A Consumerýs Dictionary of Household, Yard and Office Chemicals: Complete Information About Harmful and Desirable Chemicals Found in Everyday Home Products, Yard Poisons, and Office Polluters

A Consumer’s

Dictionary of

Household,

Yard and Office

Chemicals

Complete Information About Harmful

and Desirable Chemicals Found in

Everyday Home Products, Yard Poisons,

and Office Polluters

Ruth Winter, MS

ASJA Press

New York Lincoln Shanghai

A Consumer’s Dictionary of Household, Yard and Office

Chemicals

Complete Information About Harmful and Desirable Chemicals Found in

Everyday Home Products, Yard Poisons, and Office Polluters

Copyright © 2007 by Ruth Winter

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any

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any responsibility for them. First Edition Updated

ISBN: 978-0-595-44948-4

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Printed in the United States of America

Contents

INTRODUCTION

HOME CHEMICALS

YARD CHEMICALS

OFFICE CHEMICALS

DRUGS IN OUR WATER

INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS

LABELS—AND YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT IS IN A PRODUCT

HOW CHEMICALS YOU USE GET INTO YOUR BODY

LOCAL OR SYSTEMIC EFFECT’S

HINTS FOR SAFER USE OF CHEMICALS

DICTIONARY

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

REFERENCES

END NOTES

INTRODUCTION  

The update of this book may save you and your loved ones from harmful and even lethal effects of chemicals that have never been tested before they were put on the market. There are 82,000 commercial chemicals in use in the United States and more than 700 new ones are introduced into commerce each year¹. Why worry? Budget cuts for government agencies and increasing pressure from industrial lobbyists have allowed products to enter or remain on the market that contain substances known to cause liver, kidney, central nervous system damage, birth defects and many other health ailments. Your knowledge, therefore, is your vital safeguard today.

Take a look around your home, yard, or office. Many of those innocent-looking, brightly packaged products you purchased at the supermarket, hardware, or office supply store and use so casually may cause eye, nose and throat irritation, nausea, dizziness, loss of coordination or headaches. Some products have also been associated with heart and lung damage.

Check around your living and working areas. Do you have solvents, paints, paint strippers, wood preservatives, aerosol sprays, moth repellents, air fresheners, stored fuels, automotive products, hobby supplies, pesticides and some cleaners and disinfectants? Do you know which ones contain methylene chloride which is widely used as a solvent, paint thinner, and de-greaser? Methylene chloride is also in pesticide aerosols, refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, in cleansing creams, and in paint and varnish removers. Some paint strippers, as a matter of fact, are 80 percent methylene chloride. You may be more cautious about using products containing methylene chloride after you read the reported health effects under the listing for it in this book. They include liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage; it increases the carbon monoxide level in the blood and people with angina (chest pains) are extremely sensitive to the chemical; methylene chloride has been linked to heart attacks and cancer.

New research shows that chemical compounds found in many air fresheners, toilet bowl cleaners, mothballs and other deodorizing products may be harmful to the lungs. Human population studies at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the National Institute of Health, found that exposure to 1,4 dichlorobenzene (See dichlorobenzene in listings) may cause a reduction in lung function. Even a small reduction in lung function may indicate some harm to the lungs, says NIEHS researcher Stephanie London, MD, lead investigator on the study. The best way to protect yourself, especially children who may have asthma or other respiratory illnesses, is to reduce the use of products and materials that contain these compounds².

Do you have oven cleaners in your cleaning-supply closet? Many spray types are highly irritating to the skin and lungs, particularly those with methylene chloride, sodium and potassium hydroxide (lye) (See), and petroleum distillates.

What about your carpets and cabinets? Detergent and pesticide residues can accumulate on carpeting and vaporize, causing respiratory symptoms. In 1987, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) installed 27,000 square yards of new styrene-butadiene-latex-backed carpet in many of the offices at its national headquarters in Washington, D.C., employees began to complain of respiratory problems, burning eyes, rashes, dizziness, and nausea within a few days. After a few months, more than 122 employees had complained of adverse health effects blamed on poor air quality and carpet emission. Six of the employees had such severe reactions that they could not enter the building without experiencing serious health effects. A chemical, 4-phenylcyclohexene, that emits gases from new carpeting and inadequate ventilation, was designated the culprits.³⁴ Most kitchen cabinets are built with particle board or hardwood plywood veneered with an attractive wood, such as oak. These materials may out-gas formaldehyde (See listing).

Have you used a product containing DDVP (See Listing) on your pet? A study performed by the National Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and Human Services revealed a significant leukemia hazard from this common household pesticide widely used in pet, house, and yard aerosol products since the 1950s, and the EPA reported the cancer risk for applying DDVP sprays ranged from one in a hundred to one in a hundred thousand. The generally accepted significant threshold is one cancer incidence in one million persons.³ When this book was first published in 1992, the EPA was supposedly moving to have DDVP banned as a pesticide for food packaging because it was found in animal tests to cause more than a negligible risk. It may take years to get it off the market as a food package pesticide, but what about the hundreds of other products that still contain DDVP?⁶

The EPA conducted a major study of nonoccupational exposure to pesticides and found indoor exposure to pesticides is widespread, with as many as ten different pesticides being detected in a single home.⁷ Furthermore, it was reported by French researchers in 2007 that using pesticides on houseplants may double the risk of developing brain tumors.⁸

We live in a sea of chemicals. In fact, our bodies are made of chemicals and we eat, breathe and slather chemicals on ourselves but how much do we really know about the chemicals in us, on us and around us? Surprisingly little.

Who’s watching the store? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not routinely assess the risks of chemicals. Companies are not required by the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to test new chemicals before they are submitted for the EPA’s review, and they generally do not voluntarily perform such testing⁹. Because chemical companies claim data about their products are confidential business information, government agencies face challenges in obtaining the information necessary to assess chemical risks to the public. US Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced legislation coauthored with Senator James Jeffords (I-VT) in July 2005 to force chemical manufacturers to provide health and safety information on chemicals used in consumer products instead of presuming a substance is safe until proven dangerous.¹⁰

Every day, Americans use household products that contain hundreds of chemicals, says Senator Lautenberg. Most people assume that those chemicals have been proven safe for their families and children. Unfortunately, that assumption is wrong.

Lautenberg says there are no laws that require analysis for the chemicals used in baby bottles, water bottles, food packages and thousands of other products. This is inexcusable."

In the past, we consumers have been reassured that the amounts of toxic chemicals to which we are exposed are small and we have nothing to worry about. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals revealed, however, that advanced laboratory technology discovered hundreds of common chemicals, even in very small amounts, may not be as harmless as previously believed.¹¹ The chemicals for which data were collected and information presented in the Report were selected on the basis of:

•   Scientific data that suggested exposure in the US population

•   Seriousness of health effects known or suspected to result from exposure

•   Need to assess the efficacy of public health actions to reduce exposure to a chemical

•   Precision, sensitivity, specificity, and speed

•   Availability of sufficient quantity of blood or urine samples

•   Cost of analysis for the chemical.

The Report has a noble objective and provides more information than we had before but the Report concludes that for most of the environmental chemicals for which information is presented, more research is needed to determine whether exposure at levels reported here is a cause for health concern.

We are concerned! The Report says The toxicity of a chemical is related to its dose or concentration in addition to a person’s individual susceptibility. Right! But can anyone tell us how much of a cancer-causing substance in household, yard or office products is required to cause cancer?

Devra Davis, PhD, MPH, Director, Center for Environmental Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, says why do scientists believe environmental is the cause of cancer? At the Annual Conference of the American Medical Writers Association in 2005, gave a number of reasons¹²:

•   Fewer than 1 in 10 cases of breast cancer occur in women born with genetic defects.

•   The cancer risk for adopted children reflects their adoptive parents, not their biologic parents.

•   Fewer than half of identical twins get the same cancer.

•   Rates of cancer are higher for people employed outside the home.

•   The cancer risk for immigrants changes to that of their new country.

•   The majority of cancer cases have no known risk factors.

•   Disease is more aggressive in women with higher resideues of toxins in their blood.

What is the amount of a toxin in water that can cause nerve damage? Who are the most susceptible—by health status, age or genetics—to an adverse effect from a certain hidden chemical? Scientists, manufacturers, and politicians admit today they cannot determine what happens when common chemicals are mixed together and we are immersed in a silent chemical soup made up of pharmaceuticals; food additives; foods; drinks; industrial chemicals; household products; air and water pollutants and cosmetics.

12. Donna L. Miceli, Seeking The Truth About The Environment And Your Health: Separating Truth From Fiction, American Medical Writers Association Journal, 2005 Vol.20, No. 4, pg 163.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the US Congress, reported in 2005:¹³

•   The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacks sufficient data to ensure that potential health and environmental risks of new chemicals are identified

•   The EPA does not routinely assess existing chemicals.

•   The EPA has limited information on health and environmental risks.

•   The EPA has issued few regulations controlling new chemicals

•   EPA’s ability to share data collected under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is limited

There have been many cancer clusters blamed on a variety of chemicals in soil, water and the air. Most of the causes have failed to be proven. Federal health investigators reported in 2007, however, thousands of Marine families who lived at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina over three decades drank water contaminated with toxins as much as 40 times over today’s safety standard. The government disclosed results from the scientific study on the same day that some families testified before a congressional panel about cancers and other illnesses they attribute to drinking tainted tap water at the sprawling training and deployment base¹⁴. The House Energy and Commerce panel, which held the hearing, described the sickened Marines as poisoned patriots.At least 850 former residents of the base have filed administrative claims seeking nearly $4 billion for exposure to the industrial solvents TCE and PCE, which contaminated Camp Lejeune’s drinking wells before 1987. TCE, or trichloroethylene, is a degreasing solvent, and PCE, or tetrachloroethylene, is a dry-cleaning agent. The government describes them as probable carcinogens. (see Dictionary listings).

The EPA agrees that information is lacking about most of the chemicals to which we are exposed. The agency estimates that most pre-manufacture notices do not include test data of any type, and only about 15 percent include health or safety test data. Chemical companies do not have an incentive to conduct these tests because they may take over a year to complete, and some tests may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Edward P. Krenzelok, Pharm. D., director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, says, Most people are unaware that the most common and effective pesticides used on household plants and gardens contain the same agents as the chemicals used in chemical warfare.¹⁵ The agents are organophosphates (see listings). Although these products are excellent pesticides, Krenzelok points out, they can be extremely toxic to humans if improperly used.

The EPA survey reports¹⁶:

•   An estimated 85 percent of all households in the United States have at least one pesticide stored in and around the home, and most families have between one and five pesticide products stored.

•   Seventy-six percent of all households self-treated their homes for insects and other pests.

•   Among households that disposed of leftover concentrates of pesticides in the past year, 67 percent disposed of the concentrates in their regular household trash and 13 percent used special collections.

This book is not aimed at convincing you to forego the use of chemicals around your home, yard, or office. Its objective is to make you aware that you must select and utilize chemicals carefully and, to do that, you have to be knowledgeable about their uses, benefits, and hazards. The health and even the lives of you and your family members may depend upon such awareness.

Research has found that in some homes, the quality of indoor air can be worse than outdoor air. In part because many homes are being built and remodeled tighter¹⁷.

HOME CHEMICALS  

POSSIBLE HOME INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROBLEM:

•   Unusual and noticeable odors, stale or stuffy air

•   Unusual and noticeable odors, stale or stuffy air

•   Noticeable lack of air movement

•   Dirty or faulty central heating or air conditioning equipment

•   Damaged flue pipes or chimneys

•   Excessive humidity or condensation

•   Tightly constructed or remodeled home

•   Presence of molds

•   Cockroaches

•   Dust mites

•   Health reaction when inside the home, especially after remodeling, weatherizing, installing new furniture, using household or hobby products or moving into a new home.

•   Feeling noticeably healthier outside the home

The EPA has undertaken a long-term series of studies of human exposure to indoor air pollutants known generically as the Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies. In research conducted by TEAM investigators, levels of a dozen common organic pollutants were found to be two to five times higher inside homes than outside, regardless of whether the homes were located in rural or highly industrial areas. Organic chemicals, which contain carbon and easily vaporize at room temperature, are employed widely as ingredients in household, yard, and office products because of their many useful characteristics such as the ability to dissolve substances and evaporate quickly. Paints, varnishes, and waxes all contain organic solvents, as do many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products. Fuels are made up of organic chemicals. All of these products can release potentially harmful emanations while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.

The EPA researchers measured indoor pollutant concentrations in ten public buildings, including schools, homes for the elderly, and office buildings, and found that newly constructed building may have levels of formaldehyde, asbestos, pesticides, solvents, and other pollutants as much as a hundred times normal levels. These levels diminish rapidly during the first several months of the buildings’ lives, but they are still two to four times higher than outdoor levels. The EPA points out that these buildings may contain children and the elderly, who are very sensitive to such compounds.¹

Similar findings have been reported by other researchers. Scientists at Chicago IIT Research Institute detected more than two hundred different chemicals in a study of indoor air in thirty-six Chicago-area homes and found that, in general, indoor levels of the chemicals were significantly higher than outdoor levels. Other studies found styrene (see listings) in the air in 80 percent of sampled homes in Bayonne, New Jersey, and 150 chemicals in the air of forty houses monitored in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.²

TEAM studies indicate that while we are using products containing organic chemicals, we can expose ourselves and others to very high pollutant levels, and elevated concentrations can persist in the air long after we finish. During and up to several hours immediately after completing activities such as paint stripping, for example, levels may be a thousand times more than the background outdoor levels. Three out of four specific organic compounds mentioned—benzene, per-chloroethylene, and paradichlorobenzene—were among the most prevalent organic compounds identified in indoor air by TEAM investigator (See all under listings). The fourth organic compound, methylene chloride, has been cited before. As you will read under their listings, these chemicals are potentially very harmful.³

What are some of the biological problems to be concerned about?

Molds, mildew, fungi, bacteria and dust mites are some of the main biological pollutants inside the house. Some, such as pollen, are generated outside the home. Mold and mildew are generated in the home and release spores into the air. Mold, mildew, fungi and bacteria are often found in areas of the home that have high humidity levels, such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms or basements. Dust mites and animal dander are problematic when they become airborne during vacuuming, making beds or when textiles are disturbed.

What are some of the health effects?

Allergic reactions are the most common health problems associated with biological pollutants. Symptoms often include watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing, nasal congestion, itching, coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing, headache, dizziness and fatigue. Dust mites have been identified as the single most important trigger for asthma attacks.

How are biological contaminants transported through the house?

Molds and dust mites thrive in areas of high humidity. Mold grows on organic materials such as paper, textiles, grease, dirt, and soap scum. Mold spores float throughout the house, forming new colonies where they land. Dust mites thrive on dead human skin cells and in textiles such as bedding, carpeting and upholstery. When these textiles are disturbed during vacuuming, making beds or walking on carpet, the dust particles become airborne. Pollen, plant material that enters through windows or on pets and animal dander also become airborne when disturbed. Infectious diseases caused by bacteria and viruses are generally passed from person to person through physical contact, but some circulate through indoor ventilation systems.

What To Do About Biological Problems

There are no practical tests for biological contaminants for use by non-professionals. However there are signs to watch for. You can sometimes see and smell mold colonies growing on surfaces. Mold growth should be suspected wherever there are water stains, standing water or moist surfaces.

•   Prevent mold growth by keeping basements, bathrooms and other rooms clean and dry. Use a disinfectant to clean surfaces that have mold on them. If carpeting or furnishings become wet, they must be quickly and thoroughly dried or discarded.

•   Humidifiers, dehumidifiers and air conditioning condensing units should be regularly cleaned with a disinfectant such as chlorine bleach.

•   Keep humidity at acceptable levels (less than 50 percent) and make sure there’s plenty of ventilation, especially in areas where moisture tends to build up.

•   Vacuums with high efficiency filters or central vacuum systems can help reduce the airborne dust generated by vacuuming.

•   Cockroaches need water and food sources must be controlled. Store food in tightly sealed containers, clean up scraps and crumbs promptly do not leave food, water or garbage exposed.

•   Dust mites live in mattresses, pillows, carpets, fabric-covered furniture, bed covers, clothes, and stuffed toys. Wash bedding (such as sheets, bedcovers and blankets) once a week in hot water. Choose washable stuffed toys, wash them often in hot water, and dry thoroughly. Keep stuffed toys off beds. Cover mattresses and pillows in dust-proof (allergen-impermeable) zippered covers. People who are sensitive to dust mites may need to replace carpeting in their homes with hard surfaced flooring and use area rugs that can be removed and cleaned.

How to clean up mold

According to the U.S. environmental Protection Agency (EPA), if the moldy area is less than about 10 square feet (less than roughly a 3 ft. by 3 ft. patch), in most cases, you can handle the job yourself, following the guidelines

If there has been significant water damage, and/or mold growth covers more than 10 square feet, consult the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

guide: Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings. It is available free by calling the EPA Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse at (800) 4384318, or on the internet at: www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/mold_remediation.html.

If you choose to hire a contractor to do the cleanup, make sure the contractor has experience cleaning up mold. Check references and ask the contractor to follow the recommendations in EPA’s Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings, the guidelines of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), or other guidelines form professional or government organizations.

If you have health concerns, consult a health professional before starting cleanup.

For do-it-yourself clean-up, note that the use of a disinfecting chemical or biocide that kills organisms such as mold (chlorine bleach, for example) is not recommended as a routine practice during mold remediation, although there may be instances where professional judgment may indicate its use (for example, when immune-compromised individuals are present). In most cases, it is not possible or desirable to sterilize an area; background levels of mold spores will remain—these spores will grow if the moisture problem has not been resolved. If you choose to use disinfectants or biocides, always ventilate the area. Out door air may need to be brought in with fans. Never mix chlorine bleach solution with other cleaning solutions or detergents that contain ammonia because toxic fumes could be produced.

In instances when a biocide is NOT used, simply damp-wipe surfaces with plain water or with water and detergent solution (except wood—use wood floor cleaner); scrub as needed. Always dry completely after cleanup is completed.

In order to limit your exposure to airborne mold during cleanup, you should wear an N-95 respirator, available at many hardware stores. In order to be effective, the respirator or mask must fit properly, so carefully follow the instructions supplied with the respirator.

Unhealthy Remodeling By-Products (See Dictionary listings) such as:

•   Asbestos

•   Lead

•   Formaldehyde

•   Other hazardous materials floating around during remodeling

Some Other Potentially Hazardous Materials In The Household (See Dictionary Listings)

•   Radon

•   Lead Dust

•   Second Hand Smoke

•   Household Products including cleaning products, paints, air fresheners, hobby supplies, dry cleaned clothing, aerosol sprays, adhesives that contain formaldehyde, and fabric additives.

YARD CHEMICALS  

Our lawn and garage chemicals may also be dangerous. Yard chemicals may be lethal not only to pests, but to human beings as well. The United States General Accounting Office reports that 230 million pounds of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and rodenticides are used each year for nonagricultural purposes, and that about 55 million pounds of pesticides—or about 30 percent of all nonagricultural pesticides—are applied around homes and gardens. Additional pesticides are applied at stores, schools, restaurants, offices, industrial workplaces, sports facilities, hotels, hospitals, and theaters.

You can buy pesticide products ranging widely in toxicity and potential effects. No special training is required to purchase these products, and no one is looking over your shoulder, monitoring your vigilance in reading and following label instructions. Yet many of these products are extremely hazardous, especially if they are stored, handled, or applied improperly. The National Academy of Sciences has found that home owners already use four to eight times as many chemical pesticides per acre as farmers, and the disparity is widening.¹

The National Cancer Institute reported in 1991 that dogs whose owners used a common weed killer, 2, 4-D on their lawns had double the immune system cancer (lymphoma) of dogs whose owners did not have treated lawns. The NCI said this is consistent with studies that show an excess of lymphomas in humans who have frequent contact with 2, 4-D.²

You will see described in this book under individual pesticides, under the general listing for pesticides, and for specific uses such as pet pesticides, a great deal of information. However, there are several points I would like to emphasize.

•   Some insecticides, once applied, can never really be removed. The termite pesticide, chlordane, has been detected in the air of some treated homes fourteen years after application.³

•   Many insecticides are relatively insoluble in water, and are instead dispensed in petroleum-based solvents, to which a large number of individuals are sensitive. So not only are the principal ingredients a potential source of trouble, but the vehicle is, too.

•   Some rugs, as part of the manufacturing process, are treated with toxins to kill insects, and these poisons are not entirely removed by cleaning.

•   Insect repellents, insecticides, or fungicides in wallpaper paste are hidden sources of human and pet exposure.

OFFICE CHEMICALS  

If you develop symptoms such as headaches, nose and throat irritation, and a host of other physical problems while working at the office, you may be suffering from the effects of emissions from building materials and furnishings, equipment and tools. Office copying machines and laser printers, for example, give off ozone. Spirit duplicators emit methanol fumes, and signature machines give off butyl methacrylate, while blue print copiers emit ammonia and acetic acid. Many workers also are troubled by the odor of fresh newsprint, marking and pencils, certain carbon papers, and some typewriter ribbons.¹

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers in their investigations of office space found problems with pesticides, such as chlordane. If you live or work in a building built before April, 1988 when chlordane was banned by the government, you can still be exposed to chlordane in the air diffusion through concrete flooring—ceiling drywall—or outgassing from previously treated indoor areas. You may also be exposed to it today, according to NIOSH by eating contaminated foods, such as root crops, meats, fish, and shellfish, or from touching contaminated soil. High levels of chlordane can cause damage to the nervous system or liver. This chemical has been found in at least 171 of 1,416 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency.

What is chlordane?

Chlordane is a manufactured chemical that was used as a pesticide in the United States from 1948 to 1988. Technical chlordane is not a single chemical, but is actually a mixture of pure chlordane mixed with many related chemicals. It doesn’t occur naturally in the environment. It is a thick liquid whose color ranges from colorless to amber. Chlordane has a mild, irritating smell.

Some of its trade names are Octachlor and Velsicol. Until 1983, chlordane was used as a pesticide on crops like corn and citrus and on home lawns and gardens.

Because of concern about damage to the environment and harm to human health, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned all uses of chlordane in 1983 except to control termites. In 1988, EPA banned all uses.

Chlordane entered the environment when it was used as a pesticide on crops, on lawns and gardens, and to control termites. Chlordane sticks strongly to soil particles at the surface and is not likely to enter groundwater.

Most chlordane leaves soil by evaporation to the air but it can stay in the soil for over 20years. It breaks down very slowly.

Chlordane doesn’t dissolve easily in water. It builds up in the tissues of fish, birds, and mammals. In addition to it vaporization in buildings built before 1988, you can be exposed to chlordane by:

•   Eating crops grown in soil that contains chlordane.

•   Eating fish or shellfish caught in water that is contaminated by chlordane.

•   Breathing air or touching soil near homes treated for termites with chlordane.

•   Breathing air or by touching soil near waste sites or landfills.

The EPA recommends that a child should not drink water with more than 60 parts of chlordane per billion parts of drinking water (60 ppb) for longer than 1 day. EPA has set a limit in drinking water of 2 ppb. EPA requires spills or releases of chlordane into the environment of 1 pound or more to be reported to EPA.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits the amount of chlordane and its breakdown products in most fruits and vegetables to less than 300 ppb and in animal fat and fish to less than 100 ppb.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) set a maximum level of 0.5 milligrams of chlordane per cubic meter (mg/m³) in workplace air for an 8hour workday, 40-hour workweek. These agencies have advised that eye and skin contact should be avoided because this may be a significant route of exposure.

Since we import so much of our building materials and food, who knows how much chlordane is in products?

If you are worried about your exposure to the pesticide, laboratory tests can measure chlordane and its breakdown products in blood, fat, urine, feces, and breast milk. The amount of breakdown products measured in body fat or breast milk does not tell how much or how long ago you were exposed to chlordane or if harmful effects will occur.

Chlordane affects the nervous system, the digestive system, and the liver in people and animals. Headaches, irritability, confusion, weakness, vision problems, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and jaundice have occurred in people who breathed air containing high concentrations of chlordane or accidentally swallowed small amounts of chlordane. Large amounts of chlordane taken by mouth can cause convulsions and death in people. Among other indoor problems, NIOSH found:

•   Boiler additives can caused skin rashes

•   Improperly diluted cleaning agents, such as rug shampoo and other detergents can vaporize and cause respiratory symptoms

•   Tobacco smoke of all types

•   Combustion gases from sources common to cafeterias and laboratories

•   Cross-contamination from poorly ventilated sources such as exhaust fumes from basement garage floors and loading docks.

•   Formaldehyde from insulation and furniture

•   Vinyl chloride from furnishings were found to cause eye, nose, and throat irritation,

•   Asbestos and fiberglass fibers were discovered embedded even in soft contact lenses worn by office workers.²³

The quality of indoor air and the health risks resulting from poor air quality have become major concerns to building occupants, especially office workers.

Unfortunately, the health risks of most indoor air exposures are poorly understood.

Originally, scientists thought indoor pollution just reflected outdoor pollution. But when an EPA team sampled air from schools in the shadow of chemical storage tanks, and in a relatively pristine suburban setting, they discovered that outside air had almost no effect on indoor pollution levels.

A committee of the World Health Organization estimates that as many as 30 percent of new or remodeled buildings may have unusually high rates of complaints, now known as Sick-Building Syndrome (SBS). New buildings, NIOSH researchers discovered, had levels of some chemicals that were a hundred times higher than outdoor levels, and the levels were still about ten times higher after six months. Even in buildings that had been occupied for a while, the presence of pollutants was two to five times worse than outside.⁴

The irony is that modern technology created the indoor air-quality problem by giving architects and engineers the tools to build tightly sealed, energy-efficient buildings. As much as 90 percent of the air is recycled in some structures. Aside from bacteria and fungi that can accumulate in humidifier systems, circulation vacuum pumps, blowers, ventilation ducts, and air filters, there are the chemicals that keep blowing around.

NIOSH researchers found that it is not uncommon for more than one problem to exist in a single building, but that inadequacies in ventilation systems or their operation are the major contributors to indoor air-quality problems.

If you have symptoms that disappear in the evening, never occur on weekends, and start up on Monday at the office again, you may have Building-Related Illness (BRI). Not all employees may be equally affected but if you are and the situation is not corrected, you can contact NIOSH. See Further Information at the back of this book. Experts from NIOSH will conduct health-hazard evaluations of indoor air quality (IAQ) at the request of employee groups, unions, management, and local, state, and federal agencies. Generally, these requests are in response to work health complaints and illness.¹⁷ There is no doubt poor indoor air can adversely affect employee health and productivity. The costs to industry have been estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars per year.⁵ When improvements in the indoor air environment are made, employee morale and productivity increase, so everyone benefits.

DRUGS IN OUR WATER  

Hidden medications in our drinking water are a surprising and increasingly alarming problem. Up to 90 percent of many prescription drugs that humans consume ultimately find their way to sewage-treatment plants. These include antibiotics, estrogens and antidepressants that pass through the body without being fully metabolized. These compounds pass through sewage treatment facilities which are designed to remove solids and bacteria but are not equipped to screen for pharmaceuticals. One study documented a steady stream of Pharmaceuticals—including Prozac® and other antidepressants being passed into the nation’s waters. Early studies in the laboratory of Marsha Black, PhD, an ecotoxicologist at The University of Georgia, suggest among the most widely prescribed medications—antidepressants that raise a brain chemical, serotonin (SSRI) such as Prozac®—cause problems for a range of organisms. For one thing, fish and frogs exposed to SSRIs were lethargic which could leave them easy targets for predators¹. The University of Georgia researchers also found:

•   Relatively low concentrations of Prozac® in mosquito fish led to developmental delays.

•   SSRIs increased mortality and lower reproductive rates in daphinids, tiny crustaceans commonly used to evaluate a compound’s toxicity in aquatic environments.

•   SSRIs in water adversely affected the metamorphosis from tadpoles to frogs.

In another study of pharmaceuticals in water, University of Buffalo chemists recently reported for that for the first time metabolites of two antibiotics and an imaging agent used in radiology were found in wastewater treatment plants. The UB scientists presented their data at the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy in Orland, March 16, 2006. Their results reinforce concerns about excreted pharmaceutical compounds that may end up in the water supply, the researchers said, potentially resulting in adverse effects for humans and the environment. The lead presenter, Diana Aga, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry in UB’s College of Arts and Sciences, said that it has been only in the past five years that analytical-chemistry techniques have become sufficiently affordable and practical to allow researchers to detect pharmaceuticals efficiently at the parts-per-billion range. The UB research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

The irony is that at the time scientists are becoming more adept at identifying chemicals in water, the federal government is attempting to greatly weaken rules for toxic emissions into our water supply. The EPA has proposed three changes:

1.   Relax the current annual reporting requirement and let companies make reports every other year instead

2.   Allow polluters to release 10 times more toxic chemicals—up to 5000 pounds annually—without disclosing the volume released or where the pollutants went

3.   Permit companies to conceal releases of up to 500 pounds annually of particularly dangerous toxic materials like mercury.²

If you want to dispose of your medications, don’t just flush them down the toilet or sink. While completely preventing contamination is not realistic, there are a few steps you can take to reduce the dangers. The American Pharmacist Association (APhA) recommends³:

•   Do not flush unused medications down the toilet.

•   It is also recommended against pouring unused medications down the drain.

•   Crush solid medications or dissolve in water (this applies for liquid medications as well), and mix with kitty litter or a solid kitchen substance such as coffee grounds, before placing in a sealed plastic bag to be tossed in the trash. This reduces the risk of poisoning for children and/or pets.

•   Remove and destroy all identifying personal information (prescription label) from the medication container.

•   Check for approved state and local collection programs or with area hazardous waste facilities. In certain states, you may be able to take your unused medications to community pharmacy sponsored days when you can return medications that need to be destroyed.

•   Talk to your pharmacist. Pharmacists are available to guide you on how to properly dispose of your unused medications. The ideal scenario is to take medications to a community hazardous waste collection location where those products can be incinerated.

Both Republican and Democratic legislators have sent letters to the EPA urging the agency not to weaken the rules concerning toxic emissions.

In the meantime, the author, as well as other science writers, were sent a communication from the Department of Health and Human Services asking for help to publicize the warning from the FDA and EPA about mercury in fish and shellfish.

The letter says: "Research shows that most people’s fish consumption does not cause a health concern and we emphasize that this advisory is direct to the specific subpopulation of women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and parents of young children—not the general population."

INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS  

Hidden chemicals are in products we use everyday that may affect our health, although no one knows for sure. Take phthalates, for instance, a large group of chemical compounds used in the production of plastics, household articles, packages, and plant pesticides as well as cosmetics (See Listing). World production of phthalates is estimated to be several million tons a year. Recent observations indicate some may be mutagenic, cancer-causing, and adversely affect human male sperm. In 2004, the European Union banned them in nail polish. The FDA said in 2004 that phthalates are safe for humans in the amounts to which we are exposed. Minute levels of phthalates, however, which are used in toys, building materials, drug capsules, cosmetics and