Our Toxic Homes

The Health Dangers of Phenols Found in Common Household Cleaners

How clean do you think your home is?
How toxic did you make your home while cleaning it?
What chemicals have you unknowingly exposed yourself and your family to?

Many of the products you use to disinfect your home have a secret of their own; they are toxic and can potentially cause a multitude of problems for you and your family. Research suggests that many of these chemicals can cause everything from an increase in breast cancer, to asthma, to playing a role in disrupting our hormones. Many different chemicals can play a part in making Home Sweet Home a toxic dump. One of great concern is phenol - caustic compounds. They are often found in disinfectants. Even the Environmental Protection Agency lists disinfectants that contain phenols as "corrosive and toxic" and according to the National Institutes of Health, phenol is toxic and people who are hypersensitive to it could experience death or serious side effects at very low exposures.

How is it that these chemicals and compounds are even allowed in cleaning products that we use in our homes to “clean them”, around our children, and pets? When we clean our home we want to do without causing harm to our families. Here is a partial list of name brand cleaners that contain Phenol-Caustic.

Household detergents
Lysol
Pine-Sol
Spic-n-Span
Acne medications
Baking Powder
Mouthwash
Sugar substitutes
Along with Phenol – Caustic, there are many other chemicals that can pose a risk to us and are families and are commonly found in cleaning products. Here are just a few:

1.Acid Blue 9: Carcinogenic. Used in some toilet bowl cleaners and deodorizers
2. Ammonium Chloride: Corrosive to the eyes, can cause permanent damage. Used in some toilet bowl cleaners and deodorizers.
3. Crystalline Silica: Eye, skin, and lung irritant. Carcinogenic. Its hazard occurs in its dry form and not liquid state. Used in some highly popular brands of cat litter, paints, and some powdered flea control products for pets.
4.Di-propylene Glycol Methyl Ether: Eye and skin irritant. Used in some laundry, soil and stain remover, car interiors and exterior cleaners.
5. Sodium Hydroxide (Bleach): Corrosive. Eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Sensitizer. Can be fatal if swallowed especially harmful to people with heart conditions or asthma. Used in a wide range of household cleaners.
6. Toluene: Eye and skin irritant. Can cause cardiac sensitization. Also found in nail polish.
7. Oil of Orange: Skin irritant. Carcinogenic. Used in some all purpose cleaners, furniture polishes, and spot removers.
8. Quaternary Ammonium Compound: Eye and skin irritant. Used in some all-purpose cleaners and laundry fabric softeners.
9. Quaternium 5: Eye and skin irritant: Allergen. Can release formaldehyde (known carcinogen) Used in some hand and automatic dishwashing products.
Go Green! On the market there are products that can effectively clean your home with out the chemicals in over the counter cleaners. Using cleaning products that are chemical free will turn your home back into Home Sweet Home. Check out our link for Chemical Free Cleaning to find where you can purchase chemical free cleaners and have them delivered to your door. Using toxic free cleaners has never been easier.

Click here for a PDF (1.4MB) courtesy of the preventcancer.org, with a list of other hazardous ingredients.
(Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.
Cancer Prevention Coalition
c/o University of Illinois at Chicago
School of Public Health, MC 922
2121 West Taylor Street
Chicago, IL 60612)

KNOW YOUR A.B.C's
by Dr. Joyce M. Woods

Begin by thinking of your home as a toxic waste dump. The average home today contains 62 toxic chemicals - more than a chemistry lab at the turn of the century. More than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced since WW II. Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, or birth defects. The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects.

An EPA survey concluded that indoor air was 3 to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air.
Another EPA study stated that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air.
CMHC reports that houses today are so energy efficient that "out-gassing" of chemicals has no where to go, so it builds up inside the home.
We spend 90% of our time indoors, and 65% of that time at home. Moms, infants and the elderly spend 90% of their time in the home.
National Cancer Association released results of a 15-year study concluding that women who work in the home are at a 54% higher risk of developing cancer than women who work outside the home.
Cancer rates have almost doubled since 1960.
Cancer is the Number ONE cause of death for children.
There has been a 26% increase in breast cancer since 1982. Breast cancer is the Number ONE killer of women between the ages of 35 and 54. Primary suspects are laundry detergents, household cleaners and pesticides.
There has been a call from the U.S./Canadian Commission to ban bleach in North America. Bleach is being linked to the rising rates of breast cancer in women, reproductive problems in men and learning and behavioral problems in children.
Chemicals get into our body through inhalation, ingestion and absorption. We breathe 10 to 20 thousand liters of air per day.
There are more than 3 million poisonings every year. Household cleaners are the Number ONE cause of poisoning of children.
Since 1980, asthma has increased by 600%. The Canadian Lung Association and the Asthma Society of Canada identify common household cleaners and cosmetics as triggers.
ADD/ADHD are epidemic in schools today. Behavioral problems have long been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and molds.
Chemical and environmental sensitivities are known to cause all types of headaches.
Labeling laws do not protect the consumer - they protect big business. The New York Poison Control Center reports that 85% of product warning labels were either inadequate or incorrect for identifying a poison, and for first aid instructions.
Formaldehyde, phenol, benzene, toluene, xylene are found in common household cleaners, cosmetics, beverages, fabrics and cigarette smoke. These chemicals are cancer causing and toxic to the immune system.
Chemicals are attracted to, and stored in fatty tissue. The brain is a prime target for these destructive organics because of its high fat content and very rich blood supply.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found more than 2500 chemicals in cosmetics that are toxic, cause tumors, reproductive complications, biological mutations and skin and eye irritations.
Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure.
Pesticides only have to include active ingredients on the labels, even though the inert (inactive) ingredients may account for 99%, many of which are toxic and poisons.