Global Indoor Health Network

Chemicals

Chemicals

There are thousands of harmful chemicals in our food, water, soil and air, and the number is rapidly increasing. This section will highlight some of the most common categories.

The authors of a new paper published in June 2017 provide an excellent introduction to this topic, as follows:

In a colossal “toxicological experiment” carried out over the last few decades, there has been the unprecedented production and release of tens of thousands of chemical agents into the environment without sufficient consideration for human safety and without credible testing to secure the absence of danger or harm. Such chemical pollutants are now ubiquitous and surreptitiously linger within our foods, our air, our water, and even within our bodies.

United Nations (Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals)

In 2017, the United Nations published the seventh revised edition of a report that provides detailed information on the classification and labelling of chemicals. The first edition was published in 2003, with subsequent editions published in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013.

This system is known as the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). Due to the worldwide use, sale and distribution of chemicals, they created one system that could be used throughout the world to classify and label these products.

It was a significant task to bring together the policies and practices of numerous countries around the globe to develop one harmonized approach. GHS was the culmination of more than a decade of work (beginning with a United Nations mandate in 1992). The participants in the process represented a multitude of countries, international organizations and stakeholder organizations from a vast number of disciplines. Early in the process, they agreed on 10 key principles of harmonization.

Here are three of those principles:

(a) the level of protection offered to workers, consumers, the general public and the environment should not be reduced as a result of harmonizing the classification and labelling systems;

(b) the hazard classification process refers principally to the hazards arising from the intrinsic properties of substances and mixtures, whether natural or synthetic;

(c) in relation to chemical hazard communication, the safety and health of workers, consumers and the public in general, as well as the protection of the environment, should be ensured while protecting confidential business information, as prescribed by the competent authorities.

The U.S. EPA has not adopted the GHS approach. As stated on the EPA website:

EPA has not adopted GHS for pesticide product classification and labeling. In most cases, GHS hazard statements and pictograms should not appear on pesticide product labels sold and distributed in the United States.

Although the U.S. EPA has not adopted GHS, they acknowledged the benefits of using GHS for product labels, as follows:

If adopted, GHS will provide an internationally consistent basis for classifying chemical hazards. Once hazards are classified, GHS will also ensure that signal words, pictograms and hazard statements have the same meaning in all settings, domestically and internationally. This will simplify hazard communication and result in safer transportation, handling, and use of pesticides. This approach will benefit all countries that adopt GHS and should be particularly useful for countries without well-developed regulatory systems.

GHS also will reduce costly and time-consuming activities needed to comply with multiple classification and labeling systems, promoting more consistency in regulation and reducing non-tariff barriers to trade.

Silicone (silicosis)

The disease dates back centuries, but researchers say the booming popularity of countertops made of engineered stone, which has much higher concentrations of silica than many kinds of natural stone, has driven a new epidemic of an accelerated form of the suffocating illness.

As the dangerous dust builds up and scars the lungs, the disease can leave workers short of breath, weakened and ultimately suffering from lung failure.

"You can get a transplant," Cabrera told the man in Spanish, "but it won't last."

Instead of cropping up in people in their 60s or 70s after decades of exposure, it is now afflicting men in their 20s, 30s or 40s, said Dr. Jane Fazio, a pulmonary critical care physician who became alarmed by cases she saw at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Some California patients have died in their 30s.

"They're young guys who essentially have a terminal diagnosis," Fazio said.

To read the article, click here.

To read the OSHA Hazard Alert about silica, click here.

Global Indoor Health Network - Thousands of harmful chemicals in our food, water, soil and air

There are thousands of harmful chemicals in our food, water, soil and air, and the number is rapidly increasing.

We cannot begin to provide details on the thousands of chemicals being used today, so we selected the following six categories.

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF)

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is a dangerous chemical that has been banned in several countries, but is (wrongly) still allowed in the U.S.

In fact, the manufacture of products with DMF in the European Union has been banned since 1998, and imports of products with DMF (to the European Union) have been banned since 2009.

People can be exposed to DMF through these routes of exposure:

Leather used to make furniture is often treated with DMF with the alleged purpose of reducing moisture and mold.
DMF is also included in millions of desiccant packets/sachets (see a sample picture in the next column) that are included in leather goods, shoes, riding helmets, non-leather furniture, etc. These desiccant packets/sachets are made of breathable fabric and contain a white crystalline powder (DMF).
DMF is released through vapors and infects/contaminates these items and can also contaminate other nearby furniture and household items and clothing of the person who sits on the contaminated item.

For additional information about Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), click here.

Personal Care Products

Many of your common, every day personal care products contain harmful chemicals. These products include cosmetics, soaps, shampoos and other personal hygiene items. We will discuss just two of the chemicals found in personal care products.

For additional information about chemicals in personal care products, click here .

Pesticides

Pesticides are chemicals used to kill or limit the growth of numerous types of pests. Included in this grouping are herbicides (kill plants), fungicides (kill fungi), insecticides (kill insects) and numerous other classes. They are designed to disrupt biological systems.

Pesticides are used extensively in farming and are also used in homes, schools and businesses. Ten of the twelve most dangerous organic chemicals are pesticides.

For additional information about pesticides, click here .

Phthalates

Phthalates are man-made chemical compounds that are primarily used as plasticizers (i.e., substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability and longevity), but they are also added to food, beverages, spices, drugs, fragrances, air fresheners and many personal care products.

Numerous studies have shown that phthalates are harmful and can cause multiple health effects including impaired sperm quality and motility, respiratory symptoms, thyroid problems, and negative effects on prenatal development, reproductive hormones and pregnancy outcome.

For additional information about phthalates, click here.

Trichloroethylene

TCE causes cancer, is linked to miscarriages and congenital heart disease, and is associated with a 500% increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an industrial solvent used in industrial solvents, commercial dry cleaners and some household products like cleaning wipes, paint removers and carpet cleaners.

There are many different types of solvents including acetone, benzene, ethanol, hexane, methanol, toluene, trichloroethylene and xylene.

For additional information about solvents, click here.

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