Are You Living In a Toxic Dump?
By: Leanne
According to Associated Content, toxic chemicals in common household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than air pollution. This means it is very possible that the air in your home is more toxic than the air outside if you are using toxic products. Each year, more than 7 million accidental poisonings occur, with more than 75 % of them involving children under the age of 6.
It only takes a minute to check labels. You should already be checking food product labels. Shouldn't you also be concerned about the chemicals you are releasing into your home, where you breathe, eat and sleep? The next time you wash dishes, clean a tub or toilet, or polish your furniture, look at the product label. "Human Hazard Signal Words" required by federal law for products containing harmful ingredients are "Caution", "Warning" and "Danger". Have you ever thought about what they mean?
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CAUTION: |
An ounce to a pint may be fatal or harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man. |
| WARNING: | A teaspoon to an ounce may be fatal or harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man. |
| DANGER/POISON: |
Only a few drops may be fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man. |
There is a list easily found on the internet of "common household products which contain known carcinogens (chemicals that cause cancer) and/or neurotoxins (chemicals that adversely affect the nervous system)" (from The Safe Shoppers Bible, by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein). I started to include the list here, but it only included about 80 products and there are hundreds of toxic products on the market today. Since you're here, I know you can read, which means you can read labels and become conscious of what you're releasing into your home and life. Don't rely on someone else to tell you what is healthy or not. Educate yourself. With the internet at your fingertips, it only takes a little time and effort on your part and the payoff could save your life or the lives of those you love. It also doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that "Lysol disinfectant" is probably not good for you. Most cleaning product labels don't even include ingredients. There's a reason for that. Companies are protected by trade secrets and are not required to list their ingredients; only the damage they can do to you. Think about that. They don't have to tell you what's in there!
Think about this:
There are many well known and documented examples of chemicals that actually cause cancer in humans. For example the fumes of the metals cadmium, nickel, and chromium will cause lung cancer. Sarcomas are known to be caused by vinyl chloride, while the exposure to arsenic substantially increases the risk of skin and lung cancer. Chemically induced changes in bone marrow by toxic chemicals such as benzene and cyclophosphamide and other toxic chemicals result in leukemia. Scientific organizations funded by governments consider benzo[a]pyrene and ethylene dibromide to be carcinogenic to humans as they are potent carcinogens in test animals. All of these chemicals can be found in common household cleaners.
The sad fact of the matter is that cancer induced by chemicals takes many years to establish and may not become apparent until long after the chronic low level exposure has stopped, as may be the case with an infant crawling on surfaces which have been cleaned with toxic chemicals used by an an unaware mother.*
Is it really worth your LIFE, or the life of your loved one, to feel that you've killed every last germ in your home and left it smelling piney fresh? Our obsession with clean is killing us.
Dr. Virginia Salares, a specialist in indoor air quality, said, "If you find that it has ingredients, which is a chemical you can’t even pronounce, you don’t know what it is, you don’t know how it can affect you. I think it’s about time you think, should I be using this?"
Would you knowingly spray a pesticide all over your kitchen counters and floors in your home? Would you wipe anything at ALL in or around your home with a pesticide?
Lysol Anti-bacterial Action Spray (I'm not picking on Lysol on purpose, it just happened this way) contains not only denatured ethanol, which "May cause irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes, may cause central nervous system depression if inhaled or ingested", according to Dr. Salares; it also contains alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride — a pesticide.
Is your home a toxic dump? I know mine was. But then knowledge brings accountability, doesn't it?
Guide To Less Toxic Products is a valuable source of information on less toxic alternatives that you can buy and make yourself.
Less Toxic Household Alternatives from the University of Florida, IFAS Extension.
Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit
Debra's List of natural cleanining products.
*Research: Reporter: Wendy Mesley; Producer: Gaelyne Leslie; Researcher: Louisa Jaslow; http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/home/cleaners/index2.html More Information