HEAL YOUR HOME
Did you know that here in the US, about
80,000 industrial chemicals are
registered for use in all of the
products we eat, touch? wear? and use to
furnish our homes? but that fewer than
20 percent have been tested for their
impact on human health and the
environment?
These include ingredients in our food,
household cleaners? and body care
products. They include chemicals used
on and in toys and furniture and
clothing and bed linens.
Wouldn't it make more sense to prove a
chemical is safe before running the risk
of harming people who use the product?
workers who make it, and the communities
where the manufacturing facilities are
located?
That?s the idea behind the Precautionary
Principle. It turns right-side-up the
upside-down way our society makes
decisions about risk. The
Precautionary Principle requires proof
that products are safe? and errs on the
side of caution.
Below? we outline the
problems with 16 conventional household
products. Click through to Co-op
America's
Healthy Home Center to learn about
solutions ? ways to heal every part of
your home. (Also, all of the linked
terms below, like
"phthalates"? take you straight to
our online glossary for a better
understanding of the problems some of
the worst chemicals can cause.)
1) Conventional body care
products – More than
one-third of personal care products
contain at least one ingredient linked
to cancer, and very few products are
tested for safety. Some products contain
phthalates? which don't appear in
the list of a product's ingredients --
instead they are covered by the general
term "fragrance."
Body Care Solutions »
2) Chemical Air Fresheners ?
Air fresheners contain dangerous
ingredients like
dichlorobenzene?
naphthalene? and
formaldehyde.
Air Freshener Solutions »
3) PVC Shower Curtains
?
Polyvinyl chloride, also known as
PVC? the vinyl in your shower curtain?
is a plastic that?s dangerous to people
and the environment at every stage of
its lifecycle.
Shower Curtain Solutions»
4) Conventional Cleaners
? Many household
cleaners contain
volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
such as
formaldehyde? harsh acids? and
hormone disruptors.
Cleaning Solutions»
5) Paints and Stains
? Conventional paints contain
three chemicals worth worrying about:
VOCs? fungicides? and biocides.
Other problematic ingredients can
include
mercury?
arsenic disulfide?
phenol? and
formaldehyde.
Painting Solutions »
6) Furniture
? Some wood furniture
can release VOCs from adhesives and
finishes.
Urea formaldehyde is used in
particle board furniture. Most
upholstered furniture is treated with
flame-retardant
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs).
Furniture Solutions »
7) Flooring
? Wall-to-wall carpets
harbor allergens and trap toxins. Most
synthetic carpets and their adhesives
also emit
VOCs. Carpeting may be treated with
benzyl benzoate or other chemicals
for mothproofing or to repel moisture.
Flooring Solutions »
8) Vinyl Siding
? Home siding can be
the single largest use of vinyl? made
from
PVC? in a home. Vinyl siding often
contains
DEHP? an additive? and a
phthalate.
Siding Solutions »
9) Wooden Decks and Playsets ?
Until a few years ago, pressure-treated
wood for decks and play equipment was
routinely covered in
chromium copper arsenate (CCA) to
kill insects and prevent rot. CCA
leaches
arsenic that sticks to the hands and
is absorbed through skin.
Deck/Playset Solutions »
10) Pesticides ?
Too many homeowners needlessly use
hazardous chemicals on their lawns, and
these chemicals can drift into their
homes and pollute indoor air.
Lawncare Solutions »
11) Cookware ?
Non-stick pans with Teflon or
Teflon-like coatings contain
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which
break down into the air at high
temperatures.
Cookware Solutions »
12) Plastics ?
Hard-to-recycle plastics often contain
toxins that can leach into food and
water? especially when heated.
Plastics Solutions »
13) Conventional Produce
? Many non-organic
fruits and vegetables carry pesticide
residue. Twenty-three of the world's 28
most commonly used pesticides are
suspected carcinogens, and several are
possible neurotoxins and
endocrine disruptors.
Produce Solutions»
14) Seafood ?
Some fish can contain
mercury and
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Some experts say that FDA and EPA fish
consumption limits, established to keep
pregnant women and children safe? are
too lax.
Seafood Solutions »
15) Bed linens ?
Toxic chemicals that resist flames,
water, moths, stains, and wrinkles are
sometimes added to textiles like
bedclothes. Labels like
"permanent-press?" "no-iron?" "water
repellent?" and "flame retardant?" may
indicate fabric treatments that off-gas
chemicals like
formaldehyde and
perfluorochemicas (PFCs).
Bed linens Solutions »
16) Mattresses ?
Federal laws require mattresses to be
fire resistant, so many manufacturers
treat the mattress foam with
flame-retardant chemicals. The most
dangerous are
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)?
which some manufacturers are phasing out
voluntarily.
Mattress Solutions »
