May this coming year bring what’s most needed!
Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, commented and shared here.
I hope that as I heal, I’ll be able to bring more helpful and relevant information to you.
I hope that those of you who need to heal, can meet with the circumstances that will allow that to happen.
Happy New Year!
ABSTRACT
Indoor air quality is an important determinant of health and wellbeing. However, the control of indoor air quality is often inadequate, one reason being the poor articulation, appreciation and understanding of basic principles underlying policies and action related to indoor air quality. As a result, the general public is familiar neither with those principles nor with their associated rights. A WHO Working Group was convened to agree on a set of statements on “The right to healthy indoor air”, derived from fundamental principles in the fields of human rights, biomedical ethics and ecological sustainability. This document presents the conclusions of the Working Group, informs individuals and groups responsible for healthy indoor air about their rights and obligations, and individuals by bringing those rights to their attention.
So much evidence is pointing to the fact that humans were not designed to breathe, absorb, ingest oil and petrochemicals.
Petrochemicals and their byproducts, such as dioxin, are known to cause an array of serious health problems, including cancers and endocrine disruption.
See the link here for some details:
(edited March 2014 to include a different website as old link no longer works)
What is a “body burden”
http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/whatisbb.htm
Here is a chart of petrochemicals and where they are found
(in case you want to reduce your dependence on them)
Posted in Chemicals, Environment, Health, Pollution
Tagged Chemicals, fragrance chemicals, health, science
Climate change is a symptom of a problem. The problem is pollution!
And this includes the pollution caused by everyday products like those used for laundry and personal care!
When we truly care about ourselves and each other, we realize that we also have to care about our environment, since without clean air, water or food, we cannot survive long.
Pollution includes the toxic petrochemicals in everyday products and materials, like those used for laundry, personal care, cleaning, carpeting, shower curtains, back packs and clothing, pesticides, roofing materials, air “fresheners”…
Personal Care Sprays Curbed in Smog Fight
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-11-09/news/mn-1427_1_personal-care-products
Aerosol antiperspirants and deodorants–which account for 25% of product sales–spew up to five tons a day of smog-causing volatile organic chemicals into the atmosphere statewide–an amount equivalent to the emissions from a typical oil refinery.
…
Chemicals in Home a Big Smog Source
Cleansers, cosmetics and other products pump 100 tons of pollutants daily into the Southland’s air, ranking second to tailpipe emissions, studies show.
http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/09/local/me-homesmog9
Regulators have long known that smog-forming chemicals escape with every squirt of antiperspirant, each bubble of detergent and every spritz of aerosol hair spray. And they have been controlling some products’ emissions for years, with mixed success. But new research shows that products common in kitchens, bathrooms and garages contribute more to Southern California’s smog problem than previously thought.
…
The offending items include detergents, cleaning compounds, glues, polishes, floor finishes, cosmetics, perfume, antiperspirants, rubbing alcohol, room fresheners, car wax, paint and lawn care products.
…
Consumer products send out nearly twice as many hydrocarbons — a key precursor to ozone — as all of the SUVs and light trucks operating in California.
…
And MCS/ES is another symptom of the same pollution problem. As are many other chronic health conditions.
Let’s take better care of the planet and of ourselves and each other.
IDLE NO MORE
Posted in climate change, Environment, Health, Images, Pollution
Tagged Chemicals, climate change, environment, health, images
This note can be modified to suit individual needs.
Car Repair Safety Precautions (when taking the car in for any work)
Would you please ensure that the enclosed notice is taped visibly to the driver’s side car window, and that anyone who works on the car is made aware of the precautions necessary to prevent an accidental use of products which would render the car unusable to me.
Thank you.
I have severe environmental and chemical sensitivities and allergies, etc. to a wide assortment of chemicals contained in cleaning and other petrochemical products.
In order to make sure the car remains safe for me to drive, can you please take the following precautions:
No-one with gas, oil, cologne, aftershave, scented soap or lotion residues on their hands should touch the car interior.
No smoking in the car, or anyone who has just been smoking.
Use clean disposeable gloves or paper towel to touch doorknobs, handles, steering wheel, etc.
Make sure the seat and steering wheel are fully covered before touching or sitting.
(I may provide a mylar emergency blanket to cover the seat with)
Do not use WD-40 or other products on door hinges or anywhere inside. If any interior lubrication is necessary, please advise and we will research a safe alternative product.
Do not, under any circumstances, use any cleaning or air “freshening” products in or near the car.
Please do call if there are any questions
Thank you for your co-operation.
Someone clicked on a link here alerting me to the fact that WordPress has now decided to show advertisements here. I guess that’s what happens when someone posts enough content that other people find useful or interesting on a site that is free to use.
About These Ads
The site you just visited is part of WordPress.com. There are two reasons why you might see ads on a WordPress.com site:
- The site is part of the WordAds program and has elected to show ads to earn money from their site.
- The site is one of the sites hosted on WordPress.com that has not purchased the No Ads upgrade, and we are running ads to cover the costs of operating the site for the user. We run these types of ads sparingly in an attempt to interfere as little as possible with the experience of reading a site and for logged in users we don’t show ads at all. There’s more info about our approach to ad serving in this blog post.
…
Since I’m not part of WordAds (they’ve never contacted me and it’s unlikely I’d have enough control over the ads to want to inflict them on you) it looks like the only way to get rid of the ads is by paying WordPress $30 a year. As I live off a very limited income, I’m unable to pay. If any of my readers find the ads bothersome enough to donate that fee (via paypal), I will gladly confer the benefits to all of you.
Otherwise, if you see an inappropriate ad, please report it to support@wordpress.com. I’d think any ad that is for anything that harms the environment or health in any way during it’s life cycle would be inappropriate here…
UPDATE: On April 4th, 2013 I paid to have no ads for 1 year.
The Environmental Health Association of Québec (EHAQ) is ready to build an ecological, affordable housing community for people with Environmental Sensitivities and related conditions. This type of housing will provide a roof for those in dire need of a healthy home, free of the triggers that make them ill.
A home that will restore dignity and health…how amazing is that?
Please watch the video
JOIN EHAQ TO BUILD A HEALTHY COMMUNITY, ONE BRICK AT A TIME
BUY A BRICK @ $10 A BRICK!
To donate and learn more:
http://www.aseq-ehaq.ca/donation/donateonline.php
Greenpeace is running an excellent campaign to detox the fashion industry. Sadly, textiles these days are full of toxic chemicals, chemicals which are harming the health and environment everywhere in their life-cycle, where they are made, and where they are used.
This video shows a bit of the background:
You might wonder why water pollution in China is a problem for us?
from: How to get rid of chemicals in fabrics. (Hint: trick question.)
“How do these chemicals get into our bodies from the textiles? Your skin is the largest organ of your body, and it’s highly permeable. So skin absorption is one route; another is through inhalation of the chemicals (if they are the type that evaporate – and if they do evaporate, each chemical has a different rate of evaporation, from minutes or hours to weeks or years) and a third route: Think of microscopic particles of fabric that abrade each time we use a towel, sit on a sofa, put on our clothes. These microscopic particles fly into the air and then we breathe them in or ingest them. Or they fall into the dust of our homes, where people and pets, especially crawling children and pets, continue to breathe or ingest them.”
Going after manufacturers to detox their practices is a logical step.
And it’s working:
Levi’s shapes up to become a Detox leader
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/levis-shapes-up-to-become-a-detox-leader/blog/43437/
read more here:
Toxic Threads – Product Testing Results
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/water/detox/Toxic-Threads/
Toxic Threads: Under WrapsPublication
Toxic Threads: Putting Pollution on ParadePublication
Toxic Threads: The Big Fashion Stitch-UpPublication
Dirty Laundry: ReloadedPublication
Dirty Laundry 2: Hung Out to DryPublication
Dirty LaundryPublicationAnd if you can’t wait that long for safer clothing, you can check the list of safeR options listed in the “CHEMICAL-FREE CLOTHING (WE WISH)” tab at the top of the page here and then work on detoxing those at home using decontamination protocols found here: https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/laundry-decontamination-protocols/
P.S.
I forgot to mention that if you are trying to get toxic chemicals out of your clothing, using conventional, everyday laundry products isn’t going to get you non-toxic clothes… Not when the laundry products themselves are full of toxic chemicals: https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/toxic-chemicals-in-everyday-laundry-products/
Posted in Chemical Free Clothing, Environment, Products
Tagged Chemicals, Clothing, environment, laundry, Products, Water
For more information see her website
Some of you may remember Gillian McCarthy from a few years ago. Her housing situation was atrocious. I lost touch due to my own housing crisis, and only recently started remembering her and wondered what had happened.
To my delight, some people have finally taken it into their own hands to keep her from freezing this winter. Somehow, they are making a small, safe, warm natural den for her, but they need our help. This is so long overdue, it brings tears to my eyes.
Building a Low Impact Den for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
“Gillian McCarthy is a sufferer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity caused by organophosphate poisoning early in her career. Without a warm roof over her head she will not survive this winter.
Tony Wrench and a group of natural builders are building her an emergency den. …”
http://www.permaculture.co.uk/news/2711122573/building-low-impact-den-multiple-chemical-sensitivity
The above link has the most recent updates
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 