By Janet Levatin, MD
When I moved to Roslindale a little over two years ago, I loved the community right away. I rented a spacious, third-floor apartment on a quiet street with friendly neighbors. One of my favorite parts of the apartment was the beautiful back deck that was up in the treetops. Before I moved in, I envisioned myself dining there, doing yoga there, maybe even hanging a hammock there for relaxing on warm, breezy days.
But something interrupted my reverie. While on the deck I noticed an odor that was simultaneously sweet, bitter, acrid … and noxious.
I immediately identified it as exhaust from someone’s dryer vent carrying the scent of synthetic laundry product fragrances. Inclusion of synthetic fragrances in many products is a trend that has been growing rapidly in recent years. Many brands of laundry products (detergent, fabric softener, bleach, stain remover, and dryer sheets) contain synthetic fragrances. I react badly to fragrances, as do an increasing number of individuals. Exposure to the chemical-containing laundry exhaust would curtail my ability to use my great deck.
I embarked on a campaign to educate myself about fragrances and other toxic chemicals encountered in today’s world, and I learned a lot. I want to share this knowledge with my neighbors and community, as we all deserve to live healthier lives with less exposure to synthetic chemicals.
Here are some of the facts according to www.womensvoices.org and University of Washington professor Anne Steinemann:
Research has shown that exposure to some fragrance chemicals can cause headaches, breathing difficulties, skin rashes, nasal inflammation, diarrhea and vomiting in infants and can also exacerbate asthma. Some fragrance chemicals can also block or mimic hormone reactions in humans and other animals.
Fragrance ingredients that are known to be toxic (synthetic musks) can be found in human fat, blood, and breast milk, and in the bodies of the majority of newborn babies. The more exposures a mother has to fragrances during pregnancy, the more chemicals will accumulate in her baby’s tissues.
When a product contains the ingredient “fragrance,” that fragrance can be composed of up to several hundred individual chemicals, most of which are synthetic.
Manufacturers of scented products are not required to list ingredients that compose the fragrances (in some cases they are considered “trade secrets”). This makes consumers’ ability to purchase healthier products challenging.
Even products labeled “all natural,” “green,” and “organic” can contain synthetic fragrances and other synthetic chemicals, as there is very little regulation of product content or labeling in the U.S.
Fragrance chemicals from soaps, shampoos, and laundry products that go down our drains are collecting in soil, water (rivers and lakes), and a variety of animals that live in or near water.
Women are disproportionately affected by exposure to fragrance chemicals, as they do most of the shopping for products, do most household cleaning, and have a greater percentage of body fat than men (and chemicals tend to be stored in body fat).
So what’s a consumer to do?
Buy cosmetics and body care products that are free of some of the most dangerous chemicals, including parabens, phthalates, and synthetic musks. Please visit www.safecosmetics.org, www.cosmeticsdatabase.com, and www.storyofcosmetics.org for more information on choosing healthier personal care products.
Choose healthier cleaning products that are free of toxic chemicals such as bleach and synthetic fragrances.
Some of us may even choose to make our own cleaning products, thus insuring that they contain safe ingredients.
Demand that companies list ingredients on their products and begin using safer formulations. At www.womensvoices.org you can find links for contacting some of the major companies using toxic ingredients and ask them to make changes.
We can also seek more effective regulation of the cosmetic and cleaning product industries by communicating with our legislators and with the FDA and demanding that safer products become the standard.
How to get involved in GreeningRozzie
Save money and the environment while you help GreeningRozzie: Renew Boston will give $50 to GreeningRozzie for each person who signs up through our website for a free energy audit. The audit will determine how your house can be more energy efficient, it will provide discounts on energy improvements, and for a limited time, people who qualify as low-income households can get up to $3,500 of energy upgrades. Go to www.GreeningRozzie.org/RenewBoston for more information and to sign up.
Join GreeningRozzie or sign up to help at www.GreeningRozzie.org or email Ken@GreeningRozzie.org.
GreeningRozzie events this month
Aug. 17 – GreeningRozzie's monthly community meetings (third Wednesday of every month), 6:30-8:30 p.m., Roslindale Community Center
Aug. 18 -21 – GreeningRozzie's table at Boston Greenfest, go to www.bostongreenfest.org for more information and a schedule of events. Volunteers welcome to help staff our table, contact Ken@GreeningRozzie.org.
GreeningRozzie's Information Tables at the Farmers Markets, Saturdays, 9-1:30, Adams Park:
August 13 – Kids Health and Fitness - Lead: Sam Warren
August 27 – Green Products – Lead: Janet Levatin,
Janet Levatin is a GreeningRozzie board member and holistic physician in the Boston area.
This article first appeared in the Roslindale Transcript.
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