Photo: B.G. - Oodwin (Flickr.com, CC)
I don’t believe in “Always” or “Never,” and certainly not scare-tactic click-bait headlines that throw parents into a panic. But as a parent concerned about the cumulative effects of toxic chemicals on my children’s health, I do believe in trying to do better. And, with that, I present the top products I avoid as much as possible.
- Canned Food laden with BPA: In addition to preservatives and an often low level of food quality, canned foods are worrisome due to the inside plastic coating. Many of these coatings contain BPA, an endocrine-disrupting chemical. Some companies are eliminating BPA from their cans, but most are not transparent about what they are replacing it with. A recent study found many companies are replacing BPA with clearly regrettable substitutes like PVC. Canned tomatoes are particularly troublesome due to their acidity, but fortunately, there are a few brands offering organic tomatoes in jars. Canned foods are useful in a pinch, and I can’t seem to get my kids off store-bought “Elmo soup,” but try to avoid cans as much as you can. If you use a can, look for those that are “BPA-free” and ask the company what they’re using instead.
- Artificial Scents: If whoever created the earth did not create that scent you should probably avoid it. Scented air fresheners, deodorizers, and artificially scented candles, perfumes, and body products are often loaded with phthalates, a chemical linked to various health issues. They also adversely affect those around you who may have fragrance sensitivities (cough, cough).
- PVC/vinyl Shower Curtains: Those cheap plastic shower curtains reek of chemicals for a reason. Stay away from anything with that “fresh plastic” smell, like a new shower curtain, a likely sign of phthalates. One study found vinyl shower curtains can release over 100 VOC’s into indoor air. PVC blow-up beach balls and swimmies are also hard to avoid, so at least keep them outdoors.
- Squishy Toys from Cereal Boxes: You know those spiders that you throw at the wall and they crawl down? Basically a phthalate with eight legs.
- Harsh Cleaning Products: Bleach, ammonia, and harsh cleaning products are linked to respiratory and other health issues. These are easily replaced with safer store-bought cleaners and homemade miracle workers like white vinegar and baking soda. Look for those that have been certified by EPA’s Safer Choice program, especially those that are “fragrance-free”.
- Non-Stick Stuff: If you registered for your wedding gifts in the past 50 years, you probably have a few non-stick metal pans coated with a synthetic polymer commonly known as Teflon. There is peer-reviewed research—as well as sad anecdotal evidence—that the toxic fumes from the Teflon chemical released from pots and pans at high temperatures are actually notorious for killing pet birds. Additionally, studies link chemicals in the Teflon family with various adverse health and environmental effects. Avoid anything labeled as “non-stick” or “stain repellent.” Learn how to season a cast iron pan with cooking oil and remove stains with baking soda instead.
Contrary to the misleading idea that greener and healthier living can be a hassle, each of these tips is relatively simple and cost-effective. In fact, a few of these can actually save money! Start by trying to eliminate or minimize these items one by one, and you can make a big difference.
Comments
Please note that you cannot smell phthalates unless the quality of the plasticizer being used is well below any industry standard. Phthalates are relatively high molecular weight and very low vapor pressure, have little to no odor, they don’t evaporate, and you can’t smell them. What you smell in those products are the stabilizers and anti-oxidants that are added to the process to prevent yellowing, etc. I’ll also mention that most, though possibly not all, PVC products in your home no longer use phthalates as the plasticizer. Phthalates have been systematically deselected in most consumer goods in favor of alternatives for more than a decade. It’s been illegal to have most phthalates in children’s items for 7+ years.
Thanks, Scott, for your good comment. We appreciate your perspective as an employee of Eastman Chemical Company, a manufacturer of phthalates and phthalate alternatives. You’re correct that the chemical smell from new cars, shower curtains and other plastic products is contributed by dozens of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are readily emitted from the plastic. One study found up to 40 VOCs in the air of new cars. (See http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8020stuff.html). That said, ortho-phthalates, which do have a slight odor, are added in percent quantities to soften plastics, are not chemically bound to the plastic and are semi-volatile. That means they are continually shed in detectable amounts into the dust and air nearby. While it’s true that most phthalates are no longer allowed in children’s toys or childcare articles, many other items in and around the home may still contain phthalates, including wall paper, roller shades, flooring, garden hoses, and wire and cables. What’s worse is that diet is now the major route of exposure to phthalates, which harm brain development and reproductive health in highly exposed pregnant women and young children. (See http://blogs.edf.org/health/2016/04/13/ortho-phthalates-filed/). How do phthalates get in our food? From their use in food processing equipment – plastic tubing, conveyor belts, plastic gloves, seals and gaskets – and from food packaging, including inks, adhesives and coatings – all uses that remain unregulated in the U.S. In fact, phthalates are still the number-one “plasticizer” used globally. We still have a long ways to go before safer alternatives to phthalates become the norm. We appreciate Eastman’s progress in that regard.
Mike Belliveau, Environmental Health Strategy Center, http://www.ourhealthyfuture.org
The National Candle Association would like to weigh in on the safety of scented candles. The article mentions that these products contain phthalates, which are linked to various health issues.
In many scented candles, very small amounts of blending agents are used to distribute the fragrance evenly throughout the wax. In some cases, the blending agent of choice is a phthalate known as DEP (diethyl phthalate). DEP has an extremely strong safety profile. It has been extensively studied and tested, and has a proven safety record spanning 50 years of widespread use in perfumes and personal care products. DEP should not be confused with DEHP, DBP or other phthalates commonly used to soften plastics and often referred to as “plasticizers.” Some plasticizer phthalates have been restricted from use in children’s vinyl toys and mouthable items over concerns that high doses might cause adverse health effects in young children. Because the acronyms for many phthalates are similar, many people confuse them. This has led some consumers to become needlessly worried about the safety of the DEP phthalate used in fragrances and other fragranced products such as scented candles. DEP is distinctly different from DEHP, DBP and other plasticizer phthalates of concern in children’s toys. There are no known health or safety risks from the use of DEP in fragranced products.
If DEP is used in a scented candle, the amount is very small, typically less than 1% of the candle. Moreover, the actual amount of DEP released into the air when a candle burns would be minuscule. Like other ingredients in a candle, the vast majority of DEP is transported up the wick and consumed by the flame to produce carbon dioxide and water vapor. Given DEP’s proven safety, the very small amounts that might be used in a scented candle, and even smaller amounts that would escape combustion by the flame, consumers can be confident there are no health concerns if DEP is used in a scented candle.
The safety of scented candles is backed by decades of research, testing and a history of safe use, and the proven data is outlined in detail here: http://candles.org/research-studies/. In the future, if you or any of your colleagues have any questions regarding the candle industry, the National Candle Association would be happy to serve as a resource. Additional information can also be found at http://www.candles.org.
Thank you for your comment, Carol. We can not support the safety of diethyl phthalate (DEP), which is a common – although rarely disclosed – ingredient used to carry fragrance in personal care products, cleaning products, scented candles and in other items that rely on synthetic fragrances. It’s true that DEP is different than other phthalates, which have been shown to reduce the production of testosterone, the male sex hormone so critical to healthy reproductive tract development during pregnancy.
However, you are mistaken in your comment. In fact, DEP has been shown in the peer-reviewed scientific literature to have other hormone-disrupting effects. Several human health studies have shown that the children born to pregnant women exposed to the highest levels of DEP have measurable cognitive deficits. This strongly suggests that DEP harms the developing brain during pregnancy. While the exact mechanism remains unknown, ortho-phthalates are also known to interfere with thyroid function, hormones that are essential to healthy brain development.
The expert science panel to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reviewed these studies (see pages 29-33 at https://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/169876/CHAP-REPORT-FINAL.pdf), and concluded that:
“There are indications from epidemiological studies that DEP exposures are associated with reproductive and developmental outcomes. These observations take precedence over findings in animal experiments for which comparable effects could not be recapitulated and suggest that harmful effects in humans have occurred at current exposure levels. There is, therefore, an urgent need to implement measures that lead to reductions in exposures, particularly for pregnant women and women of childbearing age.” (page 109)
We urge your association to follow this recommendation from the nation’s top scientists and work with candle manufacturers to safely substitute DEP in fragrance with safer alternatives. In doing so, you would be joining major personal care product manufacturers who have already switched to DEP-free fragrance.
Mike Belliveau, Environmental Health Strategy Center, http://www.ourhealthyfuture.org
Mike,
The National Candle Association thankS you for your response to our feedback, as well as to offer some additional information on scented candles.
First, the referenced studies claim that “children born to pregnant women exposure to the highest levels of DEP have measurable cognitive deficits”. It is important to note that the two studies (Engel et al. 2010, Prenatal phthalate exposure is associated with childhood behavior and executive functioning, Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 118, pp. 565-71; Miodovnik et al., 2011, Endocrine disruptors and childhood social impairment, Neurotoxicology, vol. 32, pp. 261-7) are epidemiology studies which are only capable of showing statistical associations. Therefore, they cannot demonstrate cause and effect. For instance, statistical associations may be due to confounding factors such as differences in diet or home environment, which were not examined in the study.
Additionally, in follow-up studies, no association was observed with DEP:
a) Tellez-Rojo et al., 2013, Prenatal urinary phthalate metabolites levels and neurodevelopment in children at two and three years of age, Science of the Total Environment, on-line 1 Sept. 2013; available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735862/
b) Braum et al., 2014, Gestational Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Reciprocal Social, Repetitive, and Stereotypic Behaviors in 4- and 5-Year-Old Children: The HOME Study, Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 122, pp. 513-20; available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4014765/
Finally, results from laboratory animal studies predict no-effects from DEP exposures. For instance, measured DEP exposure levels in the studies by Engel et al. (2010) and Miodovinik et al (2011) ranged from an average of 130 micrograms per liter urine (µg/L) for the lowest quartile to 964 µg/L for the highest quartile. These levels are much lower than safe exposure (biomonitoring equivalent) levels (18,000 µg/L) determined from laboratory animal studies (Aylward et al, 2009, Derivation of biomonitoring equivalents for di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BzBP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP), Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, vol. 55, pp. 259-67).
In conclusion, there is no convincing evidence of an association between DEP exposure and cognitive deficits (neurodevelopmental effects) in children. Therefore, as we mentioned in our original response, consumers can be confident there are no health concerns if DEP is used in scented candles.
Regards,
Carol Freysinger, Executive VP, National Candle Assn.
BS.
Do you honestly truly believe the crap you say, or do you just cut and paste from your industry playbook of media disclaimers?
The gig is up. People are getting educated and wising up to the crap that big business is throwing at us and frankly we’re tired of shoveling.
If you/industry spent half the energy and effort to finding a safe alternative as you do spreading FUD, hiring lobbyists, pay-rolling politicians and scientists, trying to get people planted into government agencies responsible for protecting people’s health and the environment to slow and prevent meaningful studies and safety warnings.
Between benzene, ketones, carbon dioxide, dangerously sized particulate, phthalates, paraffin wax, lead wicks, secret ingredients included in scented oils labeled as “fragrance,” you represent death dealers and the real questions is do you actually believe what you’re writing or are you just a shill protecting your job?
As a human who has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity now considered an Environmental Illness I cannot tolerate being around scented candles. We chemically ill people are called the canaries .. you know in the coal mine. It no longer matters to me what the scientific tests say as I am made ill by the smell of scented candles I don’t need a scientist to convince me. I cannot tolerate them in stores on the shelf inside their packaging… yes I can smell them thru the packaging. They make me sick… I avoid areas of stores where they are stocked… if possible I avoid the store.
So Carol I am no longer your customer and neither are the people who know about me as they are afraid of becoming like me. If we want to do the right thing it may be that a change is in order waiting on science while people are being damaged is just not right.
Regarding the BP-A warning, unfortunately BP-S is also being used as a replacement which may be even worse relative to its preponderance of leaching into food.
Of course, companies don’t care and call the product BP-A free because that’s all that most people know about and think they’re doing good.
Thank you for this news.
Another product worthy of being newsworthy is asbestos. It is still being used in the bargain price brake shoes and pads sold in Advance Auto stores and with brakes service $99 specials. These inferior pads also increase stopping distances on cars. The last 20 extra feet in a panic stop can mean life or death or injury differences. THE EPA lost the battle in 1991 to ban this lung clogging mineral.