Daycare dust to be analyzed for toxins

By: Wency Leung – Taken from The Globe and Mail – April 1, 2010 – page L4

Your baby has been scooting around on the daycare floor all morning. Meanwhile, your toddler has been playing hide-and-seek in the curtains.

Their daycare may look spotless and tidy, but could invisible chemical toxins be lurking in the dust?

Health Canada is conducting a study to find out. Researchers at the Environmental Health, Science and Research Bureau plan to collect dust samples from 300 licensed daycare centres in Ontario and Quebec and analyze them for potentially hazardous chemicals, according to an online government procurement notice.

“This study will investigate young children’s potential exposure to many widely – used chemicals,” it says. “Residues of many of these chemicals settle on indoor dust and could potentially become a source of exposure for children.”

Household dust can contain a multitude of harmful synthetic chemicals, including flame retardants known as PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), which are found in common consumer electronics such as televisions and computers, as well as in upholstered sofas and chairs and rugs, says Rick Smith, executive director of the Toronto based activist group Environmental Defense.

These PBDEs, which can disrupt hormones, escape from the prducts and accumulate in dust, he says.

He notes that Phthalates, another hormone-disrupting chemical that is found in flexible vinyl toys, can wind up in household dust as products degrade. Phthalates also present potential risks, especially to young children.

“The Particular vulnerability of this pollution lies in the fact that kids are closer to the ground. They’re more apt to roll around in dusty corners. Younger children are very fond of putting their fingers in their mouths after they’ve handled things,” Mr. Smith says, adding that children’s developing bodies also make them more susceptible.

Hormone-disrupting chemicals have been linked to problems including childhood asthma, diabetes, obesity and even attention deficit disorder, he says.

But just how dangerous are these chemicals in dust, and how concerned should parents be?

Erica Phipps of the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment, says parents and daycare providers should take precautions, such as buying products that are free of potentially harmful chemicals, and wet dusting and wet-mopping to capture dust. But, she says they need not be alarmed.

“We certainly don’t want to give people the impression that daycare centres or homes are some toxic wasteland and the kids are going to be at high risk,” she says.

She added that parents can do more harm than good by trying to rid their children’s environment of pollutants. For instance, some fragranced cleaning products can actually contain phthalates and other chemicals that can be particularly harmful to children with allergies and sensitivities, she says.

“A centre that looks or smells sparkling clean may actually, depending on what cleaning products they’re using…. Be another source of chemical exposures.”