Would You Like Some Hormone- Disrupting Chemicals with Your Perfumed Air?

[Guest guest]

Would You Like Some Hormone- Disrupting Chemicals with Your Perfumed

Air?

 

By Dan Shapley

 

This Risky Chemical in Air Fresheners Isn't On the Ingredient List

 

Three environmental and health groups have sued the federal

government in an attempt to force it to label air fresheners that use

a potentially harmful substance.

 

Phthalates, which in laboratory animal tests damage the reproductive

system and interrupt normal development by mimicking the body's

hormones, were found in more than a dozen common household air

fresheners that the Natural Resources Defense Council tested. The

risk from low-dose exposure via air freshener isn't known. People are

also exposed to phthalates from a variety of other sources, primarily

plastics. The Sierra Club and the Alliance for Healthy Homes have

joined the lawsuit.

 

Phthalates were only one class of potentially harmful chemicals

identified in the air fresheners. Others have been linked to cancer

and asthma.As with exposure to any harmful substance, any risk is

generally most acute for fetuses, babies and children whose organs

are still developing.

 

About three out of four households use air fresheners, and the $1.72

billion industry has grown 50% since 2003.

 

Currently, those many consumers would find it hard to avoid chemicals

they deem risky because the government does not require ingredients

to be listed on air fresheners. Even some brands marked " all natural "

or " unscented " contain the synthetic chemical linked to endocrine

disruption, according to the NRDC study.

 

Of 14 brands tested, only two, Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle

Effects, contained no detectable levels of phthalates in the NRDC

testing. The three with the highest level of phthalates were

Walgreens Air Freshener, Walgreens Scented Bouquet, and Ozium

Glycolized Air Sanitizer.

 

" Consumers deserve to know that the products they bring into their

homes are safe for use. Picking an air freshener off the store shelf

shouldn't be a guessing game., " said NRDC attorney Mae Wu. " If

manufacturers refuse to be up front about the chemicals in their

products and the potential health risks they cause, then it is the

government's responsibility to demand that information for Americans.

It's impossible for consumers to make informed choices to protect the

health of their families when basic information is being withheld. "

 

Knowledge is empowerment!

 

Michelle

http://www.HolisticMenopause.com