herbal sachets repel moths
in closets and drawers. Outside, plant mint, marigolds, onions
or garlic at the border of gardens to keep out unwanted
insects. Use the same plants along the walls of your house
to keep pests from coming inside. Erect houses for swallows,
martins and bats in your yard to keep your property free from
flying insects.
11) It’s straining cats and dogs:
healthier pet care
Just as ridding our homes of toxic products will have a
salutary effect on our health, an awareness of toxic chemicals
in pet care products can protect our animal friends as well.
Flea bombs, collars, powders, sprays and shampoos all contain
pesticides – nervous system poisons that are hazardous to
animals and humans alike. To make your pet flea-free, try
feeding it small amounts of brewer’s yeast and garlic. Rubbing
its fur with cloves, or citrus, eucalyptus, or pennyroyal oils is
another way to repel fleas. Toxic carpets and flooring are
much more dangerous to pets than humans because they
spend so much time lying on the floor. Replace them if you
can. And provide a soft bed that prevents direct contact
with floors. Lawn chemicals pose an equally serious problem.
Although you may not use them, your pet may encounter
them on neighbors’ lawns. As you walk your dog or let your
cat out, be aware of lawns posted with signs from recent
spraying. If your pet encounters a sprayed lawn, thoroughly
rinse your pet with clean water as soon as possible.
it is not surprising that most pet food is generally of very low
quality and full of chemicals and additives. Like humans, pets
benefit from a diet of fresh meat, fruits and vegetables
(organic if possible). Unlike humans, your pet will benefit
from these foods if they are eaten raw. Studies have shown
generations of cats fed raw meat over the course of a decade
enjoyed much better health than cats fed cooked meat.
12) Water, water everywhere,
but is it safe to drink?
Almost all water that has passed through a municipal water
treatment plant has been treated with chlorine and/or
chlorine dioxide. This brings several chlorinated pollutants
into our homes and bodies every day. One such chlorinated
pollutant is trihalomethane or chloroform, which is formed
when chlorine combines with natural organic matter in water
supplies. Chloroform has been linked to liver, kidney and
nervous system damage, as well as cancer. It is also released as
a vapor from hot running water, such as in a shower. Metals
used in water pipes can bring lead, cadmium, copper, iron and
zinc to our taps.
Filters can remove some, but not all, contaminants in water.
To determine which type of filter is best for your needs, you
first should check with your local water department to
determine what pollutants are in your water source and what
treatment the water receives from the municipality. There
are many less-than-scrupulous vendors of water filters; look
for the one that gives you the most information.
Buying bottled water is no guarantee of purity. Regulations
governing bottled water are inconsistent from place to place.
The better bottled water is in glass (plastic leaches chemicals
into water) and lists the source of the water and what
treatment, if any, is performed before bottling.
13) Ensure your dreams aren’t nightmares:
Select non-toxic bedding
We spend a third of our lives sleeping, but most people drift
off to dreamland each night in a cloud of chemicals. That’s
because modern mattresses are made of polyurethane foam
that has been treated with fire retardants, covered with
polyester mattress pads, and finished with sheets treated
with formaldehyde for a permanent press finish. Our
blankets may be treated as well. Or they might be electric
and surrounding us with a potentially hazardous
electromagnetic field as we sleep.
The solution to such unhealthy bedding is the same as it is
for our cleaners or home furnishings: a return to natural
materials. In the last decade, bedding made from cotton and
wool (especially futons) has once again become commonly
available. One hundred percent cotton sheets—which need
ironing—are back in linen stores. Look for “green cotton,”
which has not been bleached with chlorine or treated with
formaldehyde, or better yet untreated organic cotton. Pillows
come in wool and cotton, with down or buckwheat straw fillers
(make sure straw filler has not been chemically fumigated).
For cold winter nights, there are cotton and down comforters,
and cotton flannel sheets. An old-fashioned hot-water bottle
placed at the foot of the bed just before retiring works
wonders. If you do use an electric blanket, use it only to
warm up the bed before you get in it. Once you settle down
to sleep, shut it off and let body heat do the rest.
14) Paper peddling:
Choosing better paper products
From writing and wrapping paper to bathroom tissue and
paper towels, the vast majority of the paper Americans use
has been bleached with chlorine or chlorine compounds.
When these chemicals react with a natural material called
lignin present in the wood pulp from which paper is made, a
variety of chlorinated toxins called dioxin are inadvertently
created. Dioxin is one of the most toxic materials known
and is capable of causing toxic effects at levels hundreds of
thousands of times lower than most other chemicals. Like
most chlorinated chemicals, dioxin also resists biodegradation
and persists in the environment for long periods of time.
This allows it to accumulate in the food chain and in human
beings. Dioxin is so widespread in the environment that
virtually every man, woman, and child in America has it in
their bodies.
The solution is the use of unbleached paper, especially in the
kitchen where things like bleached paper towels and coffee
filters can transfer the dioxin contamination they contain to
foods. Chlorine-free paper products do not contribute to the
world’s burden of dioxin. Another alternative is non-chlorine
bleached paper. This paper is typically bleached with safe
hydrogen peroxide, an oxygen-based bleach which breaks
down into water and oxygen when used and does not create
dioxin. Using these safe paper products keeps your home,
family, and environment healthier.
15) Fire retardants feel the heat
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) make excellent
flame retardants because they break down when exposed to
the high temperatures found in fires. When this breakdown
occurs, bromine atoms are released, and bromine is extremely
effective at slowing and even stopping the fundamental
chemical processes responsible for oxygen-dependent fire.
In essence, PBDEs act as built-in automatic fire extinguishers.
PBDEs moved into the marketplace in the late 1970s when
a related class of brominated fire retardants called
polybrominated biphenyls (or PBBs if you can keep all these
acronyms straight!) were banned following a contaminated
cattle feed scare. Since that time, their use has been rising
consistently. Today, approximately 50,000 metric tons of these
materials are produced around the world each year, and 40%
of this global total is consumed in North America. PBDEs are
primarily used in plastics and foams. As the polymers that
make up these materials are being combined, PBDEs are
added to the mix. The resulting fire-resistant materials find
their way into such wide variety of products that it’s a
challenge even to list all the categories of goods that contain
them. PDBEs are found in computers and peripherals, circuit
boards, televisions and other home electronics, coffee makers
and other consumer devices, household wiring, smoke
detectors, carpets, car seating, polyurethane foams like those
found in furniture and mattresses, and imitation wood
products, just to name a few.
Unfortunately, PBDEs do not chemically bind to the plastics
and foams they’re used in. Instead, like nuts in a cookie, they
remain loose in the final product, completely unattached to
or absorbed by anything on a molecular level. These “free
floating” PBDEs are able to easily leach out of any materials
that contain them. As soon as they do, they make their way to
the environment where they’ve been found in ever increasing
amounts in everything from fatty foods to household dust.
This growing contamination is of grave concern because
PBDEs are chemically related to dioxin and PCBs, and
although they are not yet officially classified as persistent
organic pollutants, they exhibit all the trademarks of those
fellow toxins: they are extremely resistant to biodegradation
and are able to persist in the environment for very long
periods of time, they are highly efficient travelers, and they
tend to accumulate in animal fatty tissues and move up
the food chain.
The most worrisome aspect of this pollution is the ability
of minute amounts of PBDEs to disrupt the body’s thyroid
system by depressing levels of key thyroidal hormones. This
depression can have serious health effects for adults including
fatigue, depression, anxiety, unexplained weight gain, hair loss
and low libido. More troubling still, children born to women
experiencing such reduced hormonal levels are more likely to
have low IQs. Studies have also linked elevated levels of
PBDEs to permanent learning and memory impairment,
behavioral changes, hearing deficits, delayed puberty onset,
decreased sperm count, and developmental disorders.
Fortunately, there are safer alternatives to PBDEs and many
manufacturers are now adopting them, a move that tends to
undercut industry arguments that a ban on these compounds
would lead to increased fire deaths and injuries. In addition to
safer substitutes that include compounds based on organic
phosphorous, nitrogen, and inorganic flame retardants,
companies are finding that they can design more fire-resistant
products simply by keeping flammable parts separated from
those parts that create heat and by using materials that
are naturally fire resistant in the first place. With these
replacement technologies in mind, recent laws have been
passed in the European Union and California that will
phase out PBDEs in coming years.
During California’s phase-out period, legislation will require
manufacturers to place prominent PBDE warning labels on
products that contain these chemicals. In many cases, these
labels will presumably appear nationally as companies forgo
separate state-by-state labeling in favor of a cheaper one-sizefits-
all approach. However, companies will not be legally
required to alert consumers in other states to the presence of
PBDEs in their products. In the possible absence of such
warning labels, concerned shoppers are advised to be especially
leery of electronic devices and products like furniture that
contain foams, the two main domestic sources of PBDE.
There are also steps you can take to protect yourself and your
family from PBDEs that may already be present in your home:
• Avoid synthetic foams and synthetic foam-filled furniture
unless you’re sure they’re PBDE-free. Choose natural
stuffings like cotton and wool fibers instead or buy from
companies that have removed PBDEs from their products.
IKEA is one company that no longer sells furniture with
brominated flame retardants.
• Replace, cover, or reupholster older foam-containing
products, especially if pregnant women or children are
present in the home. As foam ages, it decays and becomes
crumbly. This degradation promotes the release of PBDEs.
• Exercise caution when removing and/or replacing foam
padding beneath any carpeting. Carefully clean up any dust
left behind.
• Dust your home regularly and cautiously. Household dust
has been found to be a prime migratory destination for
PBDEs that leach out of plastics. When dusting, use damp
cloths so that dust is captured and removed rather than
simply being stirred back into the air.
• Use a HEPA filtration vacuum cleaner on floors.
• When buying new electronic products like computers and
home entertainment systems choose components made by
companies that do not use PBDEs. Companies that are
currently phasing out PBDEs or have stopped using them
entirely include computer chip maker Intel, Philips
Consumer Electronics, Sony Electronics, Motorola, IBM,
and Apple Computer. Consumers are encouraged to contact
any company whose products they are unsure of to ask
about PBDE use.
  Infinite Health Resources does not at any point, for any circumstances suggest that you do not follow or stop medical advice of your physician. We do not advocate any drugs that has not been prescribed by your physician, nor suggest that we are medical doctors nor are we giving medical advice. Infinite Health Resources is here purely as a resource. |
