The Canary Report

Open Tabs

Posted on Mar 12, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, News, Susie Collins

More from my series Open Tabs, sharing links to the pages I have open on my browser.

I’m sorry I don’t always remember where the links come from, many are sent to me through Facebook or email. I try to give credit when I can. I’m not working in a vacuum, most info I find is sent to me in one way or another and I thank all of you for taking the time to share. xoxo

Clean, Green, and Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat by Dr. Walter Crinnion

My online friend, Missy, sent me this link to a book about losing weight, Clean, Green, and Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat by Dr. Walter Crinnion. Before you get the wrong idea, this book is not about another fad diet so your can fit into your Gucci pants, this is serious information of value to people who have a weight problem due to toxic chemical or mold exposure. It’s also available on Kindle.

A renowned naturopathic doctor shows you how to get lean and be green while helping to save the planet.

Now you can lose weight and be good to the environment, too-without starvation diets, calorie counting, complicated meal plans, or even having to exercise. Dr. Walter Crinnion, a naturopathic doctor and environmental medicine physician, shows you how to clean up your diet and clear out your body and home to eliminate unwanted pounds and toxins from your life. You’ll be able to get rid of nagging health problems such as allergies and fatigue and enjoy greater energy and a greener planet. Clean, Green, and Lean:

* Shares an effective program to shed pounds and stay healthy by getting rid of toxins in your body and your life in just four weeks
* Combines losing weight with being good to the environment
* Can help reduce aches and pains, depression, and other health problems
* Is written by one of the country’s foremost authorities on environmental medicine who has appeared on The View and other programs

If you’re serious about losing weight and safeguarding your health, follow the expert advice of Dr. Crinnion and start getting clean, green, and lean today.

Here’s an enlightening essay by Helen Larkin on Women and the Environment: Understanding Connections.

America was created, designed, and governed by men, yet now we are one of the most violent Westernized countries, infested with cancer, and have the greatest disconnection from our ecological impacts. Young women today need to enter into the sciences with a vengeance studying toxicology, agriculture, biomimicry, conservation, green chemistry, alternative energy, health, nutrition, and ecological dynamics. Women today must enter all realms of governance. We need to preserve the best of modern living while walking as gently as possible on the planet. We must educate and KNOW that female is creation, female is nature, and female is the future. Most important: Female is Life.

The Environmental Working Group has an excellent page on Scented Secrets: Fragrances Hide Toxic Chemical Ingredients. It was produced as guidance for Valentine’s Day presents, but can be applied any day. The Environmental Working Group is one of the best places on the web to get information about toxic chemicals in consumer goods, it’s info you can trust.

Take a quick look at a personal care product label, and you’ll nearly always find a long list of chemical ingredients in tiny print. Chances are, somewhere in the midst of these technical chemical terms, is the simple word “fragrance.” Although companies are required by law to list all chemicals ingredients in a product, a special loophole allows them to hide what’s in the “fragrance” component[1]. And what’s hidden in that simple word can include complex mixtures of up to hundreds of chemicals that studies show may be linked to a variety of health problems, including allergies, skin reactions, endocrine/hormone disruption, and possibly even birth defects. Companies are not required to test cosmetics for safety before they are sold. The label is the primary protection we have to make decisions about products we rub, pour, and lather on our skin and hair. Yet when it comes to fragrances, we don’t even have this simple protection.

An online friend asked me to share some info about burn pits. I’ve covered this story previously on The Canary Report, but here’s a recent report in the New York Times: Veterans speak out against burn pits, a range of health problems are linked to the pits on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, toxic substances have been found in the smoke.

On the website Fragrance Free Living, Bonnie tells her story about losing her job and almost her house due to her Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. I’m pleased to see my online friend Roberta Bradley, vice president at the Environmental Health Association of Alberta, leave a comment for Bonnie with links and information.

Common Dreams reports Cities Sue Manufacturer of Weed-Killer Found in Tap Water: Federal Lawsuit Seeks Funding to Remove Atrazine from Water Supply. This story is interesting because the states are arguing that they shouldn’t have to pay for filtering out the contaminant that the chemical company is responsible for manufacturing and selling as safe. I would argue the federal government is equally to blame for this problem, having not done their job of protecting public health before protecting corporate interest.

Annie Bond writes about toxic teeth, BPA and dental bonding materials. This is a product about which every canary should be aware.

Okay, that’s enough, that should keep you busy for awhile! Thanks to everyone who sent me the links!

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Tags: Books, Chemicals, Environment, Fragrance, Perfume, Pesticides, Policy, Pollution, Products, Research, Toxic

$100K awarded to woman with chemical sensitivity denied proper accomodations at work

Posted on Mar 10, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Disability Rights, MCS, Susie Collins, Worker's Rights

Woman with chemical sensitivity awarded $100K for being denied proper accommodations at work; her coworker’s perfume made it difficult for her to breathe.

Modern perfume contains known toxic chemicals that can cause serious cognitive and respiratory problems in people with chemical sensitivity.

On Point reports a Detroit city planner with an allergy to perfume is savoring the sweet smell of legal success after the city agreed to pay her $100,000 and be more sensitive to the chemically sensitive.

The agreement -– obtained by On Point through a public records act request — settled Susan McBride’s lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act which alleged the City of Detroit failed to reasonably accommodate her allergy after she complained that a co-worker’s perfume made it difficult for her to breathe.

Some critics attacked McBride for being overly sensitive and abusing the court system. But many workplaces are now perfume-free and a judge in November 2008 denied the city’s motion to dismiss, ruling McBride could proceed with a disability claim “based on the major life activity of breathing.”

As part of the settlement, which the parties signed last month, the city will post a notice on bulletin boards in its offices announcing that “Our goal is to be sensitive to employees with perfume and chemical sensitivities”

Let’s hope it sets precedent for future cases. If you have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and are having trouble with your employer giving you proper accommodations, you might like to share the agreement with them. This is an access issue, the same as any other disability protected under the ADA.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/momoe365photos/4154731316/”>Photo credit.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Law, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Personal Care, Policy, Sick Building, Stink, Toxic, Work

Professor of chemical engineering urges students to go fragrance-free

Posted on Feb 03, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Susie Collins

Chemical engineering professor at the University of New Hampshire encourages students to “be considerate to human canaries and help them to enjoy life to the fullest.”

Ihab Farag, professor of chemical engineering at the University of New Hampshire and member of our Canary Report community, wrote a letter to the editor at his school’s student paper to raise awareness about chemical sensitivity. And they published it! I’m a huge supporter of letters to the editor. Bravo, Ihab!

Many of us are familiar with canaries, the beautiful, colorful birds that tend to sing most of the time. Canaries also saved many human lives in coalmines. This is because canaries are much more sensitive to toxic gases than humans. Miners would take canaries with them in the coalmine. If the canary stopped singing and fell (or died), the miners knew to leave the coal mine quickly to safety.

There are individuals who have developed a very strong sensitivity to many common chemicals. These people can be very negatively affected and irritated by fumes, chemical cleaners, disinfectants, cigarette/cigar smoke, engine exhaust, solvents, etc. These people are often called “Human Canaries” of the modern world, because of the chemical sensitivity similarity to that of Canaries. Human Canaries of the 21st century tend to be very strongly irritated by everyday chemicals like perfumes, hair products, shampoos, shower gels, after shave lotions, antiperspirants, deodorants, hand sanitizers, chap sticks, finger nail polish, etc. Human canaries look the same as other people, and when you see one you probably will not recognize he or she is a human canary until an offensive toxic chemical triggers his or her sensitivity.

Please be considerate to human canaries and help them to enjoy life to the fullest. One way you can help the human canary and at the same time lower your exposure to undesirable chemicals, is to go fragrance-free: avoiding perfumes, and fragranced personal care products.

Ihab Farag
Professor, Chemical Engineering Department

Link to Dr. Farag’s home page at the University of New Hampshire.

Canary photo credit

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Tags: Chemicals, Children's Health, Fragrance, Health, Healthy Living, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Products, Sick Building, Toxic, Work

The Cloisters, where smells of the past meet the toxic chemicals of today

Posted on Jan 27, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Susie Collins

A woman with chemical sensitivity tells the story of her visit to The Cloisters. “I was furious at having been yanked across centuries and continents, and back to the 21st century where strange beings beat back every aroma or scent that nature or history has to offer by engulfing it in a cloud of sprayed odor – the embodiment of ‘Better Living Through Chemistry,’ I guess.”

Faith Wurtzel reports at Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood about The Smells of the Past.

In the essay, Faith tells a story about her visiting The Cloisters in New York City, what she describes as “a medieval European monastery that pre-dated Henry Hudson’s birth by a few centuries [and] anachronistically appeared in Manhattan.” During the visit to the stone structure, Faith experiences the pleasant natural smells of “hot wax and cold stone,” and she’s flooded with childhood memories of being “dragged by my parents to every castle, museum and cathedral in Europe.”

“I remembered lofty vaulted chambers with damp and icy winds blowing through them,” she writes.

But while her mind was tripping back to her childhood in this ancient of settings, she was suddenly jolted into the 21st century when assaulted with the stench of modern perfume.

Still a little dazed, I finished the climb to the heavy wooden door that separates the stairway from the museum’s entry vestibule, and we made our way in.

As soon as we opened the door, we were engulfed in an eye-stinging miasma of air “freshener,” to which I am frighteningly allergic, and which was no doubt unleashed by some plebeian in an effort to combat the persistent smell of history inherent in the centuries-old structure.

Snatched from my visit with the past, I fled down the stairs Dracula-style, with the front of my coat draped across my nose, and then stood outside on the icy cobbles sucking in draughts of cold, clean air. I was furious at having been yanked across centuries and continents, and back to the 21st century where strange beings beat back every aroma or scent that nature or history has to offer by engulfing it in a cloud of sprayed odor – the embodiment of “Better Living Through Chemistry,” I guess.

You should go read the whole essay, it’s beautifully written.

Photo credit

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Tags: Air, Children's Health, Fragrance, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Toxic

Poster for fragrance-free hospital care

Posted on Jan 26, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Disability Rights, MCS, Susie Collins

This poster was designed as a public service project for patients requiring in-hospital care at hospitals that are still lacking a proper fragrance-free policy for the staff.

The poster comes in two versions: one for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and one for Severe Allergic Asthma. Click here to download either one in print resolution.

I think the posters are FAB, but I knock off a couple points for using the word “allergen” in the MCS poster. As we all know, MCS is not an allergy, it does not have any of the physiological markers of an allergy. But that criticism aside, this poster rocks. I especially love the part where it says, “Patient is not a Fragrance Crash Test Dummy. Don’t just ‘come & see if it affects the patient.’”

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Tags: Air, Asthma, Chemicals, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Policy, Products, Sick Building, Toxic, Work

Perfume blogger dismisses concerns from a member of our community

Posted on Jan 19, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Susie Collins

I love it when people who have absolutely no medical expertise make flippant comments about allergies and sensitivities to chemicals.

Now Smell This: A Blog About Perfume reports on Perfume is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Art World. Angela writes:

I look forward to the day when saying “perfume stinks” is seen as a sign of ignorance. Maybe, instead, that person will lean toward a friend discreetly wearing scent and say, “Your perfume is — interesting. Tell me about it.”

In the comments she writes:

“I know a few people, too, who claim to be allergic to fragrance, but I think they’ve just had a bad reaction standing next to someone soaked in something particularly loud. All of these people can wander into a Marriott or a Hilton, where fragrance is pumped through the air, without a hitch.”

Excuse me, who’s ignorant? I love it when people who have absolutely no medical expertise make sweeping, flippant comments about allergies and sensitivities to chemicals. The truth is many of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity cannot wander into a Marriott or Hilton without risking our health. Neither can we visit malls or casinos or walk through an airport without a mask. Scent marketing blocks our access to banks, office buildings and even hospitals.

Now Smell This is a popular blog, and at about comment #180, a member of our community, Elaine Willis, left a comment for Angela:

People who CLAIM to be allergic to perfume most likely are! [Commenter] Klytaemnestra does not understand that someone can develop the sensitivity over time. Although I can appreciate the discussion here, I hope it can be appreciated that for 3 out of 10 people, perfume is a health hazard; and for a smaller but growing number – perfume and other petro-chemically enhanced products, are life-threatening.

Angela obviously thought Elaine was over exaggerating, and so flippantly replied: “Oh my! 3 out of 10 people! I guess I count myself as one of the lucky ones. I’d sure hate to be allergic to perfume when the world is awash in scent–everything from cleaning products to buses to malls and hotels seems to be scented these days.”

When another commenter recommends “a more judicious approach in putting perfume or scent into everything and everywhere,” Angela pronounces,”I think a lot of people don’t even notice it anymore, yet they squawk when they smell it on a person.”

The truth is that the toxicity of modern fragrance formulations is a serious health issue for everyone, not just people with Environmental Illness and/or Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Saying “I think a lot of people don’t even notice it anymore” about what is a serious disability rights issue is 15-20 years behind the times. In America, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, which include sensitivity to modern perfume and fragrance, is recognized as a disability by the Social Security Administration, Housing and Urban Development, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, among others. Click here for a list of published peer-reviewed articles documenting the “realness” of MCS.

This chemical sensitivity condition is not rare and the numbers of people who have it are growing. A national survey found 11.2% of respondents reported increased sensitivities to common chemicals and 2.5% had been medically diagnosed with MCS. Perhaps even more relevant to this discussion here is that this same survey found 31.1% of respondents said that sitting next to someone who was wearing a scented product was “irritating.” So going without perfume in schools, hotels, banks, airports and other public places is a good idea because it improves air quality and reduces potential harm to others as well as yourself.

Toxic modern fragrance is a health issue that affects everyone and a disability rights issue that affects people with respiratory illness including people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Clean air is everybody’s business, and seeing this issue as a fundamental health issue is the only way we will ever get consensus on taking the necessary action to protect everyone.

Now Smell This is a blog with a lot of readers, why not go an tell Angela how you feel about a product made from unregulated toxic chemicals choked with phthalates known to cause reproductive harm and petrochemicals known to trigger asthma, migraines, respiratory distress, central nervous system problems and more. Tell her how you feel when your body is exposed to perfumes in public places and your eyes burn and itch, your throat and limbs swell up, your skin burns, or a migraine is triggered.

I would have forgiven Angela her blog topic had she not been so flippant when Elaine told her that perfume can indeed be life threatening. I wish Angela could experience Multiple Chemical Sensitivity for just one day, it might make her have second thoughts about flipping off someone trying to tell her perfume can be extremely dangerous for a large part of the population.

Photo credit

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Tags: Air, Asthma, Cosmetics, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Personal Care, Products, Sick Building, Stink, Toxic

New website launched on fragrance-free living

Posted on Jan 15, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Products, Susie Collins

New website warns of the dangers of toxic fragrance in personal care products and other consumer goods.

A new website just came up on my radar about Fragrance-Free Living. It’s run by former auto mechanic David Tywoniuk, who now owns an auto body shop in Edmonton, Canada. He and Judy Sterling put the website together.

Here is a really good reason as to why you might want to try “Fragrance Free Living”. Did you know that the ingredient “Fragrance” used in most of the above products can indicate the presence of up to 4,000 separate, mostly man-made ingredients? Many compounds in fragrance are human toxins and suspected or proven to cause cancer. Symptoms reported include: headaches, dizziness, rashes, skin discolorations, violent coughing and vomiting and allergic skin irritation. Observations by medical doctors have shown that exposure to fragrance can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes. 100% of perfumes contain toluene, which can cause liver, kidney and brain damage as well as damage to a developing fetus.

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Tags: Air, Asthma, Chemicals, Cosmetics, Fragrance, Healthy Living, Home, Indoor Pollution, Perfume, Personal Care, Sick Building, Stink, Toxic

Never surrender, never give up!

Posted on Jan 11, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Franny Armstrong, MCS, Susie Collins

Our very own Franny Armstrong, contributor at The Canary Report and author of steamy romance novels, is interviewed by Antonia Tiranth.

In the interview, Franny talks about what leads an author on the road to success when battling illness:

I have a chemical brain injury (called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or MCS) that causes my body to react violently to simple things like fragrances, body products, cleaning products, gas fumes and much more. Since leaving the safety of my chemical-free home wasn’t possible, I became addicted to the Internet and to reading, however this wasn’t always possible due to the “mushy-brain-fog” I suffered which made it difficult to concentrate.

At the same time I was diagnosed with MCS, I was also told I had BiPolar II Disorder. Though the doctor assured me I wasn’t “nuts,” I was devastated, feeling like I’d just been given a death sentence since neither of the two illnesses had a cure. For years I could barely speak a sentence or remember a simple word. “I want tea,” though only three words, was difficult to say. I also slept up to twenty hours a day!

After losing so much time, I decided to do something with my life because I refused to allow illness to beat me! My motto became, “NEVER SURRENDER! NEVER GIVE UP!” and believe me, it worked. To date I have become a published author [with] my first book SMALL PACKAGES–A CHRISTMAS STORY released from Red Rose Publishing in December and what a feeling that was! I’d finally climbed past the limits of illness and accomplished what I’d never thought possible until now.

Author’s Demise comes out in March. Brava, Franny!

Link

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Tags: Art, Fragrance, Healthy Living, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Work

Book ties toxic chemicals to rising healthcare costs

Posted on Jan 11, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Home & Garden, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos, Research

Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA: A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick, by Catherine J. Frompovich (2009, BookSurge Publishing)

Post by Linda Sepp.

I just ran across a reference to this.

From the Industrial revolution and onward, the world has become an environment that is overflowing with dangerous toxins. Mass manufacturing has resulted in thousands of chemical pollutants being released in the atmosphere, water, and soil. As well, there has been a widespread increase of chemicals being added to almost every type of food and retail product. With this overwhelming chemical exposure, there has been an increase in research and studies showing the life threatening impacts on our health and well being. In her book, Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, author Catherine J Frompovich delves into the effects of a chemical laden world on the body at a cellular level.

Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA is an important “wake up call’ about the current and future state of our toxic environment and what will happen if important changes are not made. Not only is it highly educational, the attention to detail makes the book a handy health resource tool. It is highly recommended to not just mass readers, but also to politicians, manufacturing industry officials, and health professionals.

Link to the author’s website.

Link to Amazon.com and good review.

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Tags: Books, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Home, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Pesticides, Toxic

The woes of public restrooms

Posted on Dec 28, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Keith Carlson, MCS

Living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity can make it an enormous challenge to use a public restroom.

Post by Keith Carlson.

Living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), it can be an enormous challenge to be in a public place and simply need to use a bathroom. These days, public restrooms in the United States seem to have been permanently inoculated with so-called “air-fresheners” that make relieving one’s self an adventure in being actively poisoned.

For me personally, my struggles with public restrooms are exacerbated by the fact that I have an underlying medical condition (enlarged prostate) that necessitates fairly frequent urination, and this, my friends, can lead to some exceedingly challenging scenarios.

Just the other day, I was in a Trader Joe’s store here in Atlanta, where we’re visiting for the holidays. Feeling the urge, I sauntered warily towards the men’s room, hesitant to open that door but feeling that I had no real choice in the matter. Pushing the door open, I was hit with that disappointing, maddening and altogether overwhelmingly frustrating sensation that I had discovered—yet again—another public rest room that is simply verboten for my use. Sigh.

While I have no problem with peeing outdoors (which, in fact, is altogether preferable on so many levels), there are numerous situations in which doing so could lead to embarrassment, dirty looks, and—worst of all—a permanent label as a sex offender. Bearing in mind that many states do indeed prosecute public urination as a sexual offense, I frequently find myself at a loss as to what to do in order to heed nature’s (increasingly urgent) call.

You may then be led to ask, “Why not just use the stinky bathroom anyway, Keith? What could possibly happen to you?”

And I would reply, “Well, first of all, the clothes that I’m wearing can very quickly become saturated with the toxic smell of the substance in question. Although I do not develop respiratory symptoms like my wife does, I will find myself incredibly irritable, often with confusion, dulled mental faculties, and a difficulty finding words when speaking. A secondary and unfortunate sequela of my exposure to such a substance is that my wife will then react to the aura of chemical toxicity surrounding me, and she will then begin to have bronchospams, headaches, and a host of other symptoms which would have been otherwise preventable had I not entered that rest room in the first place.”

As you can see, the fallout from a simple visit to a men’s room can have far-reaching health consequences for both myself and my wife, and now that we are traveling, it is even more crucial for us to continue to use the toilet in our chemically safe mobile home when we can. Still, we often find ourselves in situations where we are far from our mobile haven, in need of a rest room, and unable to do what so many other people take for granted on a daily basis.

A “rest room” should truly embody the literal meaning of its name—a place for rest, to relieve one’s self and emerge refreshed and ready for the next chapter of one’s day. For those of us who are canaries in the coal mine of the toxic world around us, they are far from a restful place of repose. From the scented sprayers on the wall to the deodorizers in men’s urinals, public rest rooms are dangerous, exasperating, poisonous places to be avoided at all costs. When a safe rest room is found, it is cause for celebration and relief (both mental and physical). But when one needs to go and there’s nowhere to do so, it is a maddening moment of living in a toxic world.

~~~

This post was originally published on my blog Digital Doorway, a digital venue for creative expression, nursing adventures, reflections, thoughtful reverie, thoughtless repose, and other flotsam and jetsam.

You can also visit me at Mary and Keith’s Excellent Adventure, where my wife and I blog about living full-time in our new RV, traveling the highways and byways of America, visiting intentional communities, and bringing Laughter Yoga and the benefits of health and wellness coaching to new and old friends along the way!

Photo credit.

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Tags: Chemicals, Fragrance, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Products, Sick Building, Stink, Toxic

Dutch book on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity now published in English

Posted on Nov 13, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

English version of MCS book is now launched worldwide by McFarland.

Els Valkenburg of the Netherlands reports that her book entitled Understanding Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Causes, Effects, Personal Experiences and Resources has just been published in English. The book is now published in three languages, this time in the US worldwide version by publisher McFarland. I should be receiving a copy to review very soon!

This personal view of multiple chemical sensitivity and environmental illness is supported by research. In a question-and-answer format, the effects of exposure to perfume, smoke, air fresheners, cleaning products, exhaust, and other air contaminants are examined and linked to symptoms such as headaches, allergies, asthma, and fatigue. The book contains additional testimony and reports from 37 sufferers, as well as listings of resources and an index of related scientific articles.

Els Valkenburg wrote the first Dutch book on multiple chemical sensitivity, and this is the English-language edition. She operates the resource Web site www.the-abc-of-mcs.com.

She lives in the Netherlands.

Congratulations, Els! I look forward to reviewing your book.

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Tags: Books, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environmental Health, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Healthy Living, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Pesticides

PSA: Disinfectants Horror Show

Posted on Nov 11, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Home & Garden, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Can too clean be hazardous to your health?

In addition to the video, be sure to read Women’s Voices for the Earth’s report on Disinfectant Overkill, saying disinfectant chemicals have a purpose and place, but should be used sparingly: “Scientific studies have shown that disinfectant chemicals have been linked to chronic health impacts like asthma, hormone imbalance, potential reduced fertility, and immune system problems.”

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Tags: Air, Asthma, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Healthy Living, Home, Indoor Pollution, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Products, Sick Building, Toxic, Video

Fake Plastic Fish sings the praises of baking soda

Posted on Nov 05, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Home & Garden, Susie Collins

Beth Terry at the blog Fake Plastic Fish shares myriad uses for baking soda, including personal hygiene, cleaning, deodorizing and baking.

Environmentalist Beth Terry (left) at Fake Plastic Fish reports about the many uses of baking soda. She put out a call on Facebook and Twitter for “unusual uses for baking soda,” and I chimed in with a couple of ideas. She was kind enough to give The Canary Report two shout outs in the post, adding my input about the use of baking soda for bathing for people who are chemically sensitive. It’s always a pleasure to see Multiple Chemical Sensitivity talked about from a supportive and inclusive perspective.

Face and Body Cleanser: Susie Collins of The Canary Report, a blog about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, told me that many people who can’t tolerate soap wash instead with baking soda, mixing it in a 50%/50% ratio with water. She also let me know that people with MCS often have difficulty finding pure baking soda that hasn’t been cross contaminated by products with strong scents. Since baking soda absorbs odors, it could potentially pick up the odor of anything it was shipped or stored near.

I did clarify in the comments that it’s really the problem of toxic chemicals in modern scent that sometimes cross contaminate baking soda in storage facilities and transit, not odors per se.

Beth’s post includes myriad uses for baking soda, including personal hygiene, cleaning, deodorizing and baking. She buys it in bulk at her health food store (see photo). We all know baking soda is an MCSers best friend!

Hats off to Beth for all her hard work in environmental protection, esp in the area of plastics, she’s a true environmental warrior. She’s just launched a discussion board on her blog, so I hope you’ll drop in to visit Fake Plastic Fish to learn about ways you can cut down on your use of plastic.

You can also find Beth’s post at Blogher: Save Money & the Planet With Baking Soda: How Many Uses Can You Think Of?

Thanks, Beth!

Photo used with permission.

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Tags: Children's Health, Fragrance, Healthy Living, Home, Nontoxic, Products

Perfume, poisoning, and green spaces

Posted on Oct 22, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos, News

Canary’s Cry.

Post by Linda Sepp.

Green and Save reports on Perfume and Colognes: Dangerously Chemical.

CTV News reports that getting the recommended treatment for severe carbon-monoxide poisoning depends on where you live in Canada and who your doctor is.

CBC News reports green spaces boost the body and the mind.

Reuters reports polluted air may give you a headache.

Building Green reports on an EPA warning: Older buildings may harbor PCBs.

The Canadian Center for Occupational Safety reports a webinar will be held on ototoxic industrial chemicals and potentially harmful exposure. Dr. Thais Morata of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health will discusses the effects of chemical agents, the interaction between these agents and noise, and strategies for preventing work-related hearing loss.

The Star reports Web surfing boosts brain circuitry in older adults.

King’s College London reports on research showing pesticides exposure is linked to suicidal thoughts. Full article here.

The Wall Street Journal reports a bill backed by industry and environmental groups would set federal limits on a potentially dangerous chemical inside your home: formaldehyde.

Best selling author Barbara Ehrenreich has a new book out, Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. I just saw her talking about it on the Daily Show and she was brilliant. She said there’s an empathy deficit (no kidding). She also said, “I never think delusion is ok.” YAY for speaking up!

###

The health and ability for those with environmental sensitivities rests with the choices and actions of others. For more information, see The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities.

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Tags: Air, Books, Canary's Cry, Chemicals, Environment, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Home, Indoor Pollution, Perfume, Pesticides, Products, Research, Toxic, Video, Work

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