How many people have peanut allergies?
“In the U.S., approximately three million people report allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Studies show the number of children living with peanut allergy appears to have tripled between 1997 and 2008.”
The rise in peanut (and other food) allergies has been linked to the rise of toxic chemicals used by the food industry. Fragrances are also full of toxic chemicals.
How many people have fragrance allergies or “sensitivities”?
Posted in Accessibility, Disability, EHS, Electromagnetic Protection, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Human Rights, Policy, Public Health, Wireless
Tagged autism, brain, canada, cancer, children, diagnosis, Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity, EMF/EMR, environmental sensitivities, health effects, recommendations, schools, technology, wi-fi, wireless, wireless dangers
The Work-Related Asthma Prevention Program (WRAPP) of the California Department of Public Health released new fact sheets on fragrances and work-related asthma.
Information available:
2017 Fragrances and Work-Related Asthma: Information for Workers (PDF) – fact sheet
2017 Fragrances and Work-Related Asthma: Information for Employers (PDF) – fact sheet
2015 (editable) Workplace Fragrance-Free Policy (Word) – fact sheet
Posted in Air Quality, Chemicals, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Human Rights, Indoor Air Quality, Policy, Public Health
Tagged air freshener, asthma, cleaning products, daycares, fragrance-free, fragrance-free policy, hospitals, laundry, manufacturing, offices, perfume, personal care, resources, retail, schools, work
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.
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” …
Posted in Child Health, Fragrance, Health, Indoor Air Quality, Pollution, Public Health
Tagged asthma, autism, cancer, environmental sensitivities, fragrance chemicals, fragrance-free, fragrance-free policy, hazardous air pollutants, images, migraines, multiple chemical sensitivities, pregnancy, scent free, schools
Children of all ages, as well as teachers, require healthy environments to thrive in. Schools, unfortunately, have notoriously poor indoor air quality.
One thing that contributes to poor IAQ is the use of fragrance chemicals in cleaning products, as well as in personal care and laundry products.
These chemicals do nothing to enhance the air quality, and much to induce cognitive and neurological impairments, sperm damage and respiratory problems.
Boys who overused sprays such as Axe Body Spray have prompted the Brandon School Division to ban perfumes and colognes. (Canadian Press) / via CBC
Over-use of these products is not the real problem.
The real problem is that these products contain toxic chemicals and serious allergens, and these chemicals and allergens do not respect personal boundaries or property lines, but trespass into everyone’s air, brains and bodies.
Are you sick from sick schools?
Teachers and students suffer when school buildings are not healthy, sometimes even developing permanently disabling conditions as a result.
MCS/ES. Asthma. Autism. Learning disabilities. Behavior problems…
Unhealthy school buildings can present real barriers to access.
It shouldn’t be like that. You shouldn’t lose your health or your job or have your child’s health and future suffer because there’s something unhealthy in the air at school.
There are enough examples of the benefits of a healthy learning environment over an unhealthy one (from toxic chemicals, molds and wi-fi for example), and tools for how to make change happen.
Here are some resources (in no particular order):
I’ve updated this post here:
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 