Household
Chemicals and Toxins
Many of the
products we use in our home and around our family contain
hazardous ingredients that endanger our health and pollute
the environment. These materials are contaminating our home
air environment, drinking water, and can cause injures as
well as result in debilitating disease.
Household
products are hazardous if they are:
·
Ignitable
- capable of burning or causing a fire
·
Corrosive
- capable of eating away materials and destroying living
tissue when contact occurs
·
Explosive
and/or Reactive
- can cause an explosion or release poisonous fumes when
exposed to air, water or other chemicals
·
Toxic
- poisonous, either immediately (acutely toxic) or over a
long period of time (chronically toxic)
·
Radioactive
- can damage and destroy cells and chromosomal material
(known to cause cancer, mutations and fetal harm)
The Federal
Hazardous Substances Act of 1960 established labeling
requirements for consumer products containing hazardous
substances. If a product has a hazardous substance, the
front label must include a warning and a description of the
hazard.
Levels
of hazards are identified this way:
DANGER
- extremely
flammable, corrosive or highly toxic.
POISON
- highly
toxic.
WARNING,
or
CAUTION
- moderately or slightly toxic.
What The Label "Doesn't Say!"
Labeling
information addresses "acute" or immediate effects only.
You are not given information about "chronic" or the
long-term hazards of chemical products, such as cancer or
birth defects.
Another
major concern, is that some products contain ingredients
that have not been officially recognized by the federal
government as hazardous but still are cause for concern.
"Inert" ingredients are chemicals added as "carriers" for
the active ingredients in cleaners and pesticides. A
manufacturer does not have to list the identity of the
"inert" ingredient. Some inert ingredients are
hazardous.
Many
chemicals have numerous trade names so consumers find it
impossible to identify or compare ingredients.
Antidotes listed on the label could be incomplete, out of
date, or even wrong. According to a 1984 report by the
National Academy of Sciences less than 2% of all chemicals
being used today in household products have been
sufficiently tested to determine safe use by humans.
Consumers are duped today by the term "Non-toxic. This
term is strictly an advertising gimmick as it has no
regulatory definition by the federal government.
Most hazardous household products can be grouped into four
major categories:
·
Automotive products which are hazardous include motor oil,
brake and transmission fluid, antifreeze and car batteries,
gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, and car wax with solvent.
·
Household cleaners include drain cleaners, oven cleaners,
toilet cleaners, spot removers, silver polishes, furniture
polishes, cleansers and powdered cleaners, window cleaners,
bleach, liquid cleaners, dyes.
·
Paints and solvents include latex, oil-based, auto and model
paint, paint stripper, primer, rust remover, turpentine,
varnish, wood preservative, mineral spirits, glues.
·
Pesticides
Other
hazardous products include: aerosol products, dry cell and
disc or button batteries, hearing aid batteries, moth balls
and flakes, shoe polish, photographic chemicals, smoke
detectors and air fresheners and deodorizers.
Let's take
a closer look at hazardous ingredients and their effects on
people.
Hazardous Household Products
|
Product Type |
Possible Ingredients |
Potential Hazards |
|
Air fresheners and deodorizers |
Formaldehyde |
Toxic; carcinogen; irritant to eyes, nose, throat and skin;
may cause nausea, headaches, nose
bleeds, dizziness, memory loss, and
shortness of breath |
|
Bleach |
Sodium hypochlorite |
Corrosive; irritates or burns skin, eyes, respiratory tract;
may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting
and coma if ingested; contact with other
chemicals may cause chlorine fumes |
|
Disinfectants |
Sodium hypochlorite |
Corrosive; irritates or burns skin, eyes; may cause pulmonary
edema. or vomiting and coma if ingested |
|
|
Phenols |
Flammable; very toxic; respiratory, circulatory or cardiac
damage |
|
|
Ammonia |
Vapor irritating to eyes, respiratory tract and skin;
possible chronic irritation |
|
Drain Cleaner |
Sodium or potassium hydroxide (Iye) |
Caustic; irritant; inhibits reflexes; burns to skin,
poisonous if swallowed due to severe
tissue damage |
|
|
Hydrochloric acid |
Corrosive, irritant; damage to kidney, liver and digestive
system |
|
|
Trichloromethane |
Irritant to nose and eyes; central nervous system depression,
liver and kidney damage if ingested |
|
Flea Powder |
Carbaryl |
Very toxic; interferes with human nervous system; may cause
skin, respiratory system, cardiovascular
system damage |
|
|
Dichlorophene |
Skin irritation; may damage liver, kidney, spleen and central
nervous system |
|
|
Chlordane and other chlorinated
hydrocarbons |
Very slow biodegradation; accumulates in food chain; may
damage eyes, lungs, liver, kidneys and
skin |
|
Floor Cleaner/Wax |
Diethylene Glycol |
Toxic, causes central nervous system depression and kidney,
liver lesions |
|
|
Petroleum Solvents |
Highly flammable; associated with skin and lung cancer,
irritant to skin, eyes, nose, throat,
lungs |
|
|
Ammonia |
Vapor irritation to eyes, respiratory tract and skin;
possible chronic irritation |
|
Furniture Polish |
Petroleum distillates or Mineral spirits |
Highly flammable, moderately toxic, associated with skin and
lung cancer, irritant to skin, eyes,
nose, throat, lungs, entry into lungs
may cause pulmonary edema |
|
Oven Cleaner
|
Sodium or potassium hydroxide (Iye)
|
Caustic; irritant, inhibits reflexes; burns to skin, eyes;
poisonous if swallowed due to severe
tissue damage |
|
Spot Removers |
Perchlorethylene or trichloromethane |
Slow decomposition; liver and kidney damage; perchlorethylene
is a suspected carcinogen |
|
|
Ammonium hydroxide |
Corrosive; vapor extremely irritable to skin, eyes and
respiratory passages; ingestion causes
tissue burns |
|
|
Sodium hypochlorite |
Corrosive, irritates skin, eyes, respiratory tract; may cause
pulmonary edema and skin burns |
|
Toilet Bowl Cleaner |
Sodium acid sulfate, oxalate or
hypochloric acid |
Corrosive; burns from skin contact or inhalation; ingestion
may be fatal |
|
|
Chlorinated phenols |
Flammable; very toxic; respiratory, circulatory or cardiac
damage |
|
Window Cleaners |
Diethylene glycol |
Toxic; causes central nervous system depression and
degenerative lesions in liver and
kidneys |
|
|
Ammonia |
Vapor irritating to eyes; respiratory tract and skin;
possible chronic irritation |
|
_________________________________________
Written by Diane
Gardner
Diane is a mother of
2, grandmother of 4, and the author of
http://www.parentawarenesscenter.com and
http://www.wahmhotline.com Diane has been a
successful entrepreneur for 20 years developing both off
line and online businesses. She is dedicated to
helping women and is a personal success coach.
She has a passion for helping parents with health issues,
natural alternatives,
toxic awareness
and much more.
She is also dedicated to helping women in business and moms
who would like to work from home successfully.
Toxic
Awareness