Tag Archives: MCS

Review Finds Ontario Far From Accessible but Report Includes People With Environmental Sensitivities

Posted on March 8, 2019 | 3 comments

The Honourable David C. Onley, the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (2007-2014) was appointed to lead the Third Review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

The report has now been released.

LISTENING TO ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES
REPORT OF THE THIRD REVIEW OF THE ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2005

…

“For most disabled persons, Ontario is not a place of opportunity but one of countless, dispiriting, soul-crushing barriers”

…

Thanks to everyone who wrote in, those of us with environmental sensitivities have been recognized, and thanks to David C. Onley, we’ve been included in the report and the final recommendations:


In the SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS (on pg 80):

7. Ensure that accessibility standards respond to the needs of people with environmental sensitivities.

 

Other mentions of environmental sensitivities and details:

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Accessibility, Disability, Environmental Sensitivities, Human Rights, Policy

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Petitions! Fragrance-free Health Care in the U.S. & Safe Housing in B.C.

Posted on March 6, 2019 | 4 comments

Two new petitions have been brought to my attention. Both of them are on change.org.
Please sign and share if you are able:

 

Make all health care facilities and services “fragrance free.”

https://www.change.org/p/us-department-of-health-and-human-services-make-all-health-care-facilities-and-services-fragrance-free

…”Please ask the secretary of HHS to provide leadership on addressing this issue and require all health care facilities and service providers to be scent free.”…

 

and

 

Stop the Human Rights Violations of Disabled British Columbians.

https://www.change.org/p/dear-bc-provincial-gov-t-and-vancouver-municipal-gov-t-leaders-stop-the-human-rights-violations-of-disabled-british-columbians

…”Health supporting housing is needed for low income British Columbians living with MCS. Currently there is no safe, affordable housing in BC for people with this chronic illness. In fact, the housing that is available is making people with MCS more ill by exposing them to off gassing building materials, strong chemicals used in building maintenance, laundry venting, cigarette smoke, and toxicant containing household and body products used by fellow renters.” …

Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Accessibility, Action, Change, Health Care, Housing, Human Rights

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Harm Reduction Policy for People With Autism

Posted on February 21, 2019 | 2 comments

Recent research that Anne Steinemann conducted in  three countries (United States, Australia, and the UK), found that 83.7% autistic adults reported adverse health effects from exposures to  fragranced products, effects such as:

migraine headaches (42.9%),
neurological problems (34.3%),
respiratory problems (44.7%), and
asthma attacks (35.9%)

In particular,
62.9% of autistic adults report health problems from air fresheners or deodorizers,
57.5% from the scent of laundry products coming from a dryer vent,
65.9% from being in a room cleaned with scented products, and
60.5% from being near someone wearing a fragranced product.

Health problems can be severe, with 74.1% of these effects considered potentially disabling under legislation in each country. Further, 59.4% of autistic adults have lost workdays or lost a job, in the past year, due to fragranced product exposure in the workplace.

Results show that vulnerable individuals, such as those with autism or autism spectrum disorders, can be profoundly, adversely, and disproportionately affected by exposure to fragranced consumer products.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Accessibility, Autism, Child Health, Fragrance, Human Rights, Policy, Public Health

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The Fragrance-free Checklist

Posted on February 19, 2019 | 2 comments

 

It seems like the best way to clear up some confusion about being fragrance-free, is to provide a checklist of products and places where fragrances that can make you not be fragrance-free are found, so that you don’t inadvertently bring fragrances with you when going  somewhere with a strict fragrance-free policy.

The checklist addresses some common misconceptions about what being fragrance-free really means.

Being fragrance-free is about more than not using perfume or cologne.
It’s also not about skipping deodorant, as some people seem to think.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health Promotion, Human Rights, Policy, Products

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Your Very Own Neighbourhood Chemical Distribution Device

Posted on February 12, 2019 | 5 comments

Did you know?

If you use conventional laundry products, you might not knowingly be feeling the effects now, but you more than likely have some neighbours who do!

Dryer vents are undisclosed, unregulated chemical distribution devices.

When you choose your laundry products,
you choose what your neighbours have to breathe!

Please think about your neighbours and choose non-toxic & fragrance-free products, so that your neighbours do not become ill or disabled
and can enjoy their homes and properties too!

A growing number of people (millions, not handfuls) cannot enjoy walking about their neighbourhoods, sitting or working in their own outdoor spaces, or even open the windows of their homes due to the harmful pollutants released from dryer vents that were designed to emit moisture, not drifting toxic chemicals.

Laundry products should not be disabling people or cause short term adverse health effects like asthma, headaches, migraines, confusion, vomiting, dizziness, etc., or longer term effects like reproductive and neurodevelopmental problems!

EWG has a website where you can check the ratings for the products you use. It’s a great place to start learning which products to avoid, and which are safer options.

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Air Quality, Chemicals, Community, Environmental Health, Housing, Laundry, Pollution, Public Health

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When Someone Says They’re Fragrance-Free, But

Posted on February 10, 2019 | 2 comments

When someone says they’re fragrance-free, but

they smell like

essential oils, febreze, scented candles, plug-in air effers, &/or air effing sprays…

…

When someone says they’re fragrance-free, but

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Pollution

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They Said I Wasn’t Fragrance-Free. How Can That Be?

Posted on January 24, 2019 | 6 comments

…

Has anyone ever asked you to be fragrance-free or told you that your fragrance is affecting their ability to function in some way, and you didn’t know what they were talking about?

You may or may not have heard that fragrance-free policies are becoming much more common now since so many people are being adversely affected by fragranced products.

Unfortunately, many people still don’t know why fragrance-free products are healthier for themselves and others, or unaware how common fragrances are!

It’s not just perfumes and colognes!

I’ve had people tell me they didn’t use any fragrance when they couldn’t name a single product they used for laundry or personal care and cleaning.

I’ve had people tell me they didn’t have any fragrance on when all of their products had fragrance listed in the ingredients.

People have also said “but I don’t smell anything”, or “I only used a little this morning” (or yesterday, or the day before yesterday).

They Said I Wasn’t Fragrance-Free. How Can That Be?

Think about that! Read the labels on all of your products, if you haven’t already.

There are all kinds of undisclosed and toxic ingredients in everyday fragranced products that are  linked to cancer, birth defects, and other chronic illnesses.

And it’s not only the fragrances from the products you washed with or applied to your body, or the residues of laundry products in your clothing that are problematic!

Did you ever walk into a room where people were smoking, or have have smoked in the past?

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Human Rights, Policy, Public Health

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