Tag Archives: hazardous air pollutants

How Acceptable Are Your Levels?

 Do you know that you have hundreds of toxic chemicals in your body right now?

Do you know that our bodies weren’t designed to deal with 24/7 exposure to the kinds of substances we are breathing, ingesting, and absorbing all the time now?

If you have MCS/ES, then yes, you know. If you are involved with the environmental health movement, then yes, you know. If you watched the interview with Bruce Lourie that I shared earlier this year, about his book ToxIn ToxOut, then yes, you know. If you or someone you know has a health condition that has been linked to chemical exposures and pollution, then maybe you know… Otherwise, probably not…

How many of you have any idea what kinds of chemicals are in your body now, and what kinds of health effects they might be having on you, or on your eggs and sperm?

Have you agreed to be a chemical experiment (and are any of you being paid for it, or receiving funding to deal with the adverse effects that might happen or are happening)?

If you are like most of us, then you are completely unaware of what we are all being exposed to and the effects these exposures are having on our health. We still believe that products have to be safe if they are being sold to us. It’s hard to believe otherwise.

Like so many others, we don’t question this belief until something goes wrong in our own lives. Ed Brown was no exception. But after his wife suffered a couple of miscarriages, he got to asking

WHY?

And he made a film about his quest for answers:

Unacceptable Levels

Continue reading

Video: Going Fragrance-Free PSA

Here’s a good three minute PSA from Frederick Community College about going fragrance-free:

More resources:

be fragrance-free 1

Fragrance chemical pollution is as harmful as smoke, and has serious short and long term impacts on health and productivity.

Continue reading

Air Cleaners, Filters, and Purifiers

Many of us have to breathe to stay alive. Okay, all of us have to breathe to stay alive. Some of us just need cleaner air than others, or our ability to think and function is severely impaired from inhaling common pollutants found in both outdoor and indoor air.

This is where air purifiers and filtration devices come in.

Here are links to a few good documents and websites to read before you spend any money, that discuss what to look for and what to avoid:

Continue reading

Cancer Rates Rising for Children and Adults

This is not surprising news, given what is being allowed and encouraged as economic activity these days.

Childhood and adolescent cancer statistics, 2014

child cancer(click to enlarge image)

Abstract

Continue reading

More Reasons and Resources to go Fragrance Free

If fragrances and the products they are added to didn’t contain so many seriously  harmful ingredients which pollute the air we all breathe, the clothing we wear, the water we drink, and the soil we grow the foods we eat in, there wouldn’t be a need to go fragrance-free. Strangely, the fragrance industry has seen fit to include a vast array of toxic, petrochemical pollutants and highly allergenic substances in their products.

Here are some resources to use in making schools, workplaces and homes safer places to be. Some are new, some I’ve already linked to in other places on this site.

Hope you find them helpful.

access safe

from  The CDC and MCS

The CDC Indoor Environmental Quality Policy from 2009 explicitly states:

“Fragrance is not appropriate for a professional work environment, and the use of some products with fragrance may be detrimental to the health of workers with chemical sensitivities, allergies, asthma, and chronic headaches/migraines.” …

Potential hazards include chemicals, biological agents, fragrant products, and physical conditions that may cause irritation, illness, or exacerbate existing health conditions” …

Continue reading

50% of US Population Breathes Unhealthy Air!

Outrageous!

“Nearly 150 million people, roughly half of the population in the United States, currently live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution that is linked to serious health impacts, such as asthma attacks, lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes and even death. Children are particularly susceptible to the health effects of air pollution because their lungs are still developing. Air pollution also disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations already burdened with chronic diseases such as asthma, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Scientists warn that the buildup of carbon pollution in the atmosphere leads to warmer temperatures worsening the conditions for ozone formation in some places, and making it harder to achieve healthy air for all.”

50 percent air pollution

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, American Public Health Association:

Continue reading

Everyday Toxic Trespass

Women’s Voices for the Earth has a great page about toxic ingredients commonly found  in products women, men and children are exposed to on a regular basis, usually everyday, even when we try not to be. Check it out, get informed, and take action to protect you, your family and the planet that supports our lives.

 Skin Deep

Take Action via WVE

Mind the Store

 Sadly, our current regulatory systems do more to protect those who are polluting us, than to protect our health. I don’t know how we are going to change this without a massive outcry, but we CAN stop buying the products we learn are harmful to us and to future generations.

The Skin Deep website has information about thousands of personal care products and ingredients, WVE has recipes to make your own, and then some, and Mind the Store is successfully calling on retailers to stop selling toxic products. We have more power than we know, but only when we use it!

In the News: Toxic Troubles

 

toxic troubles in the news

The evidence (and casualties) are piling up

– Articles about the neurotoxic pandemic
– From Harvard… on Everyday Toxic Trespass
– Powerful article about perfumes  for children
– Pesticides in flea collars harm children too
– Important news about ALL pesticides
– Someday there will be less toxic clothing
– Driveway sealants are bad for Your health
– Doctors can’t be counted on to help treat oil related illnesses
– Illnesses linked to toxic chemicals increase health care costs
– Chemically injured woman has to sleep in a tent
– Some Things We Can Do

Why do we need much better laws and regulations to protect us and future generations?  Have a look at the following articles:

Continue reading

Exposed to plastic fumes, women working in some factories have a 400% increased risk of breast cancer, study says

Thanks Global and 16 x 9 for looking into this.

Current chemical regulations don’t come close to protecting our health, or the health of the people who have to work with them on a daily basis.
Life (and health) really needs to be prioritized over profits. There is no good reason to allow anyone to profit while polluting or causing others to suffer. Why not have industries making things that that contribute to health and well-being?

I agree with The Science and Environmental Health Network: “Regulating hazardous waste is always problematic. The basic premise is flawed: make products that are toxic and regulate the production, sales and disposal of those products. A far better approach is based on the precautionary principle: make products out of safe materials, require producer take-back of products. Search for the best alternatives to toxic chemicals and establish zero waste policies.”

Climate More Sensitive Than Previously Thought!

“the combustion of fossil fuel is the largest source” (EPA)

sensitive climate

Continue reading