Environmental Health | The Canary Report

Guest Blog: More camping tips: safe tents, potties, and showers

Sep 232011

Here are a few more tips about what I use and what I’ve learned about tents and camping.

By guest blogger Jen.

Wenzel tent

Susie posted my first blog about camping tips on The Canary Report a few weeks ago: Camping tips for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. I got feedback and am here adding some further insight and tips.

A friend with mold illness and MCS has gone camping, and writes me the first week: “I love the meadow I am in… I feel so very good there… so happy… I literally wake up all through the night just to breathe in the magnificent air… it is clean, so very clean and pure. I can feel it in my lungs and body… I forgot how clean air is supposed to smell and feel.I could heal here…”

This is the point, isn’t it? We’ve forgotten the magnificence of beautiful, clean air, our birthright, air so good we want to wake up just to breathe it in deeply before going back to sleep. We are living in a very unnatural way, imo. And if a person with mold illness and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is in a tough situation, they will 1) feel very depressed, by virtue of the toxic chemicals they are being exposed to actually physiologically affecting their brain function and 2) feel very sick, and really not believe they could get so much better… fear and disbelief are two barriers.

Another friend with mold illness and MCS/Electromagnetic Frequency Sensitivity (EMF), who has been on the road in search of safe housing for about a year now (unable to find any yet, even so-called MCS-safe housing advertised as such to our community), and often as not sleeping in his car, writes, “Your Northface idea was spot on! I bought one… I can’t believe how I am tolerating the tent… it is really not too smelly! Thank you!!!! A visiting MCS friend was so impressed she went out and bought one too!” Until then he was convinced he could not tolerate a tent. I had recommended the Northface backpacking tent with all mesh uncoated walls (the Flint).

This is very encouraging—and yet, I also heard from EI’s saying they could not find a safe tent, that they had tents they had tried to offgas for years and could not tolerate a tent and that was that. They were either staying in unsafe housing and remaining very sick, or sleeping in their vehicles. This is not always such a good idea. The possibility of contamination or mold is higher, if you sleep in your vehicle. You are going to have to maintain complete purity of your clothes, make sure to keep windows open with mosquito netting or your moisture and body heat could possibly get high enough to create mold in the ventilation system. A tent can be cleaned with soap and water. A vehicle is not so easy to clean, it’s a big job, but if you’re living in your vehicle some folks recommend at least a monthly thorough cleaning. You can’t use a space heater in a car but a very low watt infrared heater can be used with care in a tent. There are all kinds of issues with sleeping in a vehicle, especially if it’s parked in the wilderness, including critters wanting to sleep in there too… and a vehicle also generally has more toxic chemicals than a good tent anyway.

Safe Sleeping

Northface tent with mesh walls, or Mystical on a Wenzel pad, or bake and air out the Wenzel tent.

I want to report that Kristin used Mystical (a product that many people with Environmental Illness like, but we have no idea what is in it in terms of MSDS, so I’ve never used it) and soaked her Wenzel tent and it was fume-free after that.

Northface

Here’s the NorthfaceI have. It sets up in about two minutes literally.

I should note the rainfly may bother some, and might need to be baked out, but it’s pretty good as rainflies go. Obviously if you’re just going to sleep in the mesh the weather needs to be decent—with a good sleeping bag you could probably go down to the 40’s at night comfortably. Otherwise you are going to have to use a rainfly so you can keep in warmth.

If a rainfly really bothers you until it’s well baked out, or you want to sleep with the mesh in good weather but it rains occasionally, set up an a-line version of the silnylon tarp I mentioned in the last post. These tarps cost about $80, made by Equinox. Once again, nylon in general is a pretty good material as it doesn’t fume much. To set up an a-line tarp, you will need to string a nylon line between two trees, hang the tarp over it, and fasten the tarp. Here is one typical Youtube tutorial:

For those who don’t want to spend the money on a silynylon tarp, which scrunches up small when traveling, a walmart tarp does just as well, you just need to air it out first for a while.

There are other northface mesh tents as well. Big Agnes makes several too but I found them much more smelly than Northface. Even REI’s quarter and half dome are smellier though they are very nice tents (these are mesh tents).

Safe Potty

Folding toilet

Some EI’s said, “Well I can’t go camping because I can’t use campground bathrooms. I would get sick and be incapacitated.”

You don’t have to use campground bathrooms.

When a bathroom is stinky, I use an inert, hard plastic folding loo that folds up small, unfolds easily, and carries up to a 300 pound person. Reliance Products Fold-To-Go Collapsible Portable Toilet. I use it because it folds up small. If you are just going to use it quickly in your tent (with the rainfly on, or if you are in a private area), then I find that two regular black hefty garbage bags work fine. I use two just in case. Then tie them and dump them in the dump or garbage.

If you are going to use it longer, for instance setting up a privacy shelter and using the loo over a few days, you can also buy Cleanwaste WAG BAG Waste Bags – Package of 12.

Each degradable kit contains a WAG BAG waste bag, zip-close storage bag, toilet paper and hand wipe Disposal bags contain Poo Powder™ which quickly turns waste into a stable gel for easy transport and safe disposal Uses odor neutralizers, not perfumes, to eliminate unpleasant odors; decay catalyst initiates decomposition Environmentally friendly, landfill-approved WAG BAG waste bags can be disposed of in trash with regular garbage. Permitted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for use.

There are other portable toilets as well, such as a bucket, or if you can’t tolerate plastic, Texspro makes a folding steel loo. Another option is Store-A-Potty 72-Hour Emergency Toilet which when not being used as a toilet can be used as a bucket to wash clothes, or to store stuff in.

Privacy Shelter

Privy

There are all kinds of privacy shelters for your portable toilet. I wanted one that folded up really small. There is a cheap one on Amazon. I got a more expensive one that has pockets in which you can put sandbags or bricks, to hold it down if it’s a windy day. This is what I got: Outback Porta Privy. It folds up very small into a flat round case. It doesn’t smell horrible, it isn’t perfect either, may need some baking and airing if you’re super sensitive, then again, you’re only going to be in it for a short time. On the other hand, it is just polyester or nylon, not vinyl, so it isn’t really smelly.

Showers and Safe Washing

So, now you have a place to sleep and a toilet. What about staying clean?

One person also said they couldn’t use regular campground water because of chlorine (some are chlorinated, some are not, depending.) I prefer a filtered shower, but can handle regular water. Again your level of sensitivity will predict your needs.

Another person said spot bathing with a gallon of water in a bucket was her preferred method but she found it so exhausting she could not do it very often.

So here is my recommendation for the water sensitive—buy some filtered water (if you refill a gallon jug at Walmart or at other supermarkets, it’s about 35-37 cents a gallon. If you’re super sensitive to plastic and can’t possibly have water that was in plastic at all, then get yourself some glass jugs), and take a shower every few days, or filter water from your campsite if you have water and or water and electric. Two gallons is enough to take a nice shower the way I am going to explain it. A shower every few days, and a sponge bath the other days should be enough to keep you clean. Especially if you are sleeping in a tent, not your vehicle.

MSR Miniworks

For backup, or if you can’t get to Walmart or the supermarket to get the refill machine super purified, ozonated, reverse osmosis water (it’s good quality water), then get an MSR Filter, made by Cascade Designs, praised by campers everywhere. “MiniWorks EX microfilter is the worldwide best-selling microfilter, delivering long-lasting, field-maintainable water filtration in demanding environments. Engineered for frequent and heavy use, it utilizes our workhorse Marathon™ EX carbon/ceramic element to ensure clean, reliable and taste-free water.”

Okay, now you’ve got water. How do you take a shower?

Dromedary

Get a 10 liter MSR Dromedary bag. That’s 2 ½ gallons, and it’s black nylon with a food grade coating inside. You might not want to store water for days, but you will probably be able to tolerate a shower after the water has been in there a few hours. That is, if you want a hot shower. Because you just set it out in the sun, and since it’s black, the water will warm up quickly. In fact, water can get so hot as to burn you if you leave it out too long, so test the water before your shower. This bag is very tolerable right out of the box. It is so resilient it will last decades, supposedly. It also folds up small when not in use.

You will get the shower attachment as well. Any online place (campor, REI and other outlets) sells this dromedary bag in various sizes and the shower attachment as well. It can also be used to pour water in to do your dishes, other washing, or you can also get a smaller one as a hot water bottle. You’ll need to hang the bag from a tree, or a hook, or hold it up in your privacy shelter while sitting on your portable loo bucket inside, or a chair or stool.

So. You have a safe tent, safe shower, safe toilet, and safe water.

A final note: Safe Laundry

I do have a portable wonder washer and a portable countertop spin dryer. But over time I’ve just taken to simmering clothes in a large enamel Le Creuset pot (I don’t like stainless steel at all. It just isn’t high quality enough not to leach the metals into the water, and I can’t stand it). The pot is also useful for boiling new clothes that need to be detoxxed. A five minute simmer to clean clothes, then dump the water, and put in fresh clean water, with fresh lemon juice. That’s all I use.

If stuff is really dirty, then I will handwash with some Biokleen detergent (unscented). Generally, though, detergents tend to stay in clothes so I only do that every few weeks. If clothes get really grotty (one person said, her clothes got grotty living outside and made her look like a disenfranchised homeless person) I detox new clothes. I have a bunch of Maggie’s Organics tops, shorts, and cotton pants, and American Apparel sweats and hoodies as these detox pretty easily. If something gets really gross, I take a few sunny days when I have time, and detox a few new outfits. It does take time, but not that much “effort”—and then I just use a nylon laundry line that costs $2.99 at walmart, hang between trees, and sun dry. Nothing smells as good as clothes simmered in good water, with a lemon juice rinse, and sun dried. Once you have clothes that smell so good you like to bury your nose in them, you won’t really want to use detergents and washers.

Safe Energy

I will do another post later on energy. If you are off grid, you need solar. I have been advised about a folding solar panel and a nontoxic marine battery, but haven’t bought or tried them yet, so will advise later on. Generators are generally too smelly (gasoline) for people with Environmental Illness. And going off grid will allow you to get to really good, healing wilderness with very low EMF. Even those of us who do not consciously think we are EMF, will find it amazing how kinks melt out of the body and how deeply relaxed you may feel in low EMF wilderness. Then you will realize there is a low-level EMF reaction going on constantly, stimulating and overstimulating you in ways you had never suspected. What happens is the body gets used to it, and filters it out as “noise”—not useful information. But it affects us all nonetheless.

The Mother of Environmental Medicine visits Germany

Posted by Susie

Sep 152011

Dr. Doris Rapp visits Germany; she’s no longer taking on new patients, but is still on her mission to inform the public and educate medical doctors about environmental health issues.

Silvia Müller (left) welcomes Dr. Doris Rapp to Germany. The two first met 18 years ago. Dr. Rapp lives in Arizona.

Silvia Müller at the Chemical Sensitivity Network reports an icon of environmental medicine visits Germany.

Silvia first met Dr. Doris Rapp 18 years ago, when the Mother of Environmental Medicine gave a presentation Silvia describes as “a crucial experience.”

“In her presentation,” writes Silvia, “she showed a video about a teacher who became ill from contaminated carpeting in the school. The teacher was filmed during a reaction to contaminated dust from the carpet. This video vividly conveys to the viewer what [Multiple Chemical Sensitivity] is and what a reaction can look like.”

Of their recent meeting in Germany, Silvia writes:

We had a warm reunion and before we knew it we had already exchanged information and ideas and were in the midst of planning for future projects.

“I’m over 80 years old now and have no children, I don’t really need to be doing all this and I could be enjoying my peace at this age, but I see what’s going on, and I simply cannot remain silent. We have so many chemicals in our environment, in the food we eat, in the water we drink and the air that we are constantly breathing. They affect each of our body systems and we can no longer ignore this. Almost every second person in my country has cancer and that is just not acceptable,” says Doris Rapp.

She is in the process of writing another book. “It will be a small book, only 30 pages. Every reader can easily understand how he/she can shape his environment in order to stay healthy. The tips in this book will not cost anyone a fortune, they can easily be implemented without major expense. It will help anyone who wants to change something and wants to improve his health.”

Read Silvia’s full post about the visit here.

Checklist for physicians seeing patients with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted by Susie

Sep 052011

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity patients are advised to ask physicians for specific items during an office visit or examination, rather than merely asking for “accommodations.”

MCS America publishes a check list for physicians: Accommodating Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in the Doctor’s Office.

While a chemical- and fragrance-free office would be the most ideal situation, there are still simple ways to accommodate a patient with MCS. It is best to ask the patient what would work for them based on their knowledge and history of MCS. Patients are advised to ask for specific items, rather than merely asking for “accommodations.”

Setting the Appointment
• Provide a first appointment of the day when not many other patients are around and wait time will be minimal.
• Ask the patient what would help to make their visit more comfortable.

Before the Appointment
• Flag the patient’s chart for “allergies.”
• Remove candles, air fresheners, and other scenting devices.

On the Day of the Appointment
• Allow the patient to wait outside or in vehicle when weather permits.
• Provide an isolated room for the patient to wait where contact with other patients is limited.
• Allow the patient to enter through the back door or staff entrance to avoid contact with other patients.
• Refrain from the use of any scented personal care products the day of the appointment.
• Assign unscented staff to work with the patient.

During the Appointment
• Check with the patient before coming into contact with them or administering any medications, including the use of alcohol and latex gloves.
• Provide oxygen, if/when needed.
• If the patient unavoidably experiences a reaction to an exposure, remove the offending substance or person immediately. Move the MCS patient outdoors or to another room with separate ventilation.
• Refrain from using cleaning products, aerosols, and office equipment such as faxes and copiers while the patient is in the building.
• Listen attentively to the patient. They usually know what they are reacting to and how to best remedy the situation.
• Refrain from creating tension and feelings of being misunderstood by telling a patient “try not to think about it” or “relax.” These suggestions are no more effective than telling a diabetic not to think about her low blood sugar emergency. Corrective action is the only way to remedy the emergency.

PDF of full article.
Photo by benchilada.

Letter: A team of professionals builds a non-toxic space for a woman with chemical sensitivities

Posted by Guest Blogger

May 282011

In the news: Plagued by chemical sensitivities, a Minnetonka woman builds a toxic-free apartment atop her garage.

Letter to the Editor by Suzanne.

Hi Susie,

Thought you might be interested in this article. This sort of space is unobtainable for most, but it is another story which reveals even the wealthiest can end up sleeping in their cars.

With gratitude for the work you do,
Suzanne

Toxin-free space is a ‘clean refuge’ | StarTribune.com

Daugherty has multiple chemical sensitivity disorder (MCSD), a complex, chronic and controversial environmental illness believed to be triggered by exposure to chemicals or toxins. The Chemical Sensitivity Foundation estimates that between 9 million and 18 million Americans have the disorder.

But Daugherty is luckier than most because she and her husband, equine feed company executive Rob Daugherty, have the financial resources to aggressively address the problem by creating safe, toxin-free spaces for Julie.

Guest Blog: Creating a fragrance- and chemical-free public restroom… the first in my neighborhood!

Posted by Guest Blogger

May 182011

We are living in South Whidbey, Washington, becoming part of a community that makes room for others in meaningful ways. My work: bringing fragrance-free practices and products to a public space in my neighborhood.

By guest blogger Mokihana Calizar.

Mokihana

Here’s the GOOD NEWS…

For the second Sunday in a row, no chemicals or fragrances were used to prepare public restrooms in our neighborhood. I swept, mopped, wiped and swished out the bowls with white vinegar, baking soda and squirts of Planet dishsoap. An important job? Oh, yes. How good this feels to be part of the solution.

How did it happen? Plan “BE”: BElieve it could be, BE positive and without resistence, BE prepared for what it takes to allow it.

This sign is now posted in the two restrooms at South Whidbey Tilth:

~~~

This is a Fragrance & Chemical Free Restroom

The Hand Soap is:

Planet

-unscented

-coconut oil based cleaner, salt,

sodium bicarbonate(baking soda).

The Freed-up and Green Cleaning Process:

White distilled vinegar and baking soda.

“taking steps to Fragrance Free in 23″

www.fragrancefreein23.blogspot.com

~~~

It was raining, the ground soggy. Our favorite neighborhood gathering place, The Sunday Farmers’ Market at the Tilth, was happening soon.

Prescott stopped for a moment, and introduced me to a man who was there before the market’s opening, “This is Mokihana, she’s taken over the bathroom clean-up.”

“That’s an important job,” the man said.

Yes, it is … and what a success it is.

Later in the day, [my partner] Pete returned to the Tilth to help clean-up. I was back in the forest making soup and relaxing. While he was there Pete stopped Prescott, “Thanks so much for letting Mokihana take care of the bathrooms. It’s making a difference for at least one more person.” (One of our friends who lives with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity had a chance to use that restroom … a big positive step!)

We are living here in South Whidbey, Washington, becoming part of a community that makes room for others in meaningful ways. In the year since we’re settled into the forest with Eileen, MK, the nine ducks, three chickens, two dogs, three cats, hundreds of trees, and countless huckleberry and wild blueberry bushes, the vibrational reality of good/hope/abundance has lined us up to believe and allow health and happiness.

The journey has been so worth the experience. Knowing what we don’t want, the opposite experiences are now moving in as replacement.

“Mokihana, you get anything on my menu for your work,” Ed said as I spread the table cloth over one of the wooden tables.

“Thanks, Ed.”

What a deal! My work: bringing fragrance-free practices and product to a public space in my neighborhood is another example of BEing and BEcoming the vibrational good-win in my real life. The unfolding was easy, there was no stuggle only a being present with no resistence with the solution.

Looking forward to more good, it feels wonderful to post “…the first one!” and know the second, third, fourth, next is in the making … somewhere!

Got a plan that needs BEcoming? Would you like to be our next? We’d love to work together and add to our list of successfull Freed-up spaces in our neighborhood.

Thanks and congratulations to South Whidbey Tilth for being “the first one!”

~~~

This post was originally published at Mokihana’s blog Fragrance Free in Twenty-23.

Guest Blog: The importance of activists

Posted by Guest Blogger

May 112011

No matter how bad you think the state of the world is now, it would be so much worse without the change agents who’ve invented better ways and stepped up to make them happen.

By guest blogger Patricia Dines.

Patricia Dines

In today’s column, I want to change up my format a bit and talk about who activists are and the important role we play in the survival of a culture. I bring this up because, in talking with people over the years, I often feel that mainstream folks, while vaguely valuing activists’ contributions, also see us as social oddities who stubbornly refuse to conform to mainstream career paths and insist on annoying people by bringing up dark issues that most folks would rather not see.

Certainly, when I was younger and imagining my life, I never expected that I’d fall into the activist category — although I should say that I don’t usually use that term for myself, preferring instead something more like “change agent” or “community educator” or ”on the team of people seeking to prevent worldwide disaster and the collapse of all life on earth.” Yeah, but that last one is hard to fit on a business card.

And, absolutely, at times I’ve questioned my own sanity for taking on such enormous and frustrating challenges for little or no pay. Who would make such a crazy choice in this individualistic, materialistic, self-centered culture?

But then I remember how horrified and hopeless I can feel when I see the looming collective crises, knowing the pain and descration that will occur. I compare that to how joyful and satisfied I feel when I help us steer in a saner, less painful direction. Yes, indeed, action is the antidote for despair!

So that’s why today I want to speak up for my team, my fellow activists by whatever label, to help folks better understand and value what we do.

First, I want to describe the reason that most of us act. Contrary to the firey opinionated image that people can associate with the term activist, I find that the core motivation of most of my peers is usually a deep sense of caring and responsibility, a desire to stop enormous suffering, now and in the future, as soon as possible. We are truly first responders, willing to sacrifice our own time and material comfort so that others and the larger community will benefit.

Which leads to my second point: no matter how bad you think the state of the world is now, it would be so much worse without the change agents who’ve invented better ways and stepped up to make them happen.

However, I rarely see our collective contribution noted in our current identity (or pay scale!). Instead, those of us who act for the community’s interests are usually marginalized, seen as just another special interest group, another voice in a cacophony of competing consumer offerings, and not the sexiest one at that.

Which gets me to my key point: I think that a smart culture warmly welcomes its change agents, treating them with respect and appreciation for the vital service they offer of balancing, protecting, and helping evolve the shared community organism.

Because if a culture doesn’t have some people who take the time to step back and look at the big picture, question the status quo conventional wisdom, consider different ways of being and behaving, and encourage folks to learn and grow in new directions – well, then a whole culture of people can confidently and collectively like lemmings march straight off the proverbial cliff. Which, frankly, I think happens quite often nowadays, as my people yell from the sidelines, “Wait, stop! There’s a better way!”

Of course, it’s vital for activists to be responsible in how we stir up trouble, to not just complain with fatalistic cynical assumptions nor avoid conflict by propping up convenient, simplistic, but insufficient remedies. We’re more effective when we instead speak for constructive change in ways that are both accurate and heartfelt, logical while also connecting with people as human beings, and respectful of other viewpoints while revealing our heart just a little bit.

But I also know that, even when we’re behaving respectfully, simply bringing up these issues will tend to annoy those who follow the dominant culture’s desire for only current pleasure with little concern for future pain or the suffering of others. Sometimes speaking up is inherently disruptive, and needs to be.

And so, dear readers, I encourage you to understand this dynamic and be a loyal ally for those activists who are nurturing wise change in the world. Because, when you make sure that we pioneering, innovating, risk-takers are supported as we take on society’s collective challenges, you are joining with us in helping to create a happier tomorrow.

~~~

Patricia Dines is a freelance writer, editor, public speaker and graphic artist specializing in environmental and community topics. She writes the syndicated eco-advice column Ask EcoGirl. She is the author of The Organic Guides, and editor and lead writer for The Next STEP newsletter.

Woman who lives near natural gas extraction facility in Texas develops Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted by Susie

Mar 312011

Each day, officials in the town of Dish estimate, about 1 billion cubic feet of gas travels through three metering stations, more than 20 major gas gathering pipelines and 11 compression plants that have been shoehorned into the town’s two square miles by energy companies. Nearby residents suffer a host of ailments including irritated skin, eyes, nose throat and lungs, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, weakness, irregular heartbeats and multiple chemical sensitivity, attributed to toxic emissions from the facilities.

In the above video, Sharon Wilson makes a joint statement, on behalf of the Texas Oil and Gas Accountability project and Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Operations, about the air standards needed in Texas to prevent natural gas extraction from continuing to foul the air and harm the health of nearby residents.

“In Texas, the permit by rule process is abused allowing all these emissions to go unchecked,” Wilson says. “Eleven compression stations and four metering stations operate side-by-side in Dish, Texas, each considered a separate source. Residents suffer a host of ailments including irritated skin, eyes, nose throat and lungs, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, weakness and irregular heartbeats.”

Read Wilson’s entire testimony here.

This week, DentonRC.com reports on Rebekah Sheffield and her husband, who moved to Dish, Texas, in 1996, with dreams of restoring a 100-year-old farmhouse. Today, their home is surrounded by the town’s many natural gas production facilities with their toxic emissions, which Rebekah says initiated her Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Rebekah and Warren Sheffield moved to Dish in 1996 after buying a century-old farmhouse. The couple says they dreamed of restoring it by hand and raising their children. It was a place where she could breathe in the fresh air — until the gas wells were drilled across the street.

Rebekah Sheffield first noticed changes in her body the following year when she reacted to fragrances, particularly perfumes and detergents, she says. A whiff of someone’s perfume sent her stumbling to the floor. She fainted at ballgames, in the grocery store, even while sitting in the pew at church.

Her physician, Dr. Tod Heldridge, prescribed a battery of allergy medications, though they did little to lessen her symptoms. When her condition worsened in 2003, she consulted a neurologist, but tests found no brain lesions or tumors. In 2004, she sought out an allergist, but no combination of pills or nasal sprays substantially quelled her symptoms. The next year, she saw another specialist to treat her constant state of vertigo, but tests were inconclusive. Rebekah Sheffield’s instability was very real to her husband, who grew frustrated that he could not catch his wife when she fell. Finally, in her early 30s, she purchased a wheelchair.

Rebekah Sheffield learned the hard way that soaps and detergents will give her chemical burns up to her elbows. In place of shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream and deodorant, she must create her own toiletries using a combination of natural products including cornstarch, baking soda, lemon juice and sugar.

Unable to determine either the specific cause or an effective treatment for her condition, Heldridge diagnosed her with multiple chemical sensitivity.

Town officials in Dish spent a big chunk of change for air quality tests that found benzene, xylene, naphthalene, carbon disulfide and other chemicals at elevated levels. The Oil and Gas Accountability Project, a national, nonprofit watchdog group, surveyed Dish residents to discover any adverse health effects from the toxic chemicals– that’s the discovery mentioned by Sharon Wilson in the above video. Thirty one people participated in the survey, including Rebekah Sheffield. The group reported 165 different medical conditions such as frequent sinus infections, nosebleeds, headaches, persistent coughs and irritated eyes, all of which could be associated with the toxic compounds found in the air.

Read more about the Oil and Gas Accountability Project and about Megan Collins, another resident of Dish, who also suffers health problems.

You also might like to read a previous post I wrote here at The Canary Report about Sandra DenBraber, who has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity initiated by the toxic emissions from a natural gas drill site near her home, also in Texas.

Guest Blog: Want to help? Dennis Wright needs air and water filters, warm blanket

Posted by Guest Blogger

Mar 232011

Dennis Wright’s day-to-day life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is especially difficult due to the lack of clean air, which causes extreme cognitive impairment and fatigue among other debilitating symptoms. Want to help? His number one need is a HEPA air filter.

By guest blogger María Zambruno.

The purpose of my column here at The Canary Report is to connect people who have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and limited resources to people who can provide needed goods, services and funds. This post is about Dennis Wright. I encourage you to please support Dennis however you can. Thank you!

Dennis Wright

Dennis Wright

Dennis Wright, 34, lives in Florida, USA, with his elderly parents.

He has been severely ill with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity for a number of years now, and he has barely left his room in the past five years.

His day-to-day life is especially difficult due to the lack of clean air, which causes extreme cognitive impairment and fatigue, among other debilitating symptoms, and also because of his extreme food intolerances. He has been living on basically rice and chicken, and he cannot afford the organically grown food or supplements that he needs.

He also suffers from extremely hyper-reactive skin and cannot tolerate anything but organic, untreated cotton in direct contact with his body. He especially has trouble with the material used on the elastic bands of underwear.

He does not receive any income or benefits at all and is totally dependent on the help of his parents, who try to help, but whose health is failing due to the limitations that come with age. The family income is by no means enough to cover all the expenses.

Needs:

Air purifier, preferably with HEPA filter (powder coated steel such as Austin Air) that can also handle VOC’s.
Water filter, both for drinking and personal hygiene (because of his especially sensitive skin). He has, for instance, a KDF and carbon block filter that is not working well enough for him, so he needs something more efficient, like perhaps a full reverse osmosis system.
100% cotton, chemical, scent and dye free, pajamas without elastic.
Heavy cotton blanket for winter.
Indoor shirts, also chemical and scent free, preferably with tags, as tagless ones use some sort of printing ink which he reacts to.
Funds for organic grown food and supplements, as he cannot afford any of those.
Funds for urgent dental work. He needs a holistic dentist who understands how to treat people with chemical sensitivities and the adjustments that these imply.

Like Dennis says, he “lives on bare minimums at most.” That alone sounds bad enough, but for someone with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, no income, and in need of all the articles mentioned, just the effort employed in keeping oneself alive in a toxic environment can be, in itself, too much to bear.

How to donate:

Dennis’s Paypal address: comfortably_numb[at]cfl.rr.com * – verified. (Please replace [at] with the @ symbol when typing in the email address, this is done to prevent spam.)

Thank you for your help!

Dennis Wright’s profile page on The Canary Report network is here.

~~~

María Zambruno

María Zambruno blogs at Practical Support for People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, where this post was originally published.

She also blogs at Desde el ático: Vivir con SQM (From the attic: Living with MCS) in Spanish, Against all Odds (interests, likes, passions) in English and Spanish, and One Year Through my Windows (a photolog). Her online shops are here and here, all profits of which benefit people with MCS in need. You can view her photography here.

~~~

AP and MSNBC stink when it comes to properly reporting on chemical sensitivities

Posted by Susie

Mar 152011

Yo! MSNBC Web editor: this AP story about disability accommodation for people with chemical sensitivity belongs in the HEALTH section, not the WEIRD NEWS section.

MSNBC thinks toxic chemical- and fragrance-free legislation is weird news.

MSNBC.com reports Nevada legislation raises stink over air fresheners, a story from the Associated Press. The AP report says Las Vegas Democratic Assemblyman Paul Aizley on Monday proposed legislation that would set restrictions on pesticides, fragrances and candles to accommodate people with chemical sensitivities (here’s a link to the bill). With a cutsie-pie play on words in the title, and placing the report in the “Weird news” section, the AP and MSNBC, each feeding off the lousy reporting of the other, manage to trivialize chemical sensitivity and insult those suffering from it in one fell swoop.

Neon sign reading "Welcome to Las Vegas."

Welcome to Las Vegas, where a cocktail waitress who experiences respiratory distress when exposed to scent marketing products is "weird news," according to MSNBC.

Proponents said air fresheners give them migraines or asthma attacks and prevent them from going to the movies or to restaurants. A cocktail waitress at a casino said inhaling the fragrances piped through the ventilation system felt like a concrete slab on her chest.

In other words, according to MSNBC, migraines and asthma attacks brought on by exposure to toxic chemicals are just WEIRD. And it is SO weird when a worker experiences respiratory distress from a scent marketing machine. People with chemical sensitivities? WEIRDOS.

It’s unconscionable the way the media continuously seeks to discredit people with chemical sensitivities through trivializing and marginalizing the illness. On top of that, these types of reports continuously describe toxic chemical-free and fragrance-free policy as related to smell, odors, and “stink.” The truth is, chemical sensitivities have nothing to do with odors or our sense of smell, it is an illness initiated by toxic chemicals found in everyday consumer goods (such as pesticides, fragrances and candles listed in Aizley’s proposed legislation). I guess it’s impossible for reporters to get this simple point correct.

Shoddy reporting like this does a disservice to everyone, not just people with chemical sensitivity. Clean indoor air is everyone’s business; everyone has a right to breathe fresh, unpolluted indoor air. Bravo to Assemblyman Aizley and others working to end sources of indoor pollution.

Las Vegas sign photo credit.

Thanks to Sal for link to bill!

Some canary toilet humor: Airline complaint letter

Posted by Contributor

Mar 072011

“What is the worst part of sitting in 29E? Is it the stench of the sanitation fluid that’s blown all over my body every 60 seconds when the lavatory door opens? Or is it the passengers’ asses that seem to fit into my personal space like a pornographic jig-saw puzzle?”

Hands down the funniest airline complaint letter: Seat 29E.

Via Canary Report contributor Amy Ludwigson.

Amy Ludwigson blogs at Pure Habitat: Live Consciously where she writes about the things that bring joy, that inspire, that make us laugh, and make our lives better for knowing. She also runs the online store Pure Citizen that sells everything that you need to live consciously – celebrating fair trade, healthy living and environmental responsibility.

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AP and MSNBC stink when it comes to properly reporting on chemical sensitivities

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