Cats are adversely affected by toxic chemicals too
… “Higher TDCIPP exposures were associated with air freshener use, houses built since 2005 and cats that prefer to nap on upholstered furniture.” …
The same things cause disabling adverse effects in people with MCS/ES.
Learn more:
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The UK has released their Clean Air Strategy 2019 document and it contains some groundbreaking measures that, if implemented, will have very positive impacts on the environment and our health.
It encompasses many areas of air pollution, including indoor air pollutants for the 1st time in any meaningful way, which as NOAA recently pointed out, have as large an impact on outdoor air pollution as vehicle exhaust!
The few news reports I saw did mention air “fresheners” and perfumes, with some building materials, but didn’t get into details. I had to dig through the document and what follows is most of what pertains to our interests here, being seriously sensitive to indoor pollutants.
I’m sure that other sources will focus on the regular types of outdoor pollutants quite well, while mostly ignoring the indoor products and materials, so I will not touch upon them, except for a few illustration screenshots from the report.
I’ve added very little of my own commentary. It’s almost entirely copied and pasted (and reformatted) from their document, so you can see for yourself what their plans are regarding NMVOCs (non-methane volatile organic compounds) from consumer products and materials that leave so many of us disabled and housebound, and unfortunately, far too rarely in a home that protects us from exposures and contributes to our well-being.
Among other types of pollutants, the executive summary of the report includes:
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Chapter 6: Action to reduce emissions at home
Many people are unaware that emissions in the home increase personal exposure to pollutants and contribute significantly to our overall national emissions.
Burning wood and coal in open fires and stoves makes up 38% of the UK’s primary emissions of fine particulate matter1 (PM2.5). Harmful sulphur dioxide (SO2) is emitted by coal burned in open fires.
Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) from a wide variety of chemicals that are found in carpets, upholstery, paint, cleaning, fragrance, and personal care products are another significant source of pollution.
We will:
Posted in Air Quality, Environmental Health, Health, Policy, Pollution, Public Health
Tagged air "fresheners", allergies, asthma, building materials, cancer, candles, carpet, chemical sensitivity, clean air strategy, environmental sensitivities, formaldehyde, Fragrance, hazardous air pollutants, IAQ, NMVOCs, perfumes, smoking, toxic chemicals, VOC standards, VOCs
MCS/ES (multiple chemical sensitivities / environmental sensitivities) is a disability recognized by the Canadian and Ontario Human Rights Codes. There are over a million people with doctor diagnosed MCS in Canada, and so many more all around the world.
In the US, the latest prevalence study found that “among the population, 12.8% report medically diagnosed MCS and 25.9% report chemical sensitivity.”
The term ‘sensitivities’ seems to trivialize the condition in many people’s minds.
You may wonder what’s it really like then, if it’s not trivial?
Here’s how Laura J Mac describes it:
Having MCS means never knowing when you can manage something as simple as making toast.
• Can’t stand up due to pain.
• Can’t figure out all the steps involved to make toast. #execfun
Posted in Accessibility, Disability, Environmental Health, Human Rights, Toxic Trespass
Tagged air "fresheners", asthma, avocado toast, chemical sensitivity, EI, environmental illness, environmental sensitivities, fatigue, fibromyalgia, flu, Fragrance, hazardous air pollutants, headaches, IAQ, MCS, MCS/ES, migraine, multiple chemical sensitivities, petrochemicals, toxic chemicals, VOCs
My name is Zoraida and I live in Spain. I was diagnosed with MCS two years ago, but I had been having reactions for a couple of years before that. Everything escalated suddenly in 2014, and this was when I began to need a mask for everyday life. There have been many other changes in addition to the mask. Among them, moving to a smaller, less polluted town.
My safety kit: Continue reading
(not just those of us who are adversely affected before others)
“Global experts in this field concluded that infertility and male reproductive dysfunctions, birth defects, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurobehavioral and learning disorders were among the conditions than can be attributed in part to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).”
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New research estimates the cost in Europe alone to be in the billions of dollars. As these endocrine disrupting chemicals have been inflicted on the global population, and are found in countless everyday products and materials, the costs to society are huge (and the profits to the chemical and pharmaceutical companies are equally huge).
“The overwhelming majority of the reported costs were from “lost cognitive potential”
Dr Leonardo Trasande
I’ve posted about EDCs a few times, including here:
Endocrine Disruption… Huh? Why Should We Care?
Many of us have no idea what “those people” are talking about when they mention endocrine disruptors. Sounds like something foreign and insignificant, or at least it did to me, until something caught my attention a few years ago. …
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Here are links to some of the news articles and how you can avoid some EDCs:
Posted in Chemicals, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance and Cosmetics, Health, Neurotoxicity, Pesticides, Policy, Public Health
Tagged air "fresheners", avoid endocrine disruptors, endocrine disrupting chemicals, endocrine disruption, fragrance chemicals, Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals, pesticides, phthalates, Research, toxic trespass
It should be illegal to sell products that disperse secret, unregulated, ingredients into the air people have to breathe, especially children.
Children need clean air to breathe! Clean air is air without petrochemicals in it.
These things emit hazardous chemicals. It is not cute or fresh to poison kids!
It’s time to stop and think about what is going into the air we expect children to breathe.
Breathing is not optional!
When children’s hospitals enact policies banning fragrance use on their premises, you know there are good reasons to be concerned:
What happens when you walk through a place that has fragrance chemicals in the air?
The chemicals attach to hair, skin, and clothing just like smoke does!
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Some people can pass out after being forced to breathe fragrance chemicals.
Posted in Air Quality, Brain, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Pollution, Toxic Trespass
Tagged 2nd hand, air "fresheners", allergies, asthma, fragrance chemicals, IAQ, MCS, MCS/ES, migraines, neurotoxicity, petrochemicals, sensitive to pollution, smoke
Here’s a good three minute PSA from Frederick Community College about going fragrance-free:
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More resources:
Fragrance chemical pollution is as harmful as smoke, and has serious short and long term impacts on health and productivity.
Chemerical is a film about a regular family as they learn about what’s lurking in their products, struggle to come to terms with the new info, and then learn how to make safer changes in their lives.
“Chemerical” explores the life cycle of everyday household cleaners and hygiene products to prove that, thanks to our clean obsession, we are drowning in sea of toxicity.
The film is at once humorous, as we watch the Goode family try to turn a new leaf by creating and living in a toxic free home, and informative, as director Andrew Nisker works with many experts to give audiences the tools and inspiration to live toxic free.
Andrew Nisker weaves visits to the Environmental Health Clinic in Toronto,
Some people wonder what the fuss about air”fresheners” is all about.
Air”fresheners” do not freshen the air. In fact, they make the air harmful to breathe!
Thank goodness we have people like Dr Anne Steinemann to tell us what some of the ingredients that harm our health actually are.
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 