The Canary Report

EPA to take action on chemicals used in dyes, flame retardants, and industrial detergents

Posted on Aug 19, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Government Regulation, Law, Susie Collins

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released action plans to address the potential health risks of benzidine dyes, hexabromocyclododecane and nonylphenol/nonylphenol ethoxylates. The efforts are to limit exposure and reduce harm to people.

8/18/10 WASHINGTON – As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released action plans today to address the potential health risks of benzidine dyes, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and nonylphenol (NP)/nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). The chemicals are widely used in both consumer and industrial applications, including dyes, flame retardants, and industrial laundry detergents. The plans identify a range of actions the agency is considering under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

“The action plans announced today are examples of EPA’s renewed dedication to improve chemical safety to protect the health of the American people and the environment.” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “These action plans lay out concrete steps EPA intends to take to address the risks associated with chemicals commonly used in this country.”

Benzidine dyes are used in the production of consumer textiles, paints, printing inks, paper, and pharmaceuticals and may pose health problems, including cancer. HBCD is used as a flame retardant in expanded polystyrene foam in the building and construction industry, as well as in some consumer products. HBCD has been shown to be persistent and bioaccumulative in the environment and may pose potential reproductive, developmental, and neurological effects in people. NP/NPEs are used in many industrial applications and consumer products such as detergents, cleaners, agricultural and indoor pesticides, as well as food packaging. These chemicals have been detected in people.

The range of actions on these chemicals include adding HBCD and NP/NPE to EPA’s new Chemicals of Concern list, issuing significant new use rules for all three chemicals, and, for HBCD and benzidine dyes, imposing new reporting requirements on EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory and potentially banning or limiting the manufacture or use of the chemicals.

In addition to EPA’s efforts, the Textile Rental Services Association, which represents 98 percent of the industrial laundry facilities in the U.S., has committed to voluntarily phase out the use of NPEs in industrial liquid detergents by Dec. 31, 2013 and industrial powder detergents by the end of 2014.

“While EPA intends to address the potential risks associated with these chemicals,” Owens stated, “we are pleased that the industrial laundry industry has decided to not wait for regulatory action to be completed by the agency and is voluntarily taking steps now to phase out the use of NPEs.”

EPA first announced that it planned to develop the Chemicals of Concern list last December, which indicates that the chemicals may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health and the environment. This previously unused TSCA authority signals the agency’s commitment to fully use the tools currently available, while supporting legislative reform of TSCA.

Additional information: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals.

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Tags: Chemicals, EPA, Law, Policy, Toxic

Kindra Arnesen speaks out on lack of respirators for oil well blowout “clean up” crew

Posted on Jun 30, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Susie Collins

Kindra Arnesen, whose husband was made ill during his work on “clean up” efforts in the gulf, speaks out about harsh realities in the impact zone.

On Monday I blogged about a timeline of health horrors caused by the BP oil well blow out. In that post, I told you about a commercial fisherman’s wife, Kindra Arnesen, who broke the silence about her husband’s deteriorating health since he worked on clean up efforts in the Gulf.

Above is a talk Kindra gave at the Gulf Emergency Summit in New Orleans on June 19.

Kindra Arnesen, a young mother of two 8 and 5 year-old children, and the wife of a commercial fisherman in Louisiana, became extremely concerned about the lack of progress of the relief operations of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. She had the opportunity to investigate on the spot by participating in a number of meetings with authorities, and in on-site “clean-up” visits. She vividly and powerfully describes, at the Gulf Emergency Summit in New Orleans, the harsh reality of what’s really going in the area – and the need to prepare for evacuation of populations.

You’ll be especially interested in Kindra’s explanation about why workers are not given respirators. From the transcript:

“I’m gonna go into the health issues for a moment, if you don’t mind. I sat through endless hours of meetings with BP’s safety officers. I sat through an hour and 45 minute meeting with the Coast Guard Safety Officer, both in the Homeland Incident Command Post, as well as a gentleman from OSHA.

“In order to obtain a respirator for our responders — now this isn’t just commercial fishermen — I’m talking about Coast Guard members, all responders, people off the street, everybody involved.

“Number 1: They have to fill out an OSHA questionnaire. Number 2: They have to have a physical evaluation by a medical professional.

“But, EPA is doing air monitoring. Everything’s OK. It’s great. Yeah, imagine that.

“At any rate, there is in fact some Act somewhere in OSHA’s law, that says that volunteers have a right to wear a volunteer respirator. But, as we all know, BP is taking over our Gulf. BP rules right now, our Gulf, I mean… Bottom line, that’s who’s in charge of the situation.

“They couldn’t even run their own company and they are in charge of this response! I’m totally appalled!

“They can’t wear a volunteer respirator because if they’re not properly trained… BP’s rules are, they have to be properly trained in order to wear a respirator. Now, BP said that they will provide the training and they will provide a respirator. But, everything’s OK! So, they don’t need to be trained and they don’t need a respirator. And as far as the right to wear volunteer respiration? Guess what? If you don’t follow BP’s rules, you don’t have a job. And that’s what they told me.”

Click here to read full transcript.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Environment, Environmental Illness, EPA, Pollution, Toxic, Video, Work

A timeline of health horrors caused by the BP oil well blow out

Posted on Jun 28, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, MCS, Susie Collins, Worker's Rights

Clean up workers are already visiting their doctors with symptoms of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

A still from the BP oil well blow out live cam taken June 28.

Have you been as crazed as I’ve been watching the images of people without respirators working on the so-called “clean up” in the Gulf? We all knew it was only a matter of time before cases of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity were reported. Take a look at the timeline: reports of MCS started fairly soon after the blow out.

5/03: MSNBC reports that the oil spill has little impact on human health: gunk spreading across Gulf a disaster for ecosystem, but not the public. Yeah, right.

5/23: Gina Solomon at the Natural Resources Defense Council Staff Blog, called Switchboard, reports Oil Spill Clean-Up Workers Getting Sick.

5/27: The Washington Post reports that illnesses among workers highlight concerns about health risks of oil cleanup.

6/03: CNN reports on a gutsy fisherman’s wife who breaks the silence about her husband’s deteriorating health since he worked on clean up efforts in the Gulf. “After attending a lecture by Rikki Ott [sic], a toxicologist who’s worked with families affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, [fisherman's wife Kindra] Arnesen decided to organize other wives to ask questions about the safety of working near the oil.” (See next entry for more info on Riki Ott.) Here’s the CNN vid about Kindra and her husband:

Here’s a couple of asides from our Timeline– Here’s Riki Ott in the documentary film Black Wave about the Exxon Valdez spill:

Here’s more from Riki Ott on 20 years after the Exxon Valdez spill:

Back to our current disaster:

6/03: The Huffington Post reports Gulf Oil Spill Sickness: Cleanup Workers Experience Health Problems, Complain Of Flulike Symptoms.

6/07: I contacted Alison Johnson, author of Amputated Lives: Coping with Chemical Sensitivity, a book about the development of chemical sensitivity in Exxon Valdez cleanup workers, Gulf War veterans, 9/11 First Responders, and FEMA trailer residents. I spoke to Alison on the phone and she expressed concern for the people in the Gulf region that had lived through the toxic soup of hurricane Katrina, including the toxic FEMA trailers, and were now experiencing the fumes from this BP disaster. Given that MCS can be initiated by repeated exposures to toxic chemicals, people in the region should take note of Alison’s concern.

6/08: Ariel Schwartz at Fast Company warns clean up crews to Read This Before You Volunteer to Clean Up the BP Oil Disaster.

Merle Savage has a wheezy, guttural smoker’s cough. But the 71-year-old former Alaska resident and author of Silence in the Sound never smoked a day in her life. She did, however, spend four months as a general foreman during the Exxon Valdez oil spill recovery project in 1989. And she has a message for anyone working at the BP oil disaster sites: “You’ve got to use your common sense. Breathing crude oil is toxic.”

6/11: The Raw Story reports that a human rights group says BP is discouraging crews from using respirators. “BP’s logic seems to be that if the oil cleanup doesn’t look dangerous then it must not be. The oil company has told workers not to wear respirators because it’s bad for public relations, according to one human rights group.” [Emphasis added.]

AND HERE’S THE REPORT WE KNEW WAS COMING:

6/15: Janet Kwak at WOAI TV reports that a mysterious illness plagues Gulf oil disaster workers. Clean up workers are visiting their doctors with symptoms of Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance or TILT, which is another name for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

“What makes it challenging is that patients show up with non-specific symptoms. Headaches, fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, upset stomach,” lists Dr. Claudia Miller at UT Health Science Center.

The illness is called “TILT,” or Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance. Patients lose tolerance to household products, medication, or even food after being exposed to chemicals, like burning oil, toxic fumes, or dispersants from the spill.

“Things like diesel fuel, exposure to fragrances, cleaning agents that never bothered them before suddenly bother them,” adds Dr. Miller.

6/18: Politics AP reports BP’s records on ill workers tell only part of the story.

This is about the time I discover the Louisiana Environmental Action Network report on the Health Impacts Associated with Dispersants and Louisiana Sweet Crude. I felt from the beginning of the disaster that the dispersant Corexit was going to cause as much if not more damage to people, animals and the environment as the crude oil. Take a look at the lists on that page for health impacts of both the dispersant and the oil.

And yesterday I found a report in the New York Times about how Cleanup Hiring Feeds Frustration in Fishing Town. Don’t you just love how BP has managed to destroy the environment, livelihoods and probably the health of most workers and many others in the affected regions while at the same time remaining the main employer with “clean up” efforts?

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Tags: Air, Environment, EPA, Pollution, Products, Toxic, Video, Work

CNN investigative report Toxic America with Dr. Sanjay Gupta to rebroadcast tonight and tomorrow

Posted on Jun 05, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Media/Videos, Products, Susie Collins

The two-part CNN investigation “Toxic America” with Dr. Sanjay Gupta will rebroadcast tonight and tomorrow night, Sat & Sun, June 5 & 6, at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Check listings in your area to confirm times. Don’t miss it!

I was hesitant to recommend the CNN special Toxic America with Dr. Sanjay Gupta until I saw the first airing. It’s pretty good actually, although if you look at it through the lens of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity you may feel that it falls short in many areas. Still, it’s heartening to see this topic and type of investigative reporting on mainstream media. Dr. Gupta does a good job of presenting the problems of toxic chemicals in our environment and our homes, and he shows genuine concern, repeating over and over the fact that out of the 80,000 chemicals put into consumer goods, only 200 have been tested for safety.

Click here for dates and times of ONLINE replays June 7, 8, & 9.

Also, for those of you so inclined, CNN is inviting you to “Share Your Story” through video or photos:

Put yourself on video and document conditions in your area, or take photos of what’s around you. Tell us what industrial or chemical pollution may be contributing to health problems for you and those you love, and be sure not to put yourself in a dangerous situation.

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Tags: Air, Asthma, Children's Health, Environment, EPA, Home, Indoor Pollution, Policy, Products, Research, Sick Building, Toxic, Video

Open tabs

Posted on Feb 25, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, News, Susie Collins

Every night when I turn off the computer, I have dozens of tabs open from all the sites I’ve explored during the day. In the first of a new regular series on The Canary Report called “Open Tabs,” I’d like to share some of the more interesting with you!

Every night when I go to turn off the computer, I have dozens of tabs open from all the sites I’ve explored during the day. Some links are emailed to me, some I pick up on Twitter and Facebook, some I get from peeps during chats on our network, some I find on my own. I thought it might be fun to share them with you from time to time: it will give you a glimpse into the roaming I do all day to satisfy my uncontrollable urge to stick my nose into absolutely everything.

Here are a few of the tabs that I’ve had open for the past few days:

A sign every canary will love.

Someone sent me a link to this awesome sign, “Environmentally Sensitive Area.”

My cat’s been very sick for months, unable to eat without throwing up. We put her through myriad tests, which all came up with nothing. Then, I remembered my holistic vet from when I lived on Kauai, Dr. Ihor Basko. Ihor’s specialty is homemade diet and Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and medicines. From his website: “Dr. Basko provides high quality, caring, holistic veterinarian services and healing acupuncture services on the Islands of Kauai and Oahu. Dr. Basko also provides guidance to pet owners world-wide for preventing disease and supporting the well-being of their pets through telephone consultations, a weekly radio show and through products and resources available through this website.” I filled out an online questionnaire, sent it off along with all the test results, and within five minutes on the phone, Dr. Basko had the problem diagnosed as gall bladder problems. He prescribed a special diet and some Chinese medicine, and after only a couple of days, my cat was doing almost 100% better! We are in week two of the Basko Protocol and she’s getting stronger every day. Thank you, Dr. Basko!

[...]

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, EPA, Policy, Products

Anatomy of a toxic chemical spill

Posted on Feb 25, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Guest Bloggers

On February 17, 2010, in Alameda, CA, a garbage or recycle truck owned by Alameda County Industries blew its hydraulic line at the corner of Oak Street and San Jose Avenue, spewing hydraulic fluid all over the street. I had to walk through it to get to my house.

By guestblogger Steph.

~~~

02-17-10

February 17, 2010 - Alameda, CA. That's not snow - it's 57F outside. Alameda County Industries garbage or recycle truck blew its hydraulic hose earlier in the day, and their crew came out with an absorbent material to pick up the spill. That material was like fine grain sand and immediately went airborne. Now it's on the cars and everything, and likely in my house since I had to open the front door to go inside.

~~~

02/18/10

On February 17, 2010 in Alameda, CA, a garbage or recycle truck owned by Alameda County Industries (ACI) blew its hydraulic line at the corner of Oak Street and San Jose Avenue, spewing hydraulic fluid all over the street.

Cars continued driving, as San Jose Ave is a thoroughfare, and the oil spread all up and down both streets. ACI sent a cleaning crew, who applied a thin sandy ‘absorbent’ material all over the road, which got picked up by passing cars and went airborne immediately, with the oil particles on the sand.

The scene above is what I had to walk through to get to my house.

Please google hydraulic fluid toxicity to learn more, and also check out a news story about a woman who died after a similar accident.

I have also uploaded photos here. My lips were stinging when I got back into the house last night after taking pictures. I should have worn a mask of course. Of course. I shed all my clothes in the kitchen and put them in a garbage bag. I took a shower immediately.

Last night I filed complaint with the Alameda Department of Public Works and the City Clerk’s office for Boards and Commissions. This morning, following Susie Collins’ advice, I phoned up the police department to make sure they’d been notified. They said they had, and seemed indifferent to me. They routed me over to the fire department, where I was told I’d get a call back. I got a voicemail saying they’d send someone over to check out the street, but I didn’t see anyone come by in a Fire Department uniform or vehicle.

At 3pm today, I received the following email:

Good afternoon Steph,

I am responding back to your e-mail that was sent to ACI this morning, at approximately 2:30pm on February 17,2010 one of our fully automated trucks had a hydraulic hose rupture and leaked fluid onto the street, our driver immediately contacted our dispatch center and a field supervisor.

Upon notification of the spill we immediately contacted the City of Alameda, Public works department. Both the City of Alameda Fire and Police department were called and responded to the scene to assist us with the cleaning of the street and traffic control.

After meeting with the fire department and the urban run-off group they released the scene back to us for our cleanup process. We responded with 7 ACI employees to put dry sweep on the on the fluid and swept up all the areas effected. The hydraulic fluid can become slippery and that’s why we reacted to get it cleaned up immediately. The fluid that was on the ground is a premium hydraulic oil that is commonly used in hydraulic systems. The absorbent that was used is called select sorb professional multi purpose spill aid (MSDS_SelectSorbProfessional.pdf).

We are keeping in contact with the city of Alameda and the urban run-off Manager, today we had street sweepergo thru the areas that were effected and he will be returning again tonight after cars have left the street. As far as the City of Alameda and ACI is concerned there are no direct health hazards as a result of the spill.

I apologize for any inconvenience this matter may have caused you, please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions or concerns.

Best Regards,

Guy Martinez

Safety Manger

I sent an email back to Mr. Martinez, asking for specifics on the hydraulic fluid; “Thank you for your response. Can you tell me what type of hydraulic fluid had spilled, aside from it being ‘premium’? Was it mineral oil, organophosphate ester, or polyalphaolefin?”

And now I wait.

[...]

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Tags: Air, Children's Health, Environment, EPA, Law, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Pollution, Products, Toxic

Documentary film: The Idiot Cycle

Posted on Nov 07, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

“Everyone should know that the ‘war on cancer’ is largely a fraud.” -Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Watch the trailer for “The Idiot Cycle,” a feature length documentary about the link between cancer and toxic chemicals, produced by Emmanuelle Schick Garcia and Laila Tahhar.

Related: Our Midland reports on a new documentary that says Dow Chemical and other chemical makers are profiting from the production of cancer-causing products that are not closely watched by the government, and then some of the same companies are investing in profitable cancer treatments.

Local environmental advocate Michelle Hurd Riddick, of the Lone Tree Council, said she didn’t know when the crew of “The Idiot Cycle” visited the community to talk about chemicals and cancer that one year later she’d be in the trailer for the feature-length documentary and traveling to Canada for a screening of the film.

Hurd Riddick has long been passionate about seeing cleanup of The Dow Chemical Co.’s dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. She spent two days in November 2008 taking the film crew around the communities on the rivers and talking about the impact of dioxin pollution on people’s lives.

Dioxins are a chemical byproduct produced as part of past manufacturing processes at Dow. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency labels dioxin a likely carcinogen, while Dow disputes that claim based on extensive studies of its workers around the world.

People walk, run and bike to raise money to fight cancer, but they often don’t think of what causes cancer, Hurd Riddick said. “Someone needs to step back and ask, ‘What’s causing the cancer in the community?’” she said.

Link to full report.

Link to learn more about the film.

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Tags: Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, Environmental Illness, EPA, Indoor Pollution, Pesticides, Policy, Toxic, Video, Water

Government to improve regulation of toxic chemicals

Posted on Oct 14, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Policy, Social Justice, Susie Collins

EPA director presents new guidelines to improve regulation of toxic chemicals.

The Michigan Messenger reports momentum builds for tighter regulation of industrial chemicals; health care providers say reform of chemical regulation is key to creating public health system.

In a recent policy speech, Lisa Jackson, director of the Environmental Protection agency, called the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act an “inadequate tool” and presented a set of guidelines that she said should steer efforts to improve regulation of chemicals. Environmental health activists, representatives of the American Nurses Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Clean Water Action are urging the EPA to use biomonitoring data — data gleaned from screening certain demographics for chemicals in blood and urine — as a guide in prioritizing its investigation of chemical safety.

The Michigan Messenger reports on the EPA announcement from their state’s perspective:

New chemical regulations could have special meaning in Michigan. Midland-based Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW), the nation’s largest chemical company, is in negotiations with EPA officials over how to handle the company’s widespread contamination of the state’s largest watershed with industrial chemicals. In the Midland area, and in other industrial and post-industrial sites around the state, people are burdened with historic chemical contamination in the environment as they also encounter new chemicals in everyday items [emphasis added].

Unlike pharmaceutical chemicals, which are often only available by prescription and only after they are evaluated for safety by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and manufacturers are required to divulge information about possible side effects, industrial chemicals — found in plastics, food packaging, cleaning products, building materials, furniture, medical supplies and a host of consumer products — are generally not reviewed for safety by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“[W]e need to review all chemicals against safety standards that are based solely on considerations of risk — not economics or other factors ,” Jackson said, “[A]nd we must set these standards at levels that are protective of human health and the environment.

Although more than 80,000 chemicals have been manufactured, since the 1976 enactment of the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA has only declared five unsafe.

The article explains well the problems in current chemical regulations.  Given the weak federal protections, states were pretty much left on their own to strengthen the most problematic of health and environmental toxicity. We saw this when California recently initiated the first of its kind state-level chemical oversight program. The article makes the case for using the new momentum initiated by the EPA to strengthen chemical regulations at both state and federal levels.

I don’t think any of this current activity is going to bring tangible relief to those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Both policy reform and biomonitoring initiatives are first looking at the most egregious offenders, already backed by solid science as being harmful — such as lead, Bisphenol A, mercury, perfluorinated compounds, phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and triclosan — not necessarily the most common household chemicals that can make our lives a living hell on a daily basis. But there are trends moving in our favor in toxic chemical regulation reform and also with breakthroughs in green chemistry. Again, perhaps not activity that will bring people with MCS relief in the near future, but nonetheless positive activity when looking at “cause” of our illness.

It’s wise to remember while watching trends that government regulations do not truly change corporate practices in a systemic manner until consumers demand it. So keep doing what canaries do best: educate, educate, educate. Live by example. Continue sparking discussion and debate about toxic chemicals with your friends, family, employers, landlords and elected officials. It’s a tough job, especially when struggling with chronic illness, but it’s always tough for people ahead of the curve on medical, social and economic change. Hang in there and be aware that there are forces out there finally taking a look at toxic chemical regulation reform.

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Tags: Chemicals, Environment, Environmental Health, EPA, Fragrance, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Policy, Pollution, Products, Research, Toxic

In the news: Chemical regulation, pesticide ingredients, and healthy art

Posted on Oct 07, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, News, Susie Collins

JS Online reports the EPA director backs tougher regulation of chemicals. The summit where Lisa Jackson spoke was a highly unusual gathering, called by the American Chemistry Council, the lobby group for the chemical industry, and the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that frequently criticizes industry’s lack of disclosure. Those groups typically are at odds over how much information and testing needs to be done.

Beyond Pesticides reports EPA Seeks to Disclose Hazardous Pesticide Inert Ingredients. What the heck have they been waiting for? Let’s see how nuts people think we are now.

Green Train announces Hollywood charity and Inku Artist McKenzie, who was stricken with a devastating environmental illness thought by doctors to be triggered by years of exposure to toxic materials in the art creating process. This sickness inspired and propelled McKenzie life-changing mission to discover and create an innovative way to produce healthy, earth-sensitive fine art and prints, which she calls Inku Art.

Dr. Weil reports on a study in China conducted by Australian researchers showing that women who ate the most fresh button mushrooms, 10 grams or more per day, were about two-thirds less likely to develop breast cancer than women who ate no mushrooms.

Start-Up Nation is a website that housebound canaries might like to peruse for ideas about home-based businesses.

Two products came to my attention this week with raves from people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. One is the Healthmate air filter from Austen (at right), and the other an all metal utility heater fan from Honeywell. The person chirping about the heater said she had to run it for a few hours out in the garage first before it was safe, but once that was accomplished, she loves it! As with any product, remember that what works for one canary might not work for another, so be cautious whenever trying new consumer goods.

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Tags: Art, Chemicals, EPA, Food, Home, Pesticides, Products

A chemical nightmare at work

Posted on Jul 28, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Keith Carlson, MCS, Worker's Rights

There are poisons and toxins everywhere that can damage our health and cause us temporary or permanently debilitating symptoms that directly impact our ability to fully function in the world.

Post by Keith Carlson.

Last week, I was sitting in my office and began to notice an odd smell, sort of sickly sweet. Ignoring it against my better judgment for several days, I was even told by my astute boss—who is well aware that I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)—that something seemed amiss.

Since last week, I’ve been noticing increased confusion, memory loss, and a marked increase in my level of stress and anxiety. Granted, we are in the midst of selling our home and radically changing our lives, but this past week my emotional life has been over the top and I have been feeling physically unwell.

Today, my (chemically sensitive) wife came to visit my office, remarking immediately that my office seemed incredibly toxic to her and that I should leave immediately. Just prior to her arrival, I had literally been crawling around on the floor, trying to “sniff out” where the offending odor was coming from, an odor that had by now become almost overpowering in its sweet disgustingness.

With my nose on the top of the heat register, I detected the source of the odor emanating directly from the heater, even though it wasn’t on.

Bringing two colleagues into the office, they both agreed that the smell was very strong and that I should leave for the day and we would try to get to the bottom of it. Just then, one colleague mentioned that someone had moved into the office directly below mine last Tuesday, and perhaps there was a connection. Looking back, it was indeed Tuesday or Wednesday of last week that I began to feel unwell and that the faint smell had begun to make itself known.

Running down to the first floor with my wife, we quickly located the office directly below mine (which I had never before noticed), and although the door was closed and locked, the smell coming through the cracks was absolutely the same odor now filling my office on the second floor, although the intensity of it as it emanated through the door was enough to send us reeling.

My guess is that the new resident of this office installed a “Plug-In” on the day she moved in, the sort of plug-in that is filled with noxious liquid fragrance that is heated via an electrical outlet. These insidious and ubiquitous devices have taken over, with Americans of all economic stripes convinced that their homes will not smell “clean” without such unhealthy trash that poisons the very air that they and their children breathe.

Since the building manager was out, I sent him an urgent email explaining the situation, left work early (with dizziness and confusion continuing), and will not return to my office until the space has off-gassed for several days.

So, although I have fought for a fragrance-free workplace, low-VOC paints, “green” cleaning products, and other accommodations, this employee who moved into the office downstairs unwittingly created a toxic environment for me that has subsequently caused me a week of distress, confusion, and other neurological symptoms that will, I hope, decrease as the next few days allow me to detox from its deleterious effects.

When one has MCS (or even if one does not), there are poisons and toxins everywhere that can damage our health and cause us temporary or permanently debilitating symptoms that directly impact our ability to fully function in the world.

I was glad to get to the bottom of this situation, and hope that it will be rectified shortly and that I can recover from the impact of this unfortunate chemical event.

This post was originally published at Digital Doorway.

Link to image at NoFragrance.org.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, EPA, Fragrance, Home, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Products, Sick Building, Stink, Toxic, Work

Film: The Future of Food

Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Media/Videos

Film offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

Click on link at end of post to view entire film. Here’s the first 10 minutes.

Link to film’s website.

Click here to view the entire film (one hour, 30 minutes).

Thanks, Ruth!

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Tags: Chemicals, Environment, Environmental Health, EPA, FDA, Food, Healthy Living, Law, Organic, Pesticides, Policy, Pollution, Products, Research, Toxic, Video