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Petrochemicals in the Home
Petrochemicals are everywhere. The average household contains 63 different synthetic organic chemical products which total approximately 10 gallons of potentially hazardous petrochemicals. And even more surprising is the form which these toxic household substances take. While we may point to that old can of paint or jug of antifreeze, in reality most hazardous chemicals are found in an unlikely place - common household cleaners. Most of today's household cleaners are based on petrochemicals.
Before the "petroleum revolution," people used natural ingredients like vegetable oils and minerals to make soaps and cleaning solutions. Once scientists learned how to manipulate hydrocarbon molecules, they realized they could create cheaper chemicals from crude oil that would do the same job with less manufacturing effort. Within a generation of this discovery, plant-based cleaners were replaced by mass produced petrochemical products.
If you're using common household cleaners, you're likely to encounter the following chemicals (among many others), and the following effects, while cleaning:
- Chlorinated phenols found in toilet bowl cleaners are toxic to respiratory and circulatory systems.
- Diethylene glycol found in window cleaners depresses the nervous system.
- Phenols found in disinfectants are toxic to respiratory and circulatory systems.
- Nonyl phenol ethoxylate, a common surfactant (or detergent) found in laundry detergents and all purpose cleaners, is banned in Europe, and biodegrades slowly into even more toxic compounds.
- Formaldehyde found in spray and wick deodorizers is a respiratory irritant and suspected carcinogen.
- Petroleum solvents in floor cleaners damage mucous membranes.
- Perchloroethylene, a spot remover, causes liver and kidney damage.
- Butyl cellosolve, common in all-purpose, window and other types of cleaners damages bone marrow, the nervous system, kidneys and the liver.
The list could fill a book and includes thousands of other chemicals some of which are so dangerous that they're included on lists of chemicals involved in Superfund toxic waste sites and in the toxics section of the Clean Air and Water Acts.
Unfortunately, it's not easy to identify which products contain these hazardous ingredients. While cleaners are the only household products regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act, they're still not required to reveal their ingredients. These ingredients are considered "trade secrets" so government regulations are actually designed to protect this proprietary information rather than to protect human health or the environment.
When it comes to cleaners, the consumer has little to go on beyond the warning labels that manufacturers are required to put on their products. The labels DANGER, WARNING and CAUTION give only a very general idea about the overall seriousness of the unknown substances the products contain. In fact, a New York Poison Control Center study found that 85% of product warning labels are inadequate. These warnings only apply to the immediate health effects that a product causes and don't address what really happens when we use them over a long period of time.
The average household contains anywhere from 3 to 25 gallons of toxic materials, most of which are in conventional household cleaners. When we use conventional cleaners in our homes, petrochemicals from different products often form hazardous new substances when they accidentally meet. These hazardous substances affect us in many ways. Often they're absorbed through our skin; they can stay suspended in the air for hours or even days after the product has been used; and they can leave residues behind that end up on our skin or on our food. The results can be deadly.
A 15 year study in Oregon, comparing women who didn't work outside the home with women who did, found a 54% higher death rate from cancer in the women who stayed home. The study suggested that chronic exposure to cleaning products played a role.
Each year there are 5-10 million household product poisonings reported - mostly of children. With all these chemicals in our homes, it's no wonder that the EPA found the air quality in our homes to be on average 2-5 times more polluted than the air outside. The EPA found that our indoor air contains 20-150 different pollutants in concentrations 10-40 times higher than those outdoors - much of it from petrochemical cleaners. There are roughly 17,000 petrochemicals available for public and home use of which the National Research Council estimates that less than 30% have been tested for their effects on human and environmental health. |
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