Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Scented products emit harmful chemicals: study

Some Toxic and possibly carcinogenic substances are not listed on the label

The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 9, 2010 – By Wendy Koch

Popular scented products – including those claiming to be “green” – Emit chemicals not listed on the label, including some considered toxic and possibly carcinogenic, a study says.

Each of the 25 tested products emitted at least one chemical classified as toxic or hazardous under U.S. law, and 11 gave off at least one chemical listed as a possible carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the study published online in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review.

Lead author Anne Steinemann, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of Washington, says her study is the first to look at fragranced products.

The products emitted a total of 133 chemicals, about 17 each. But only ethanol was listed on labels. Manufacturers are not required to list ingredients in fragrances. A bill pending in the United States Senate would require it.

Half of the products tested made claims about being “green, organic or natural,” but “they emitted just as many toxic chemicals,” Steinemann said.

The study analyzed top-selling air fresheners, laundry products including detergents, and personal-care products such as soaps and cleaning products. It does not disclose brand names. “We don’t want to give people the impression that if we reported on product ‘A’ and they buy product ‘B,’ they’re safe,” said Steinemann. “The whole class is problematic.”

The researchers placed a sample of each product in a closed glass container at room temperature and tested the air for volatile organic compounds. Because product formulations are proprietary, they couldn’t determine whether a chemical came from the product base, the added fragrance or both.

The most common chemical was citrus-scented limonene, which Steinemann says can mix with air to create formaldehyde. Also emitted from at least half were three chemicals classified as toxic: pine-smelling alpha–pinene; ethanol; and acetone, a solvent in nail polis remover. “Yes, it’s low-level exposure, but low levels add up,” she said, adding the EPA sets no safe limit for many of the chemicals detected.

The International Fragrance Association North America says the report “unnecessarily alarms the public with insinuations of danger.” It says most materials can be toxic in high concentrations. The study does not discuss health effects, but two national surveys last year by Steinemann found 20 percent of people reported health problems from air fresheners; 10 per cent from laundry products. Complaints were twice as common in people with asthma. She suggests people clean with vinegar and baking soda, open windows for ventilation and use unscented products.

McClatchy – Tribune Newspapers

Monday, December 20, 2010

Canadian meat, poultry plants dirty: U.S. audit

The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 9, 2010

Canadian Food Inspection Agency documents often painted an inaccurate picture of the conditions at some of Canada’s meat and poultry plants where sanitation problems persisted, an American audit has found.

A recently released audit by the United States Department of Agriculture’s inspection service revealed several areas of “systemic concern,” though the report notes the Canadian agency has taken significant steps to correct problems.

The audit, which looked at 23 of the 455 establishments certified to export to the U.S. between August 25 and October 1, 2009, identified weaknesses particularly in the areas of sanitation, oversight and record keeping.

A review of manuals and procedures at the food inspection agency’s administrative offices found acceptable controls for sanitation, but auditors found a different story at some plants.
“The actual conditions of these establishment visits were often not entirely consistent with the corresponding documentation,” the report says.

Among the sanitation issues flagged were: not consistently identifying contaminated product and inconsistently verifying that plants were taking adequate corrective actions to problems. “This audit is from a year ago and in that time our government has invested an additional $75 million to improve food safety and are hiring 170 new inspectors” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Monday.

The head of the food inspection agency’s meat programs division said Canadian inspectors found similar problems when they visited American meat plants. Richard Arsenault said the U.S. auditors interpreted the requirements differently from Canadian authorities. “Essentially, I think what we had was a situation where the facilities were generally, with very small issues, in full compliance with our requirements,” Arsenault said in an interview Monday. He said the U.S. assessment was that some things were not “appropriate” for a plant eligible for the United States.

The Canadian Press

Monday, December 13, 2010

True Clean Has No Odour – Cleaning with Steam leaves no smell behind!

Study: Some Green Products Emit Toxins
Cleanlink News November 1 2010

According to research from the University of Washington, some popular scented consumer products that claim to be "green," "organic" or "natural" actually emit just as many toxic chemicals as other fragranced products. The study analyzed 25 scented products; about half carried green health claims. All the products emitted at least one chemical classified as toxic or hazardous, say Chicago Tribune reports.

The research, published in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review, indicates that more than a third of the samples gave off one chemical classified as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has set no safe exposure level for possible carcinogens.

Overall, the products tested emitted more than 420 chemicals, but virtually none were disclosed to consumers, said the study's lead author, Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington. A single "fragrance" in a product can be a mixture of up to several hundred ingredients. But since manufacturers are not required to disclose all ingredients in cosmetics, cleaning supplies, air fresheners or laundry products, the majority of the chemicals are not listed on the labels.

The most common emissions the researchers found included limonene, a compound with a citrus scent; apha-pinene and beta-pinene, compounds with a pine scent; ethanol; and acetone, a solvent found in nail polish remover.

Brand names were not included in the data to avoid leaving the impression that products other than the ones reported in the study were safer. "We found potentially hazardous chemicals in all of the fragranced products we tested," said Steinemann.

While the study confirmed the ubiquitous presence of the chemicals, it doesn't look at whether the products are safe to use. Studies conducted by the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials maintain that the ingredients are safe. But previous research by Steinemann and a colleague showed that nearly 38 percent of Americans report adverse effects when exposed to some kind of fragranced products. Among asthmatics, such complaints were roughly twice as common.

The Household Product Labeling Act, currently being reviewed by the U.S. Senate, would require manufacturers to list ingredients in air fresheners, soaps, laundry supplies and other consumer products. Steinemann cautioned that products called "fragrance-free" and "unscented" are not necessarily non-toxic. The chemicals identified in the study could have been part of the added fragrance, the product base, or both; product formulations are confidential so the researchers had no way of discerning the source. Moreover, even if a product doesn't have a scent, it could still contain chemicals that are classified as toxic.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Study probes chemicals / cancer link

Newton, MA – One day after the release of a study linking cleaning compounds and pesticides to behavioural disorders in children, the non-profit research group Silent Spring Institute (SSI) says it will prepare a study to develop guidelines for testing of chemicals found in household cleaners and furniture finishes that may cause breast caner in women.

The study will compile a list of chemicals already identified as causing mammary tumors in animals and will develop guidelines for how additional chemicals should be tested.

About 100 compounds have been identified as priorities for breast cancer research because they cause mammary tumors in animals. Researchers suspect human breast cancer may be related to these compounds, pollutants found in household products, including some cleaners, furniture finishes, and pesticides.

“This new study is designed to search out the causes of breast cancer, offering hope that we will one day find ways to prevent this disease,” says Dr. Julia Brody, SSI executive director.

The study is being funded by a $30,000 donation from the Law Offices of James Sokolove.

“With breast cancer affecting one out of eight women, we need to take more aggressive steps to eradicate the disease,” says Sokolove. “As a husband and father, I am committed to supporting organizations examining environmental links to cancer and especially breast cancer.”

Copyright 2000 National Trade Publications, Inc.