Posted on March 6th, 2011 @ 10:42 pm
In a recent Boston Globe article, Dr. Perry E. Sheffield, an assistant professor of preventive medicine and pediatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, was quoted as saying “Effectively, we’re conducting experiments on our population.”
In our homes, every day, we are exposed to all kinds of chemicals. And, as the article states, it’s nearly impossible to prove “scientifically that certain diseases are caused by household chemicals, such as bisphenol-A, phthalates, and flame retardants.” But the three scientists that were interviewed for the article have changed their own habits at home, based on their own research and therefore their understanding of the risks we are exposed to.
The “Big Three” that are the focus of the article are: Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and fire retardants.
The first, BPA, is one that I have written about numerous times. It seems that every few months there is a new study linking it to some issue. The Globe summarized recent studies, saying:
“In one study of 427 men published in December, those who had the most bisphenol-A — known commonly as BPA — in their urine reported the highest levels of sexual problems, from decreased desire to lower satisfaction with their sex lives. In a 2009 study of 250 toddlers, girls (but not boys) were more likely to act aggressively if their mothers had high urine levels of BPA during pregnancy.
And a national survey of more than 1,400 adults showed that people with higher concentrations of BPA in their urine were more likely to have been diagnosed with heart disease or diabetes, according to a 2008 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.”
Phthalates are another group of chemicals that I have been following for the past few years. Found in many things including fragrances and perfumes, as well as certain types of plastics (shower curtains, and other flexible plastics), carpeting, household cleaners, solvents and other products, phthalates have been linked to reproductive issues, developmental delays and other health concerns.
Lastly, fire retardants are increasingly found in everything from furniture, mattresses, pillows and even children’s pajamas. Think about it – we are coating our beds and bed-clothing in chemicals and then breathing them all night, every night. That just can’t be good. I get that we want to reduce the combustible items around us when we’re sleeping but this doesn’t seem like the smartest solution. That is one of the reasons that we decided to buy a natural latex mattress (which we LOVE, by the way) and pillows. Latex is naturally flame-retardant so it’s not coated in chemicals. The concern with fire retardants is that they can cause neurological problems, among other things.
These “Big Three” are not the only toxins in our homes that we are exposed to, but they are definitely the ones that are of the most concern.
“Virtually all of us are exposed to these chemicals, which can break free of the products they are embedded in and become airborne or dissolved in liquids or food. Research by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 93 percent of Americans over age 6 have BPA in their bodies.”
The problem is, we know that exposures can be cumulative but no one really knows how much is too much. And we also don’t really know much at all about how all of these chemicals interact with each other. According to the article, no one knows” in part because chemical companies aren’t required to find out.”
“Toxicity studies on new chemicals are not required unless the compounds will be used in drugs, pesticides, or food. There’s actually a disincentive for companies to study the potential health effects of new chemicals, according to Carl F. Cranor, a University of California-Riverside professor and author of a new book, “Legally Poisoned: How the Law Puts Us at Risk From Toxicants’’ (Harvard University Press). If a company studies a chemical, it must tell the EPA what it finds; if it doesn’t study the chemical, there’s no chance it will find something bad, he said.”
Isn’t that the crux of the issue? No one is taking responsibility. And in the end, we are the guinea pigs.
To read more, check out the full article. Also included are tips to reduce your exposure in your home.
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BPA · chemicals · children · latex mattress · organic mattress · phthalate-free · phthalates · toxins · toxins in the home
