From The Canadian Committee on Indoor Air Quality (CCIAQB)
“This Module provides building owners and managers with information about the sources and effects of scents and fragrances. It also suggests ways to move toward scent-free buildings. The information covers scents and fragrances brought into a workplace by people wearing personal products such as perfume as well as those scents and fragrances that originate from custodial products such as washroom hand soap.”
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Healthy Environment, Indoor Air Quality, Policy, Precaution
Tagged allergies, asthma, cancer, Chemicals, environmental sensitivities, Fragrance, fragrance-free, hazardous air pollutants, health, Human Rights, IAQ, MCS, MCS/ES, petrochemicals, VOCs
Alternate title: Be Grateful or Be Miserable!
I had some really good brain and body days in the early spring, enough that they left an imprint on me of how it felt to feel (relatively, and almost) normal. instead of the usual:
Then shit happened… (sorry, I don’t usually use language like that, but I’ve lost access to some parts of my vocabulary lately as a result of the toxic stuff I was exposed to).
Pesticides, dental infections and extractions, toxic products and materials (including trying to replace a SS kitchen kettle -simple, yes? Actually, NO), summer road work, more and more pesticides, heat, VOCs, lack of ventilation and air filtration, which meant no ability to cook, and more…all of which resulted in some serious brain fog, cognitive problems, and drastically reduced physical abilities.
Back to the drawing board…
After having some good days this year, I crashed again, and I haven’t been able to recover… much… There can be a few better mini-moments here and there if the outdoor air quality is exceptional and the breezes have been blowing the “right” way, but nothing like how well I was doing for a while in the spring.
Which makes it so much harder now, because I can actually remember what it was like to be more functional. It was so long ago before, that it didn’t really come into play or into my thoughts, as for so many years, I couldn’t remember what it was like to think clearly, or to function without effort, with relative ease.
Is it really too much to ask to be able to function with relative ease? To not have every thought, every action be like climbing a mountain or navigating an obstacle course?
Posted in Air Quality, Brain, Disability, Environmental Health, Fibromyalgia, Mental Health, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Tagged allergies, environmental sensitivities, gratitude, health, Human Rights, MCS, MCS/ES, mental health, mindfulness, petrochemicals, sensitive to pollution, toxic trespass
Smoke and chemicals (such as fragrances, air “fresheners”, laundry products, pesticides, and other VOCs) do not respect property lines as they travel throughout space, often making others quite sick, even disabling them in their own homes. This is especially a problem in multi-unit housing, and where housing units are built close together.
This is also a very serious accessibility issue for people with MCS/ES, as there are few affordable housing options available, and most of these put people at risk of further harm due to indoor air pollution issues, despite HUD and other federal agencies in the US and Canada recognizing MCS/ES as a disability that needs to be accommodated.
The following webinar is about addressing smoke, but the issues are applicable to other forms of indoor air pollutants as well. It should also be available as a podcast later.
For those of you who are interested and able, the webinar is being offered on Wed, Aug 5, 2015 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT by the Asthma Community Network
Breathing Easy at Home: Partnering to Increase Smoke-Free Policies in Federally Assisted Housing
More info: Continue reading
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When she needed accommodation, you won’t believe the rigmarole that ensued.
(unless you have MCS/ES)
“They should not have to make significantly more effort to access or obtain service. They should also not have to accept lesser quality or more inconvenience.”
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Someone with MCS (who wishes to remain anonymous) was asked about how her efforts to receive appropriate, safe, accommodation were going, so she could see a health care provider. She is one of a growing number of people who become disabled from exposures to toxic chemicals found in many everyday products and materials, especially in fragrances.
This is pretty much how the story goes:
She contacted a health care provider by phone and talked to a receptionist.
She asked her if they had a scent-free policy and was told they didn’t.
Posted in Accessibility, Chemicals, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Human Rights, Indoor Air Quality, MCS/ES, Policy, Precaution
Tagged allergies, AODA, environmental sensitivities, Fragrance, fragrance-free, fragrance-free policy, health, IAQ, invisible disabilities, multiple chemical sensitivities, petrochemicals, Pollution, rigmarole, smoke-free, systemic barriers, systemic discrimination, toxic chemicals
Guest post and images by Laura J Mac
What always strikes me during conversations about how to persuade service providers to accommodate our disability is how much extra work we have to do just to participate in simple survival stuff. I mean, “simply” tracking down professionals who are willing to accommodate is a chore and a half. The luxury of “having a good relationship” with a service provider falls way down on the list because it’s usually one or the other.
Nobody would think twice about someone who uses a mobility device asking if there are ramps and elevators but it seems that our need for fragrance-free and reduced chemical exposure is perceived as a “preference” rather than a medical necessity. That perception leads to the idea that accommodation of our disability is an “option” (and generally it’s an “option” that service providers aren’t willing to make available.) It’s not that we don’t “like” fragrance, these chemical exposures cause neurological and physiological problems that interfere with our ability to function on a daily basis.
Posted in Accessibility, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health Care, Human Rights, Indoor Air Quality, Mental Health, Policy, Public Health
Tagged AODA, Chemicals, environmental sensitivities, fragrance-free policy, hazardous air pollutants, health, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MCS, MCS/ES, mental health, multiple chemical sensitivities, Ontario, petrochemicals
How many times have we heard it’s “only a little fragrance”?
Telling a person with MCS/ES that there is “only a little fragrance”
is like
telling someone with Celiac Disease that there’s “only a little gluten”
or
telling someone with a peanut allergy that there’s “only a little peanut”
or
telling someone who uses a wheelchair that there are “only a few steps”.
It’s not ok.
It’s NOT ok.
Individual images follow: Continue reading
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Chemicals, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Images, MCS/ES
Tagged access, accommodation, allergies, asthma, barriers, barriers to access, celiac, environmental sensitivities, essential oils, Food, gluten, health, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, peanuts, sensitivities, wheelchair
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“This study found 156 different VOCs emitted from the 37 products, with an average of 15 VOCs per product. Of these 156 VOCs, 42 VOCs are classified as toxic or hazardous under US federal laws, and each product emitted at least one of these chemicals. Emissions of carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from green fragranced products were not significantly different from regular fragranced products.”
∴
Indeed, most indoor environments (and everything in them) are now polluted with these VOCs due to the pervasive nature of these products and chemical compounds.
From the research article:
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Chemicals, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health, Products, Research
Tagged 156 VOCs, allergies, asthma, autism, cancer, Chemicals, cleaning, environmental sensitivities, EOs, essential oils, everyday products, green cleaning, hazardous air pollutants, health, indoor air quality, labels, laundry, MCS, MCS/ES, personal care, petrochemicals, toxic, toxic trespass
Produced and Directed by Alison Johnson
1:09:28 minutes
Note from Alison Johnson:
“Since 1998, I have made three long documentaries and three short ones. During this fifteen-year period, I have gained a much deeper understanding of multiple chemical sensitivity and its great impact upon so many lives. This new composite film contains the best and most effective sections of my six earlier films. I have chosen carefully which experts and patients to use from my earlier films so that this new film will be an effective way of helping people to understand multiple chemical sensitivity. The film contains footage of interviews with four members of Congress as well as with many important physicians.”
More info and a list of physicians appearing in the film:
http://www.alisonjohnsonmcs.com/multiple-chemical-sensitivity-a-life-altering-condition-dvd.html
Much gratitude to Alison Johnson for all of her work over the years.
Posted in Environmental Health, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Public Health, Toxic Trespass
Tagged Alison Johnson, asthma, Chemicals, disability, discrimination., documentary, environment, environmental sensitivities, exposures, Fragrance, GWS, health, MCS, MCS/ES, Mold, multiple chemical sensitivity, petrochemicals, Symptoms
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The images in the 1st It’s Not Personal, It’s The Chemicals were so popular, I decided to make more while my brain was functioning in this mode. Here are a couple that were very well received on facebook, plus a few new ones featuring children and office workers, as they too are being impacted by what we choose to use and put in the air.
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Posted in Accessibility, Brain, Disability, Fragrance, Indoor Air Quality, Public Health
Tagged allergies, asthma, be fragrance-free, brain fog, fragrance-free, hazardous air pollutants, headaches, health, images, It's not personal, It's not you, it's the chemicals, MCS, MCS/ES, migraines, petrochemicals, phthalates, poor concentration, toxic chemicals, toxic trespass
 | linda @ Seriously "S… on MCS/ES |
| linda @ Seriously "S… on The CDC and MCS |
 | Tabatha Schnorr on MCS/ES |
| Tabatha Schnorr on The CDC and MCS |
| linda @ Seriously "S… on MCS and Housing |
| linda @ Seriously "S… on Hospital Protocols for People… |
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 