Exposure to small doses of toxic chemicals may not kill you or make you sick immediately, but the
damaging effects of environmental toxins and poisons can accumulate over time and eventually
ruin your health. Avoiding sources of toxic substances may allow you
to live longer and have a healthier life.
The harmful effects of low levels of contaminants can usually be determined after many years of analysis.
Sometimes, occupational diseases provide clues about environmental contaminants.
The Romans were aware that lead could cause serious health problems like madness and death, so
they used slaves to mine the lead used for their pipes. The expression "mad as a hatter" originated
from the neurological damage and mental confusion suffered by workers who cured felt with mercury
compounds in the manufacture of hats. In modern times, it has been recognized that inhalation of asbestos,
coal dust, cotton fiber dust, and tobacco smoke can result in decreased lung function, cancer, and death.
Even if you live and work in a fairly clean environment, you may be exposed
to harmful substances every day because many types of chemicals are used in
farming, food production, and the manufacture of consumer goods.
For example, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) which are used widely as flame-retardant additives in
polyurethane foam for carpet padding, mattresses, chairs, sofas and other furniture have been
found in the food supply, including fish and many animal fats. The fire retardants have also
been detected in humans and in human milk across the globe.
Contamination by flame retardants is of concern because they are endocrine-disrupting compounds
with the potential to profoundly affect sexual development.[1]
While you may not be able to avoid widely dispersed contaminants, you can reduce
your exposure to harmful chemicals at home and in your workplace using three basic principles:
Breathe clean air
Avoid skin contact with harmful chemicals
Do not eat food or drink water with harmful chemicals, harmful bacteria, or parasites
You can use protective equipment such as face masks to filter the air that you breathe, or
gloves to protect your hands from coming in contact with harmful chemicals. However,
you will need to unlearn the things that television commercials have taught you.
You will need to think for yourself.
For example, advertisements teach you that if the room smells, you have to use a room deodorizing
spray or some plug-in gadget that disperses heated scented oil into the air that you breathe.
Before you use a room deodorizing spray such as Lysol, think: If the spray really kills the germs,
what will it do to the cells of your lungs? What should you do? Get rid of the source of the smell and
open the windows to get fresh air! Throw out that garbage and clean up the mess with a non-aerosol
cleaner that will not contaminate the air that you breathe.
Manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients used in laundry products, air fresheners, and
many household cleaners. Most perfumed products such dryer sheets, fabric softeners, laundry detergents,
liquid spray air fresheners, plug-in air fresheners, and solid disc deodorizers used in toilets contain
many organic chemicals which vaporize and can be harmful. Sensitive individuals may suffer headaches, seizures,
asthma attacks, or shortness of breath from exposure to the volatile chemicals.
Here are some suggestions to keep in mind throughout your home:
Avoid insecticide sprays. Use baited traps that don't contaminate the air, your mops, and your brooms
Avoid touching or breathing powdered detergents or dishwasher soaps
Avoid using Teflon pans at high temperatures because they generate toxic fumes
Avoid fumes from the stove oven's cleaning cycle and from food cooked at high heat because
harmful chemicals are created at high temperatures
Don't use charcoal grills indoors because they produce poisonous carbon monoxide.
Avoid microwave popcorn that uses diacetyl as an artificial butter flavoring ingredient. This chemical has
been associated with fixed obstructive lung disease in microwave-popcorn factories.
In the dining room:
Drink purified water
Do not eat foods with hydrogenated fats because they
double your chances of a heart attack
Avoid foods preserved with nitrites because they may cause cancer by forming nitrosamines.
Do not eat spoiled food because you may get food poisoning
Avoid undercooked meat and seafood because it may have parasites
Avoid smoked foods because they increase risk of colorectal cancer[2]
Avoid foods contaminated with mercury or heavy metals which typically include shellfish and large marine fish
Don't use glazed ceramic dishes that may leach heavy metals.
Don't use leaded crystal because it contaminates food and drinks with lead.
Don't use pewter dishes or cups to avoid metal contamination.
In the garage, workshop, or garden:
Avoid touching gasoline or breathing gas fumes. Gasoline or petrol usually contains
benzene which is a carcinogen.
Fishing weights, bullets, and solder contain lead which is toxic.
Avoid breathing spray paints
Don't touch or breathe pesticides
Don't touch or breathe paint solvents
In the bathroom:
Avoid skin contact with perfumes
Don't breathe hair sprays
Avoid contact with after-shave lotions
Avoid hair colors, such as Grecian Formula, which have lead acetate.
Don't mix chlorine bleach with other cleaners like ammonia because
poisonous chlorine gas is generated.
In general:
Avoid fabric softeners because they can cause respiratory problems.[3]
Avoid cigarette smoke. Even second hand smoke has been shown to cause cancer.
Don't burn candles or incense. They are both fire hazards that produce smoke and contaminate the air.
Eliminate fireplace and wood stove use. Use unvented combustion appliances such as stoves and kerosene heaters
only with adequate ventilation.
Avoid smoky rooms
Avoid dusty places
The proteins from the hair, saliva, or urine of household pets may cause allergic reactions
Flea collars for pets may expose you and your children to insecticides
Don't allow babies or young children to chew on soft plastic toys containing phthalates.
Reduce your time outdoors when the pollen count is high or when there is automobile exhaust pollution.
References
Ernie Hood, "Endocrine Disruption and Flame-Retardant Chemicals: PBDE-99 Effects on
Rat Sexual Development", Environ Health Perspect. 2006 February; 114(2): A112–A113
Marques-Vidal P, Ravasco P, Ermelinda Camilo M,
Foodstuffs and colorectal cancer risk: a review,
Clin Nutr. 2006 Feb;25(1):14-36. Epub 2005 Nov 14.
PMID: 16290272
Anderson RC, Anderson JH,
Respiratory toxicity of fabric softener emissions,
J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2000 May 26;60(2):121-36.
PMID: 10872633
