A Note on Pesticides and Garden Chemicals – Why Green Grass Isn’t Always Greener
A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that household and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia as much as seven- fold.1 AND 2. Studies show that children living in households where pesticides are used suffer elevated rates of leukemia, brain cancer and soft tissue sarcoma. PEOPLE, this is scary!!! These are just two of many facts I found on a link from BeyondPesticides.org:
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/lawn/factsheets/Pesticide.children.dontmix.pdf The information provided on this site is a must read, not just for parents, but grandparents, friends, etc. I know I don’t want my children exposed to these toxins – not at my house or at any house they go over to play. Unfortunately a lot of schools use these toxic chemicals on their grounds. Do you know what your child’s school uses on the fields where they run and play?
What Can You do to Protect Your Children and Pets?
1. Be aware of just how dangerous these chemicals are.
2. Don’t use them on your own property.
3. Make those around you aware.
4. Ask people to take off their shoes when they walk into your house – especially with spring right around the corner, these chemicals will be on the bottom of people’s shoes. Little kids are most at risk since they are the ones crawling around, playing on the floor, and putting toys in their mouths that have been on the floor.
1Lowengart, R., et al. 1987. “Childhood Leukemia and Parent’s Occu- paonal and Home Exposures,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute 79:39.
2Lowengart, P., et al. 1995. “Childhood Leukemia and Parents’ Occupaonal and Home Exposures,” J National Cancer Institute 79(1): 39-45;
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In the Market for a Dishwasher? Why I have been without one for over a Month – How I Found Out about PVC in dishwashers and the dangers it poses to our kids!
After having been used for 11 years, my dishwasher died. I wasn’t too sad, as I knew it meant getting one that matched the kitchen a bit better! Because I was preoccupied with the kids, Bill went out to pick out a dishwasher (this I was grateful for, as the kids don’t seem to enjoy appliance shopping so much!). The dishwasher came within a week. At first glance, I liked it because instead of being black, it was a bisque color, finally matching our cabinets. Then it was installed and we ran it to clean out any residue and dirt from the factory. I knew as soon as we opened the door that something was off. You see, I have a VERY sensitive nose that knows when something is not quite right. This tends to drive my husband crazy because it means he has to listen to me as I can smell out a problem before the effects can be seen.
It wasn’t until we opened the new dishwasher that I saw that the whole tub was made of plastic and knew that what I was smelling was the leeching of some sort of chemical. I got on the computer right away. After some research, I found that along with the tub being made of plastic, the actual racks were coated with PVC. Before moving on with my story, let me explain why this is bad for those of you that don’t know…
Like BPA, PVC contains dangerous chemicals. Some of these chemicals are known to cause cancer and asthma. Because these chemicals are released under warm and moist conditions, a dishwasher is a dangerous place for these already hazardous compounds. It’s not just the fact that these chemicals are coating the dishes, but also the fumes they give off, that when inhaled, cause problems. Please see the link at the end of this post for the full story!
Back to the story and that part that should shock people, but probably won’t… the companies using PVC know it is hazardous and thus, don’t come out and outright say that their racks are coated with PVC (Fridgedaire is one company that does this). When I went back to Lowes with Bill to pick out a different dishwaser, we found that those that have racks coated in nylon, advertise so on the information card displayed next to the washer. However, those with racks coated in PVC simply do not list what their racks are coated with. So here, once again, is where the theme of this blog comes into play – do your research! Had it not been for my nose, I would never had know I would be exposing my family to harmful chemicals via my dishwaser!
What Kind of Dishwasher poses the Least Amount of Dangers? After my research, I have found that as far as the choices that are out there go, look to buy a dishwasher with a stainless steel tub and nylon coated racks. If you are curious about what your racks are coated with, you should be able to find this info out online. Look for your particular brand and model and look at the specs.
If you aren’t aware about the big deal with PVC and the danger it poses, please read the first link below!
LINKS
Our Health and PVC – What’s The Connection (A must Read!)http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/documents/2009/Fact-Sheets/110909%20Our%20Health%20and%20PVC.pdf
The Connection Between Dishwashers and PVC: http://www.ehow.com/list_6624353_dangers-pvc-racks-dishwasher_.html
PVC: The Poison Plastic – The Campaign for Safe, Healthy Consumer Products:http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/about.htm
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What I Came Across Today: Chemicals in our Children’s Toys
The bag I threw out tonight after learning it contains a high amount of lead! Be careful – apparently some of these types of bags sold at Toys R Us do!Ever since I got pregnant with Liam, I have been really against wanting people to buy him things made in China due to what seems to be constant news reports about recalls of toys with lead in them. Three years later, we do have some toys from China, simply because it is hard to avoid! I thought I was keeping Liam somewhat safe by checking the recall lists every so often. However, today I came across a document that reveals that “the U.S. government doesn’t require full testing of chemicals before they are added to most consumer products. And once they are on the market, the government almost never restricts their use, even in the face of new scientific evidence suggesting a health threat”(HealthyStuff.org.). Healthy Stuff researches toys in order to help make parents aware of what’s in the toys and household products their children are using. I checked the list and was not pleased to see that some of the toys and bags I own contain chemicals, including lead! My Toys R Us ‘Green’ bag went right into the garbage tonight! For a full list of toxic toys, use the link below!
http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/toys/product.tmsresults.php?bn=36
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