Erin Brockovich to hold forum in Cameron

Missouri Town Sees High Number Of Brain Tumor Cases

Let’s follow this story as it unfolds. Erin Brockovich is a hero in my eyes (I hope everybody has seen the movie!!); let’s see what’s happening with this tumor cluster in Missouri. I’ll follow up on Oct 14 and see what’s released about her visit to Cameron.

CAMERON, Mo. — The high number of brain tumors reported in Cameron is in the national news again.

KMBC has learned that Erin Brockovich, the woman portrayed in the award-winning movie starring Julia Roberts, will fly into Cameron next month to hold a public forum with concerned residents.

Brockovich, who grew up in Lawrence, Kan., is famous for her crusade to help a small town in California find out what was causing so many residents to get sick.

Her investigation led to an historic $333 million settlement from a utility company that was blamed for toxic chemicals leaking into the residents’ groundwater.

Brockovich now crusades for other communities and has been following the reports of brain tumors in Cameron.

Brockovich will be in Cameron on Oct. 13 at Goodrich Auditorium for a public forum.

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Thanks, Marti! (Link to Marti’s website.)

October 1st is World Vegetarian Day

I struggle all the time with the issue of eating meat. I do not want to eat mammals, not for health reasons, but for ethical imperative: I love animals and cannot bear the suffering endured by mammals meant as food, especially those grown in commercial feed lots destined for an inhumane slaughter.

So I eat mostly fish, but I know even fish are sentient beings as well, with distinct personalities and the desire for happiness (yes, this is Buddhist teaching). I see the fish in my ponds and I know they are extremely aware of their beingness: they are curious, social, delight in play, and are very unhappy when sick. So it’s also hard for me to eat fish!

So I was interested to discover that October is World Vegetarian Month, with the kick off on Oct. 1^st.  Here’s some food for thought from Myriam Black at The World is my sOyster Weblog.

There are many reasons that men, women and children decide to cut animal flesh out of their diets. These are the main ones:

1. Animal cruelty issues -factory farm operations (where most of your meat comes from) is often cramped, cruel and rampant with disease

2. Environmental issues -animal farming takes up way more resources than farming plant based stuff. By the time you factor in all the resources that go into feeding a cow and how much that cow actually feeds you, it ends up being a net loss of energy overall. It’s much better for the environment if we eat plants, which give much more energy per acre than a cow. Plus, less cattle production means less soil contamination in our veggies too. There are also large areas of trees that are being cleared to make more space for livestock productions. Eat an asparagus, save a tree!

3. Health issues -there are very few vegetarians that don’t notice a dramatic change in their health after giving up meat (and even more so when they give up eggs and dairy too). These include more vibrant hair, smoother skin, better eyesight, better hormone balance, better blood pressure, higher energy levels and better weight management. This has also helped some of our top athletes compete better too.

4. Financial issues -I think we all agree that meat and milk are bloody expensive. My grocery budget has remained the same since we stopped eating meat but having no meat or dairy in my grocery cart has allowed me to invest my dime into foods that are extra healthy for me, like extra fruits and veggies, organic produce, hemp protein powder, pure fruit juice and other yummy goodies like that.

5. Culinary reasons -I have always loved cooking! And when we went vegetarian and later vegan I had to rethink the way that I viewed vegetables on my plate. Instead of being the garnish beside my chicken breast they have become my main masterpiece! There is a whole new world of food and flavors out there to be discovered, especially in ethnic cuisines.

I implore you to give vegetarianism a chance. The earth, your body, the animals, your wallet and your taste buds will thank you!

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I found Myriam’s post through Elisa Camahort at Blogher, who writes about vegetarianism:

What are my guiding principles?

1. Any step is better than no step. No one is a 100% perfectly humane human. Perfectionism is an easy excuse to keep you from even trying to do one thing…you may ask “What’s the point of only swearing off veal?” I say that it all matters it all helps, and you should do what you can do…until you can do better.

2. I am veg*n because I can be and there is no compelling reason not to be. Can’t you be? Why shouldn’t you be? And couldn’t you start small and work up? What have you actually got to lose? Conversely: what might you gain?

3. Yes, veg*nism can be better for your health, and yes, it can better for the planet’s health. (It can also not be those things…it all depends on how you do it.) I am not a religious person. I’m not even particularly a spiritual person. But I deeply believe that this is the most beneficial spiritual practice I follow. I believe it promotes both my personal well-being and promotes peace in the wider world. I know I have been a catalyst for others to head down the veg*n path, and is is not because I harangue or vilify or preach. I simply encourage people to be informed, and think about it and make conscious choices. And to do whatever they feel they can manage to do right then. That’s all.

4. Yes, I vote absolutely religiously, but how I spend money is also a vote, of sorts, every single day. I do believe economic “encouragement” drove many cosmetics companies to drop animal testing, for example, and that’s a good thing. We all consume, but we can do it consciously.

That’s my testimony in honor of World Vegetarian Day. What will you do to mark the day? Make veggie meals? Patronize a veggie restaurant?

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Link to photo by coincoyote at flickr

This evening’s walk

This is the park where I walk most evenings. We go at the very end of the day just as it gets dark. It’s a county park about a mile from my home–it’s an old baseball field chock full of history in our community from the days when sugar was king and every plantation community had a baseball team. The oldtimers tell some great stories!

My newest fascination is with the bats that join us in the evening just as it darkens too much to see well. How I wish I could catch them on film! They dart and flutter catching bugs way up high. They are my new favorite animal.

Anyway, here are three snaps: one of the park when we first arrived, then one toward the ocean (the direction we call makai), and one toward the mountain (mauka) as darkness fell. I should go get some photos in the full light one day so you can see how much prettier it is than these show!

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

If you haven’t seen it, rent this movie!!!

THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN follows Farmer John’s astonishing journey from farm boy to counter-culture rebel to the son who almost lost the family farm to a beacon of today’s booming organic farming movement and founder of one of the nation’s largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms. The result is a tale that ebbs and flows with the fortunes of the soil and revealingly mirrors the changing American times.

Link

Link to clip from the movie

Chicago’s toxic air

TRIBUNE WATCHDOG REPORT: Chicago-area residents face some of the highest risk of getting sick from pollution, but the EPA isn’t making it widely known.

What I admire most about this story on the toxic air in Chicago can be found in the video (at bottom of post): Leila Mendez, who had the chance to move away from the problem, chose to stay and fight for clean air for the sake of the area’s kids. Brava!

People living in Chicago and nearby suburbs face some of the highest risks in the nation for cancer, lung disease and other health problems linked to toxic chemicals pouring from industry smokestacks, according to a Tribune analysis of federal data.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spent millions of dollars to assess the dangers that air pollution poses but has failed to fulfill promises to make the research more accessible to the public. So the Tribune is posting the information on its Web site, where users can easily find nearby polluters and the chemicals going into their air.

Those who look up Cook County will see it ranked worst in the nation for dangerous air pollution, based on 2005 data. The Tribune also found Chicago was among the 10 worst cities in the U.S.

The factory with the highest risk score in Chicago is a steel mill on the edge of upscale Lincoln Park, a neighborhood where it isn’t uncommon to find people buying organic dog food.

In Will and DuPage Counties, six factories rank in the region’s worst 50, though residents of the collar counties generally face much lower risks than people who live in Cook. Nearby Lake County, Ind., has nine of the worst polluters in the region.

So how much danger does a person living near these factories face? The EPA didn’t try to answer that difficult question. Air pollution is just one factor that can affect the chances of developing health problems.

Link to full story.

Video: Click on pic of video below and you’ll be taken to page, scroll down for vid.

Best kind of diet

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The sorrow of isolation

CatherineWO, at Breathez, posted about Sisterhood yesterday, lamenting the loss of getting together with other women as much as she’d like since developing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. While she’s found some comfort with online blogs, she makes a very valid point about the need for personal interaction.

She recently attended a jewelry party at her daughter-in-law’s. She writes about the gathering: “…even more important to me was the opportunity to just sit and talk with other women. It was a small group, but they all knew I would be there so had come fragrance free. It felt good just to relax and enjoy the company of others.”

But she has a much harder time being able to participate in her church activities. I wrote about CatherineWO’s successful activism at her church, where she lobbied church elders to make all church buildings fragrance free. But she still has some problems with more casual gatherings with women friends, which causes her deep sorrow.

We all suffer losses in our lives for which we must grieve and then move on, hopefully filling the gap with something else of value. But I am not sure how to fill this gap in my life. In moments of selfishness and self-pity, I rail at the women in my own local group who refuse to change their behavior so that I can participate. Yet, such wallowing is so unproductive. I can’t change the behavior of other women, and railing on them to myself only makes me more angry. And I don’t want to become just an angry old woman.

One place I still feel sisterhood is through online blogs. There are some wonderful LDS group blogs that reach out to women, such as www.feministmormonhousewives.org , http://segulah.org/blog and http://the-exponent.com (my favorite). Blogs cannot replace the intimacy we get associating in person with other women, but they do offer a free exchange of feelings and ideas that helps to fill the gap.

Perhaps my greatest resource for sisterhood is with my own daughters and daughter-in-law, four truly amazing women who reach out to me on an almost daily basis. I love them and really appreciate them, but it is unfair and unrealistic to expect them to fulfill the bulk of my social and emotional needs.

So I continue to seek new ways to conpensate for the loss of sisterhood I feel in the isolation of chemical sensitivity. Even introverts need a little socializing once in a while.

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Fashionable MCS terrorist goes for a bike ride

Lou Cheese, at Living w/ Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, catches his reflection in a bus window while taking a bike ride in Cleveland.

Too bad you couldn’t see the bike. I’ve started wrapping the respirator ensemble in a color-matching silk scarf for bike rides. I can only imagine what the people inside the bus were thinking, probably something like “Well, it’s nice to see the terrorists are making an effort to be a little more fashionable now.”

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New homes showcase environmental features

Man, if I only had $2.45 million! Wanna go in with me on it? You can pick which house. We could make it Canary Central. C’mon!

What: These two houses in Rollingwood exemplify how environmentally friendly a luxury home can be. The first house, 500 Riley Road, was completed last spring. The second house, 502 Riley Road, is nearly finished. The first house received a five-star rating from Austin Energy’s Green Building Program, the highest rating possible, and the owner expects the second house to be similarly rated.

The homes were designed by architect Peter Pfeiffer of Barley & Pfeiffer Architects; built by Edaco Construction of Austin; and owned by developer Stanley Lerman of Jivaka LLC. They were built so that their inhabitants can live as chemical-free as possible.

The sealed concrete floors were installed without synthetic chemicals and need only water to clean them. Each house has an advanced air-conditioning system that purifies the air. There are timed vents in each bathroom to reduce humidity and make sure it doesn’t spread to the rest of the house. Both homes have water-saving plumbing fixtures, toilets, dishwashers and washing machines, and many huge windows, which cut down on the need for electric light.

Because garages can be filled with unhealthy air, tainted by gasoline and paint fumes, these homes have no garages, only carports. There is a large storage area next to each house but separate from the main dwelling to keep living areas from being exposed to chemical fumes.

To avoid the fumes that can come from cooking with a gas stove, the kitchen in each house has an induction stove, which generates a magnetic field to heat steel and iron cookware.

Both homes have a modern design, with a palette of pale colors, soaking tubs, walk-in closets, Brazilian hardwood stairs and quartz countertops.

Each house has five bedrooms and 41/2 bathrooms. 500 Riley Road has about 4,100 square feet; 502 Riley Road is slightly larger, at 4,400 square feet. The homes are for sale separately.

Where: 500 and 502 Riley Road, Rollingwood, 78746

Amenities: Each house has its own pool. Both swimming pools are outfitted with a state-of-the-art ionization filtration system, which eliminates bacteria, algae and calcium build-up without using chemicals. Both homes also have low-water-use landscapes with native plants. The landscape is watered using a drip irrigation system.

Agents: Todd Smith, Shaunna Terry and Gretchen Janzow, Capital City Sotheby’s International Realty

Asking price: Each house is listed at $2.45 million.

FYI: The paint in these houses is as nontoxic as possible. Only paints and finishes with low or no volatile organic compounds were used for the walls and trim. (Such products are considered safer for people with allergies and chemical sensitivities.)

The project was chosen as the 2008 Healthy Home by Healthy Child Healthy World, a California-based nonprofit organization that is dedicated to protecting children’s health by limiting their environmental exposure to pesticides and other chemicals. The organization hosted tours of the houses in the spring.

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Seattle company promises nontoxic dry cleaning

Machines use environmentally friendly pressurized carbon-dioxide and wet-cleaning technologies.

Wow, this is way cool!

Multimillionaire Mark Callaghan [left], who made his money investing in new-line technology companies, now wants to dominate Seattle’s old-line dry-cleaning business.

Next week, Callaghan’s Blue Sky Cleaners begins targeting downtown Seattle condo dwellers, office workers and hotel visitors with a pickup-and-delivery service promising environmentally friendly, nontoxic cleaning methods.

Callaghan and his business partner, InfoSpace Chief Executive James Voelker, have spent more than $1 million renovating and equipping a large warehouse on Elliott Avenue West near Seattle’s Magnolia Bridge.

The warehouse holds three machines that use pressurized, reclaimed carbon dioxide, as well as two water-based wet-cleaning machines.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers both technologies preferable to perchloroethylene, or “perc,” the longtime solvent of choice for many dry cleaners.

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Photo by Steve Ringman/Seattle Times

Vog is coming my way on Sunday

Trade winds to ebb by Sunday evening; weekend may end amid vog

Great. The wind is going to bring the vog to Hamakua tomorrow. Well, it was a good break while it lasted.

For those of you who haven’t been following the local air drama, our vog situation here on The Big Island got very bad earlier this year when the volcano started spewing especially nasty, toxic chemicals, the worst in historical memory. This did not bode well for my health. Although I cannot prove a causal trigger, at the height of the toxic levels this past spring, my breathing became difficult in general and my multiple chemical sensitivity heightened to an absolutely exquisite level. It got so I couldn’t even go into Hilo for shopping and chores, and I started going north to Waimea.

So this next week may be difficult for me. I can hardly wait!

For those wondering when vog will return to East Hawaii, the smart money is on Sunday.

That’s because the National Weather Service is predicting that the normal northeasterly, or trade wind patterns, will dissipate sometime Sunday afternoon. That would give the vog from Kilauea volcano a path toward the Hilo area with little or no wind resistance.

“It’s not going to be a statewide Kona winds event,” said Derek Wroe, a NWS forecaster in Honolulu. “The winds are going to get light and variable, and when that happens … the vog is not going to just sit around the source around the Volcano area. And it is possible that possibly late Sunday afternoon and Sunday night into early Monday morning, that some of this vog may come down the mountain to Hilo.”

Areas likely to be affected, according to a statement from the state Department of Health, are Volcano village, middle and upper Puna, Hilo, Hamakua and South Kohala. The DOH advises residents and visitors to be prepared and aware of the surrounding air conditions, and how they may react to vog in the air.

“People who have been exposed to vog in the past, we’re asking to take precautions on their own,” said Bill Hanson, a county Civil Defense administrative officer. “If they feel they are being affected by vog or sulfur dioxide, they should limit their exposure by getting indoors, closing their doors, closing their windows. … However, if it gets to a point to where they need to seek medical attention or just get out of the area, that is also advisable.”

Advice includes not smoking and avoiding second-hand smoke, drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, and being prepared to evacuate, if necessary, including securing homes, businesses and property, preparing an evacuation kit, planning for the care of family pets and livestock, and familiarizing all family members of emergency plans.

[...]

On the Internet:

Hawaii County Civil Defense, http://co.hawaii.hi.us/cd/index.htm;

Hawaii Department of Health, http://hawaii.gov/health; governor’s Web site on vog, http://hawaii.gov/gov/vog;

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/

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Link to photo: The Volcanic haze settled in over East Hawaii on May 15, 2008, by Perceptions Unlimited on Flickr

Related posts on The Canary Report:

Volcanic gas invading island

Vog and health problems

Living in a haze

Sewing with local organic cotton

Leslie (left) at The Oko Box Blog practices what she preaches about the importance of organic clothing, caring for the environment, and taking care of your health. I’ve become a big fan of Leslie’s. She runs The Oko Box, a fabulous online shop featuring hip, beautiful clothes made from natural & organic fabrics.

The Oko Box Blog is an extension of the shop, “an eco-friendly interactive commentary on organic clothing, environment, pollution, health, organic food, fair trade and organic farming,” an inspiring weblog that shows Leslie’s creative flare in every post.

Yesterday she wrote about sewing a dress from a beautiful blue organic cotton fabric. Is she a cutie or what? It’s the sheer guts of tackling a free-form dress pattern, combined with the addition of those darling patches on the sleeves, that make this dress a work of art.

This is the first time I have sewn sleeves, and they made me so nervous I actually had sewn one of them inside out at first and had to rip it back off and re-sew it on again. Never-the-less sleeves are not as hard as I had imagined - I just made the dress sleeveless then made two tubes which I added in after the body was finished.

To make the body of the dress, simply take your exact measurements and make a tube going up and then form a tank top sleeve line. Continue the neckline upward by keeping the fabric very wide and long, like a giant cylinder that comes almost to the end of your shoulder.

The elbow patches were something given to me by a creative friend, who had a big collection of appliques she’d collected & made. These are handmade drawings of stripper playing cards printed on fabric, and I hand sewed them on, very tightly.

Yay for local & organic!!!

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Soon I’ll tell you more about a contest I won on The Oko Box Blog and about how Leslie has offered The Canary Report readers FREE SHIPPING for any purchase at The Oko Box!!!!

The dirty truth about cleaning products

Author says that cleaners may be worse for your health than the germs

It’s really nice to see this type of reporting in mainstream media. The Today Show reports on Sloan Barnett’s book “Green Goes with Everything: Simpler Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet.” Here’s an excerpt that goes right to the heart of the problem of everyday chemicals in the products we use in our homes.

What does being “green” actually mean? In her new book “Green Goes With Everything”, Sloan Barnett shares several simple steps you can take to live a healthier life while helping keep the planet clean. In this excerpt, Barnett writes about the dangers of some of the most common household cleaners. Who knew being clean could be so dirty?

Have you ever considered how odd it is that there are warning labels on cleaning products? I mean, think about that: they’re supposed to be ridding your home of bad stuff, not adding to it - much less potentially making you sick! A good stand-up comedian could build an entire act out of this one bizarre fact.

Only it’s not funny.

And here’s something even less amusing: The labels on cleaning products don’t even tell you about most of the really nasty stuff that’s inside them. If these products are as safe as they’re claimed to be, why don’t the companies tell us what’s in them? Call me suspicious, but I honestly don’t think it’s because the recipe is top secret. If it was, there wouldn’t be so many competing products with identical ingredients.

Don’t look to the government for help on this one. The government only requires companies to list “chemicals of known concern” on their labels. The key word here is “known.” The fact is that the government has no idea whether most of the chemicals used in everyday cleaning products are safe because it doesn’t test them, and it doesn’t require manufacturers to test them either.

Actually, under the terms of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which administers the act, can’t require chemical companies to prove the safety of their products unless the agency itself can show the product poses a health risk - which the EPA does not have the resources to do since, according to one estimate, it receives some two thousand new applications for approval every year. How tough is their review? You decide: In 2003, according to the Environmental Working Group, an agency watchdog, the EPA approved most applications in three weeks, even though more than half had provided no information on toxicity at all.

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UPDATE:

Link to SFGate for another article on Sloan and her book

New brochure on climate change and chemical safety

The Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety has published a new brochure entitled: “Managing chemicals in a changing climate to protect health.”

The changing climate is likely to bring along some changes in the ways chemicals are developed, used, distributed and broken down. The brochure wants to draw attention to the implications these changes might have for human exposure to chemicals.

One way in which climate change can affect exposure to chemicals is through its effect on how chemicals move and transform in the environment. For example, increased temperatures may cause volatile chemicals to disperse more quickly in the air, thus possibly leading to higher exposures. Higher exposures can also arise because of a more frequent use of certain chemicals in an effort to combat the consequences of climate change (eg. increased use of pesticides because of falling crop yields).

Aside from higher and different exposures, climate change may also make exposure more dangerous, as there are indications that chemicals are more harmful in warmer temperatures.

Some groups of people are more vulnerable to these changes in chemical exposure. Inherent characteristics, like age, or circumstances, like poverty or malnutrition, can result in an impaired ability to withstand harm.

In the brochure it is emphasised that in developing climate adaptive strategies, attention should be paid to the management of chemicals and the need to improve systems to ensure chemical safety. Countries that do not yet have adequate capacities and capabilities to soundly manage chemicals are encouraged to develop these, as climate change will probably create new and expanded problems.

The brochure can be downloaded here. Available in English, French and Spanish.

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Overwhelmed by mold

Costs top $19M, more Board of Equalization workers being moved

At left, state employee Wendy Schroeder, now homebound, keeps a plastic film over her eyes to keep out debris.

I’m amazed at how many stories there are about people getting sick from toxic mold. We’ve been following Missy Gluckman’s story since early summer about her nightmare working in an old building at a community college in New York.

Now here’s a story from the west coast about a woman who got sick from toxic mold at her workplace in a California State building.

As I’m sure you know, toxic mold exposure often triggers chemical sensitivity; in fact, I have yet to hear of a case where someone who’s been made sick from mold hasn’t developed hyper sensitivity to synthetic chemicals.

Wendy Schroeder began working at the California State Board of Equalization headquarters on April 1, 1996 - April Fool’s Day. It was no laughing matter.

She’s been on disability leave since March. Now, recovering from sinus and tear-duct surgery, she says toxic mold and other hazardous substances in the building made her sick. Even working on files that have been stored in the building makes her break out in a rash.

Although state officials took steps last month to relocate dozens more workers to new offices, more than 2,300 people still work at BOE headquarters at 450 N St. in downtown Sacramento, despite overcrowded conditions and ongoing problems with water damage and mold. The problems raise questions about whether staying in the building over the long term is viable as costs climb.

“(That’s) my question daily,” said Bill Leonard, a Republican who served in the state Legislature for 24 years before he was first elected to the board in 2002. “If we weren’t in a budget crisis, I’d be looking for a legislative sponsor to buy us a new campus.”

Link

Photo: Noel Neuburger | Sacramento Business Journal

And also in the news today:

Sudden Rise in Allergies and Asthma After Hurricane Ike
PR Web (press release) - Ferndale, WA, USA
“Storms in general can worsen allergies and asthma because increased winds mobilize mold spores and pollens and send them flying through the air. …

Shandoka Residents Alerted to Potential of Mold Growth
Telluride Watch - Telluride, CO, USA
by Karen James TELLURIDE – While the appearance of major mold infestations in two Mountain Village rental apartment complexes earlier this year has led some …

Winfield school replaces ceiling after mold found
Charleston Gazette - WV, USA
Maintenance crews at Winfield Elementary School replaced the ceiling in one of the school’s portable classrooms Thursday, after inspectors found mold in the …

Students report mold in Logan Hall
Chanticleer (subscription) - Jacksonville, AL, USA
Students at Logan Hall have reported many cases of mold growing in rooms and hallways. According to students the fungus can very easily be seen in several …

Damage, mold push St. Charles Manor residents from apartments
Houma Courier - Houma, Louisiana, USA
Now residents of the St. Charles Manor apartment complex share a collective dread, facing the prospect of becoming homeless because of a mold infestation …

Experts say: Act quickly to minimize mold’s damaging effects in …
By media-newswire.com
COLLEGE STATION – People returning to homes flooded during Hurricane Ike or other disasters should act quickly to combat mold, said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert. “If you don’t it could ruin your home, possessions and …

Swimming in chlorinated pools “increases asthma risk five-fold”

Children who swim regularly in chlorinated pools are five times more likely to develop asthma, research has found.

When I was a little kid, I was always in the ocean or a swimming pool. On Kauai, my mom owned a surf shop on Wailua Bay, and when I wasn’t with my horses, I’d be swimming in the bay (sometimes mixing it up: on the horse in the water!). I used to sneak into the pool at the Coco Palms hotel, next door to our neighborhood, and swim until my finger tips were prunes. During the summers, when I visited my dad in California, we’d go to the country club pool every day (yes, I lived simultaneously in two totally different cultures!). In fact, I have a cap on my left front tooth from smacking my face on the edge of the pool while goofing around in the deep end. I was, in essence, a fish.

But chlorine is nasty stuff, and since I developed chemical sensitivity some 15 years ago, I cannot tolerate it at all. When I’m around chlorinated pools, it affects my eyes, nose, lungs, and makes me feel like crap. If I drink chlorinated water, it tastes (and smells) like chemical soup. That’s why the water in my house is filtered for chlorine at the point of entry; there are no chlorine fumes coming from any pipe in my home.

I know chlorine is toxic. I didn’t develop asthma, but my body tells me it’s toxic. I understand the need to keep public water free from contaminants, especially drinking water, but there are alternatives for swimming pools, and household water needs to be filtered at the point of consumption. We should not be exposed to the stuff!

So here’s a report just out of London about research showing the high incidence of asthma in kids exposed to chlorinated pools:

Swimming is recommended as a good form of exercise for asthmatics because the warm humid air is less likely to trigger attacks than other physical activities.

But mounting research is suggesting that the chlorine used to keep the pools clean could be contributing to the development of the condition.

Researchers in Belgium studied the effects of swimming in outdoor pools regularly from a young age and found a strong link.

Previously the same team have found that indoor pools may also increase the risk of asthma in children.

It is thought the chlorine fumes floating around the surface of the pool may help to trigger the condition by irritating the upper airways.

Link

Interested in alternative swimming pools? I posted about it here, with a great video.

Link to photo by Tom@HK at flickr

Awww, kittens playing with eco-toys

Kitties love a nontoxic life, too!

What’s better than a gaggle of kittens? A gaggle of kittens playing with eco-friendly toys! Check out this video for the cutest eco-cat toys around: If these kitties had this much fun with them, yours is bound to love them, too. -Shot and edited by Brit Liggett

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How to handle the problem of a co-worker’s perfume

Attack the problem, not the person

Office etiquette experts Cheryl Stinski and Karen Dorn, in their column Alternative Resolutions found at postcrescent.com, offer some good advice on how to talk to a co-worker about his or her offensive fragrance.

I think the recommendations given are solid, but the last paragraph on further “options” is too vague to be helpful. I would say that if the co-worker does not respond to the kind and educational approach suggested here, that you go to your supervisor and on up the food chain until you get results–”results” meaning that either the person stops wearing the toxic fragrance, or you be given an alternative work space.

Know that the trend is toward no-scent policies in the workplace (also conventions, public meetings, etc) and your proactive participation in moving your management toward creating policy that supports a safer work environment for everyone will make you feel very good!

Here’s the advice:

Q: A new person recently started in my office. She’s a good addition to our team, with one huge exception - her strong perfume is making me and others sick. One of my co-workers already missed work because of allergy problems heightened by her perfume and

I’ve had to use my asthma medication much more frequently on workdays.

I told her that her perfume is too strong but she insists it isn’t a problem. My manager says that because the employee handbook doesn’t address perfume, there’s nothing he can do.

We’ve resorted to opening all the windows and doors to air the place out, but the weather will soon take away that option. She may have started wearing a little less of the stinky stuff but when we have to close the place up I’m afraid we’ll be right back at square one.

Do we all need to sign an anti-perfume petition or can something else be done?

A: There can be a fine line between an individual’s personal choices and what gets in the way of his/her co-worker’s ability to be productive employees. Most people really do want to be sensitive to the needs of their co-workers, but they also don’t like being told what to do.

Employee policies create guidelines but they can’t cover every circumstance. And, as you’ve discovered, perfumes and odors can raise all kinds of sensitivity issues, both in the health arena and in how the problem gets handled. Instead of further escalating the power struggle with a petition, let’s look at how to handle a sensitive problem with sensitivity.

Frame the problem accurately: The problem isn’t your co-worker’s perfume, it’s the health impact it’s having on some of her co-workers and the resulting loss of productivity; in another environment with other people, there may not be a problem at all.

Attack the problem, not person: Instead of pointing the finger with a You Message like “your perfume is too strong” try this: “I am concerned about the perfume you are wearing to work because several people are having health reactions.”

Be specific when stating the facts: Don’t just say “you’re perfume is making people sick.” Give as much information as you can without violating privacy rights of other employees - “one person has had to increase medication on workdays,” or “we have doctor verification that a medical condition is aggravated by prolonged contact with strong perfume.”

Be open to options: The obvious solution, which may seem like the easiest solution, may not necessarily be the best solution in the long run. Taking the time to listen to each other and explore options will ensure that all are involved in finding a solution that meets everyone’s needs to the best of your ability.

Cheryl Stinski or Karen Dorn 920-993-1490 with questions you’d like answered in this column and to learn how Alternative Resolutions Inc. can help with your workplace needs. Sign up at newsletter@alternativeresolutions.biz for a free subscription to their monthly e-newsletter, The Toolbox.

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Link to photo by lecanu mickael on flickr

Perfume is an air pollutant

Letter to the editor at Kingston This Week:

When it comes to perfume, please, a little goes a long way

We hear so much today about clean air and pollutants. Recently, we experienced what I consider something to be a definite air pollutant.

We were shopping at the Cataraqui Canadian Tire when a lady passed us wearing so much cologne or perfume it made me feel sick, but much more to the point, it made my husband almost pass out. He suffers from a disease known as COPD, where at times it’s very difficult, almost impossible to breathe.

This event really affected him and I thought he was going to pass out, as has previously happened. One kind lady offered to get him a chair. We quickly made our way outside to the fresh air and after a while he was all right.

This has happened several times before and we really appreciate the scent-free zones. (Now, if only everyone would abide by these requests, it would be a much more comfortable world for all of those having breathing problems).

When I was in KGH several months ago, a patient in my room had a visitor drenched in perfume. My roommate had to have oxygen administered and my husband had to leave the room. The fragrance lasted for quite a while.

Please be considerate of others when applying anything with fragrance. As in most things, a little goes a long way. It is certainly no fun watching anyone, especially someone you love, fighting for each and every breath.

Jacqueline Neilson

Kingston

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Link to photo credit at National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Hormone-altering cosmetics chemicals found in teenage girls

Many chemicals detected linked to serious health problems

Here’s a new report from the Environmental Working Group about hormone-altering chemicals found in cosmetics and body care products. Isn’t it interesting that the products that trigger a bad reaction in people with Mulitple Chemical Sensitivity are proving out through scientific study to be toxic and damaging even at low levels?

OAKLAND, CA - Teenage girls across America are contaminated with hormone-altering chemicals found in cosmetics and body care products, confirms a new study released today by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

The first-of-its kind study found 16 toxic chemicals in blood and urine samples from 20 teenage girls from eight states and the District of Columbia, aged 14-19, including preservatives, fragrance and antimicrobial compounds. Many of these are linked to serious health risks in lab animals, even at low-dose levels.

“Hormone-altering chemicals shouldn’t be in cosmetics, especially in products used by millions of teenage girls,” said Rebecca Sutton, Ph.D, author of the report and Staff Scientist at EWG. “Their bodies are still developing and may be especially vulnerable to risks from these exposures,” added Sutton.

The young women participating in this study were recruited from locations across the U.S. and represent diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.  They used an average of nearly 17 personal care products per day that contain a total of 174 unique cosmetic ingredients.

The study provides the first data available from teens on levels of synthetic chemical musks, common fragrance ingredients that accumulate in people and act like estrogen in the body, and preservatives called parabens that also mimic estrogen.

“The Teen Body Burden Study is proof that something needs to be done. My results serve as permanent motivation to fight the chemical battle and win,” said Jessica Assaf, one of the teens tested.

Federal health statutes do not require companies to test products or ingredients for safety before they are sold. As a result, nearly all body care products contain ingredients that have not been assessed for safety by any federal agency, and are not required to meet any uniform safety standards.

“Most parents don’t know that the eyeliner, lipstick or shampoo they allow their daughters to use probably contains at least one chemical linked to a number of serious health concerns,” said Sutton. “Teenage girls are at a particularly vulnerable age and these exposures could trigger a subtle sequence of damaging effects that leads to health problems later in life.”

Teenagers and their parents can consult EWG’s Skin Deep online database to help them make informed decisions about their products.

EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment.

Link to full EWG release

Link to full EWG Report: Teen Girls’ Body Burden of Hormone-Altering Cosmetics Chemicals

Link to Greenwire release

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