Ever wonder what's exposing you to the highest levels of chemicals? A new study hopes to give you an answer.
By Emily Main
It's pretty well known that products like vinyl shower curtains and floor tiles, personal care products, and household cleaners expose people to a variety of harmful chemicals that have been linked to asthma and reproductive problems, including infertility in both men and women. But when it comes to eliminating chemicals in your home, where do you start?
That's what scientists at the Silent Spring Institute were hoping to uncover with a massive review of more than 200 products, all of which were analyzed for their hazardous-chemical content. "This is the first large peer-reviewed study of its kind that has looked at such a wide range of products for hormone disruption and asthma," says the study's lead author Robin Dodson, ScD, research scientist at Silent Spring. "It gives us a much clearer snapshot of what people might be exposed to."
A number of studies have pinpointed things like fragrances, cleaners, and personal care products as a source of exposure to hormone disruptors, chemicals that act like estrogen or block testosterone in both men and women and can lead to problems with infertility, reproductive cancers, and other hormonal functions. But until now, it's never been very clear which products posed the greatest threat, says Dodson.
She and her coauthors selected 170 household products—including dish liquids, laundry detergents, lotions, sunscreens, cosmetics, vinyl shower curtains, and vinyl pillow protectors—and analyzed those for the presence of the 66 chemicals that can trigger breathing problems and reproductive abnormalities, among them:
• phthalates, linked to both asthma and infertility
• fragrances, which contain mixtures of a dozen or more chemicals and are even used in "unscented" products to mask chemical odors
• glycol ethers, asthma-triggering solvents often added to cleaning products
• parabens, preservatives used in a variety of personal care products and suspected of causing breast cancer
• triclosan, used in cosmetics and antibacterial soaps and known to interfere with reproductive hormones
• bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical used in certain plastics
The researchers also selected 43 "alternative" products that were promoted as being free of some of the above chemicals, for instance, white vinegar, nylon shower curtains, and a variety of "fragrance-free" personal care and cleaning products. To see the brand names of all the products tested, check the full list published by Silent Spring online. They detected at least one of the six chemicals listed above in nearly all products tested, including 41 of the 43 "green" or "nontoxic" products.
NOTE: Our products are not listed in this study as they are truly non-toxic :)
Please contact us, we can help you remove the toxins from your home. This will help everyone in your your home, especially those with breathing issues and allergies.
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For Your Total Wellness,
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Danna
Cruzan Sexsmith, Director II
760-662-8395
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