As the committee hearing and debate goes on this summer over the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 even more information has come out about the links between the chemicals in our homes and the danger it poses to our health. This serves as an urgent reminder that consumers need the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 to help protect them.
In mid-June, multiple national news outlets reported on a new study published by Environmental Health Perspectives that found further links connecting PBDEs – a common chemical used as a flame retardants in carpets, mattresses, couches, and electronics - to problems with the thyroid hormone in pregnant women. The study, which looked at 270 pregnant women, found that women with higher levels of PBDEs in their bodies had lower levels of the thyroid stimulating hormone in their bodies by anywhere from 10.9 to 18.7%. These levels meet the definition for sub-clinical hyperthyroidism – indicating an early stage of thyroid malfunction. When the thyroid malfunctions (know as clinical hyperthyroidism) pregnant woman can possibly have children with birth defects, suffer from in-uterine growth problems, experience miscarriages, or have stillbirths.
What’s most shocking about the study, researchers note, is that the levels of PBDEs that were tested in women and caused sub-clinical hyperthyroidism is fairly typical among American women. These are risk that most American woman – who are exposed to products like conventional mattresses, carpets, foam couches, and electronics – face. This is due in large part to antiquated flame retardant regulations, most companies refusal to use non-toxic alternatives in products that we use, and poor regulation of toxic chemicals by federal agencies. Matthew S. Tejada, the executive director of Air Alliance Houston*, believes that these types of discoveries about how our home environment effects our health aren’t going to end. He says “On the health perspective, the horror story is only going to get worse. The deeper we dig as more research is done, we are only going to find [out] more about the nasty impacts of what we buy.”
As more studies like this one are released and as we discover more about the dangerous chemicals in products we use everyday, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we need regulations to protect us as consumers so that we don’t have to live in fear. The Safe Chemicals Act can protect us and it’s something we need NOW. Tejada says “For decades we just let these chemicals go totally unregulated. The way food and medicine are regulated is [good], but the regulatory structure formed by the EPA is so weak that it’s effectively not regulated.” The Safe Chemicals Act is a strong start towards something that has enormous potential to help us as consumers find safe products for our family and ourselves, helping to ensure that we are protected from chemicals like PBDEs. Click here to send a letter to congress and find out more about what you can do to support the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010.
If you’re wondering what to do now though, the best way to protect yourself is by researching what’s in the products in your home and making smart decisions by choosing non-toxic alternatives that we are sure are safe for our homes and our families.
Wondering what New Living is all about? Want to know exactly what the terms “non-toxic” and “natural” mean? Then check out this video where customers and our owner, Jeff Kaplan, explains exactly why we sell healthy, non-toxic, and green products. I would write about it here but it’s probably just easier to watch the video:
Anyone who has ever painted a room with conventional paint knows that the smell of paint is terrible. Typically, you have to wear a mask, can’t stay in the room for a few days, and may even feel dizzy or get a headache. This is because conventional paints are filled with harmful chemicals known as VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which emit toxic chemicals into your home (even after the paint dries) and can be detrimental to your health. One of the worst chemicals in conventional paints is also one that is used by morticians to preserve the dead: formaldehyde.
Although safe to use on the recently deceased, formaldehyde can effect the health of adults and children in a variety of negative ways. Multiple studies have found links between the use of paint and childhood cancers. A University of California study found a significant association between rooms painted and an increase in leukemia by 65 percent. Furthermore, mothers who used paint during pregnancy were three-times as likely to have a child with acute lymphobalstic leukemia. There have been several other studies that have uncovered links and associations between formaldehyde and cancers among adults. Studies of paint workers have revealed that they are at a higher risk for cancer of the bladder, lungs, pancreas, liver, and stomach because of their exposure to formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals in paint.
The formaldehyde in paints has also been linked to skin irritations, eye irritations, bronchitis, and can cause problems in the central nervous system. The U.S. National Cancer Instituted found in a 2009 study that the longer funeral workers spent embalming bodies with formaldehyde the more likely they were to to develop certain types of cancer – particularly those who were involved in embalming for more than 20 years. Formaldehyde can also trigger asthma – a condition which has increased nearly 600% since 1980.
To keep yourself and your home from smelling like the dead and causing health problems that could put you six feet under, it’s important you look at the label of all the paints that you buy to see how much formaldehyde it contains. While formaldehyde is federally regulated, many paint companies still carry it at “safe” levels – even though medical evidence suggest the safest level of formaldehyde is none. Read the labels of the paints you purchase, buy paints that don’t contain any VOCs (typically called No VOCs or Zero VOCs), and make sure that the colorants put into the paint don’t contain any VOC. No VOC paints not only are absent of formaldehyde, but they don’t have any other Volatile Organic Compounds making them safe to use! Most who use them say there is very little smell and never feel dizzy or develop the headaches that they once did with conventional paints. Using non-toxic No VOC paints will help you stay away from formaldehyde in your home and in your body for a very long time.
As part of our ongoing New Living Talks series we have another fascinating speaker, Steven Deutser of Park Lane Builders and Park Lane Healthy Homes, to discuss “Nursing Your Home Back to Health: Understanding Your Home, Your Health, and Indoor Air Quality.” Deutser, a home builder and healthy home auditor, explains the relationship between energy efficiency and health. He also explains why our homes are integrated systems where indoor air quality is dependent on how our homes are built, what they are built with, what products we choose to put in our homes, and how we act in our homes.
In the first clip Deutser answers the question “What is a Healthy Home?” In the second clip he gives us a tour of the Park Lane/New Living “healthy playhouse” in the New Living Store. In the third video you’ll see Deutser’s full talk.
Steven Deutser answers the question “What is a Healthy Home?”
Steven Deutser gives us a tour of the Park Lane/New Living Playhouse
Steven Deutser’s full talk “Nursing Your Home Back to Health: Understanding Your Home, Your Health, and Indoor Air Quality”
Steven Deutser is the owner of Park Lane Healthy Homes. Through Park Lane, he conducts home energy audits where he assess both the energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and homeowner practices to determine the health of your home. Check out the Park Lane Healthy Homes website or come see the New Living playhouse at New Living to learn all about what makes a home healthy and what products you can use to make your home healthier.
Keep a lookout for more in our New Living Talks series here throughout the summer.
Unlike other cities, in Houston, we spend most of our time (estimated at 90%) indoors. Because of the heat and because of air quality problems – like ozone levels – we usually believe that buildings are healthier. However, although indoor environments may feel safer, it’s important to remember that indoor air quality too can effect our health.
The EPA ranks indoor air quality among the five largest environmental dangers to the public. They also have found that air indoors can be anywhere from about 2 to 5 times as polluted as outdoor air. For a city like Houston, that’s rated the 3rd most toxic city in the nation where outdoor air quality is concerned, these numbers are troubling.
The Texas Department of State Health Services finds that “building materials and furnishings; biologicals; products for household cleaning, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; pesticides; oil, gas, kerosene, or wood combustion sources” are the primary sources of indoor air quality problems. They also report that poor indoor air quality can lead to “irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and allergy-type symptoms.” And more seriously, “asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever can also affect some individuals after exposure to certain indoor air pollutants.” This list of health problems that can emerge from our homes and spend so much time in is startling.
However, rather than living in fear of both the heat outdoors and the pollution indoors we can make smart decisions to make our indoor environments healthier. Start by reading about various pollutants in everyday products in your home online from reliable sources. Also, try to follow these three rules when shopping for things for your home:
Look for products that don’t contain any Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
Buy organic – buying organic usually means products haven’t been treated chemically
Look for corporate transparency – corporations and stores that tell you what’s in there product usually have healthier products.
Although indoor air quality in Houston is a problem, one needn’t live in fear. Instead, being conscious of what is in your home and around you is the best way to protect your family and your health.
Join USGBC Emerging Professionals and AIA COTE for a free screening of “Greening the Cube: 100-Mile Housing” tonight at 6:30 pm at Gensler’s office (711 Louisiana Street, Suite 300). Hope to see you there!
For more information about the film: http://www.thevisualblueprint.com/Greening_The_Cube__100-Mile_Housing/GREENING_THE_CUBE.html
This week we have another great speaker, Sue McDonald, here to talk about the chemicals in our everyday lives as part of our New Living Talks series. McDonald’s discussion, titled “Our Toxic World: Understanding the Effects of Chemicals in Our Everyday Lives and How To Deal With Them” is an informative video about the chemicals we come into contact with daily, how they can affect our health, and what we can do to avoid these health hazards. The video is filled with interesting facts, stories, and tips that can really help you make smarter decisions. This video is a must see not just for those concerned with health and green issues, but for EVERYONE because it’s a topic that truly concerns us all. Forward this along to friends and family to help them stay informed and to protect them from the toxic chemicals that are around them and check. And check out the New Living website to see a list of non-toxic products for your home and building needs.
Sue McDonald is a chemical sensitivity advocate and educator – speaking about this subject for the last 8 years in the Houston area. She has been featured on the radio, at conferences, and she has been named a ‘Houston Hero’ by the Citizens League of Environmental Action Now (C.L.E.A.N.). McDonald first became aware of how toxic our environments are when she began to experience – in her new home – multiple chemical sensitivities fifteen years ago. Since then she’s been researching and looking for ways to live a as chemically free as she can. McDonald teaches a free bi-monthly seminar called “Making Safer Choices In a Toxic World” at New Living. The next one is on August 15 (please call New Living at 713.521.1921 to RSVP). Visit her website to find out more about Sue and her mission.
Although many of the words on that list may be hard to pronounce, they’re all volatile organic compounds – chemicals – that can be found in your memory foam mattress. These 61 chemicals are emitted in your home as you sleep, dramatically decreasing the quality of your indoor air environment. These chemicals found in conventional memory foam mattresses have been linked to skin irritations, eye irritations, various forms of cancer, developmental problems in children, and respiratory problems. This is because unsafe mattresses emit these toxic chemicals into your bedroom and body – possibly making you sick.
Although manufacturers of memory foam commonly put these chemicals into their mattresses, there is no reason to. While manufacturers put VOCs into your mattress as a flame retardant, there are several coil spring and memory foam mattress companies that do not because there are natural flame-retardants that can be used. Certain mattresses, particularly those that are organic and are made of natural materials, do not have or emit VOCs yet they still meet fire safety requirements.
What’s most infuriating is that there has been research linking certain flame-retardants to cancer since the 1970s in credible peer-reviewed scientific journals, yet both our government and industry refuse to do the right thing and look out for our health. Although some chemicals have been banned over the past few decades – many flame retardants reports Environmental Health Perspectives – there are still many in our mattresses that we either know or suspect have links to a variety of illnesses.
While one can wait for change, as a consumer we have to act now to get these products – which are continually emitting harmful toxins into our homes and bodies – out of our homes and replaced with safer ones. There are numerous safe products (like non-toxic organic or natural memory foam mattresses) on the market currently that offer us protection from these chemicals and peaceful nights of sleep. We deserve to know that we’re safe and that these 61 chemicals are not making their way into our bodies.
*This list is taken from Bader’s Toxic Bedrooms: Your Guide to a Safe Night’s Sleep. He had a popular memory foam mattress tested by an independent laboratory.
Check out this short video from one of our past customers, Ashley Maltz, and hear what she has to say about her New Living experience and the New Living products in her home. She was one of our early customers, and got to experience New Living before the store was even complete! Still, she enjoyed her experience and the products, and has some pretty humorous things to say.
Ashley remodeled her condo in Galveston after Hurricane Ike. She used New Living’s own NO VOC paint, custom made cabinets, countertops, and an organic mattress to bring her home back to life.
Ashley on her New Living experience, when we first started:
Ashley on her New Living Products:
Come visit us to learn more about green and healthy homes, to see our products, and to work with our team. Sawdust not included.
