[/caption]Carol Forsloff - -It was 9:30 p.m. when the toilet flushed for the fourth or fifth time, as he ran back and forth yelling, “Something is making me sick.” That something was a household chemical, the type that surreptitiously invades the human body in the guise of a helping agent but instead is a poison that injures or kills.
The journalist documenting a recent poisoning event got an insider’s view of it, as within minutes after the husband’s initial complaints, the same back and forth pattern of vomiting, headache and disorientation began for the writer of this piece.
Both husband and wife were admitted to an Oregon hospital with the diagnosis of environmental poisoning following the use of a household product designed to prepare wood surface for refinishing. A five foot area became the source of an illness that lasted over more than 24 hours and required hospitalization, intravenous medications and other medical support.
In September 2011 the Sydney Morning Herald published an article in which the risks of household chemicals were outlined. The author cited a report from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute that finds a person’s health is influenced by the environment in which he or she lives. This means everything from household products to toxic mold.
Organic compounds are often the culprits in environmental poisoning, according to the EPA, with the following description that underlines the risks: “Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions”.
The EPA goes on to describe how serious the problem of indoor pollutants can be with a discussion of the usual number of household products that can cause illness or even death. In a research study by the EPA published in 1985 entitled "Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) more than a dozen common organic pollutants were 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside. Concentrations of these compounds can persist in the environment for many hours, if not days, after the activity has been completed.
Just today the Huffington Post offers a discussion of 10 toxic household products that can cause health problems. Sloan Barnett tells us that an ordinary shopping bag from the grocery store likely carries one or more of these products home every week to the ordinary American. What are these toxins? Barnett lists flame retardants, formaldehyde in cosmetics, wrinkle-free clothing, disinfectants, aerosol cleaning products and particle-board furniture, chlorine bleach, Bisphenol-A found in plastic and glass containers, lead such as found in baby powder, cosmetics, vinyl flooring and artificial turf. Vinyl (PVC) is often associated with toxic phthalate chemicals that are used to soften the plastic. It is reported to cause cancer in both animals and humans and is found in inflatable pool toys, baby dolls, teethers, bigs, bath toys, commercial cling food wrap and flooring. Phthalates, found in perfume, can disrupt the endocrine system and can be found in school supplies and building materials. Scientists have also found the chemicals used to create non-stick surfaces on cooking utensils can lead to serious health concerns with PFOA, that include cancer and lower birth weight. Pesticides and ammonia round out the list of these worst case products that can impair health of humans and animals, if not used carefully. Some, scientists say, should not be used by humans at all unless in small quantities and then only with proper clothing..
A hospital stay combined with hours of disability and disorientation is a serious lesson for what has become a serious community problem, ordinarily presented in isolated sound bites or stories sandwiched into newspaper features that are read last after “important” news. A hospital stay is convincing enough to label household toxins front page news so that others don’t become victims too.
