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Pollution

Unhappy home pollution is rife.

by JW Dowey 23 Jan 2015
Unhappy home pollution is rife.

Don’t you know there’s butyl acetate in that nail varnish? It is not only cosmetics that we need to monitor. The outside air can creep into your house, while fabric conditioner and other dangerous volatile compounds make your health much worse than it should be. Keep up, Kylie, I’m wearing this gas mask until you’ve read this! Gas mask image; Credit: © Shutterstock

Pollution claims victims in the home. Every day. You do not need to travel be poisoned. A young boy of 7 was killed by HCN (cyanide) while asleep at home in Surrey last year because a landfill site with a lake nearby had not been classified according to environmental rules. Flooding simply released the gas inside their home. His father is still paralysed. In Thailand, whole areas of lead pollution have never been cleared despite the dreadful effects on the health of local communities. We do not need to mention the fate of both Canada and the US about their fracking disasters. The WHO verdict on pollution. caused by the Alberta tar sands is here. Even beyond their sources, they entail water contamination, the collapse of many sinkholes and numerous breakages and pollution incidents throughout the whole of North America.

Back to the home itself, fabric conditioner normally contains formaldehyde. This substance has mainly been known as the ultimate (if foul-smelling) preservative of human or other animal tissue. So don’t try that at home, or allow it into your waste water! It is deeply carcinogenic and of course preserves fish and the other animals with which it comes into contact- it kills them. Marine life, of course is disappearing rapidly almost everywhere (near inhabited areas and even away from direct anthropogenic influence.) Can you see the connection?

Heavy metals are best seen in batteries, where mercury still lives, despite bans elsewhere. There’s also the forgotten fillings in your teeth, vaccinations, many so-called cosmetics and several household products that contain heavy metals. This is not to create panic, but simply to point out that there is a human ability to turn a blind eye. We think we need these products and so most criticism is regarded ascarping.

Back in the UK, there are bacteria causing concerns to the Consumers Association (Which.) The bacterium, Campylobacter is now realised to be alive and well inside fresh chickens in supermarkets. Your fridge is becoming one of the most dangerous places in the house, as these microorganisms are regularly joined by decay bacteria and fungi from those vegetables you throw out. How often do you wash your fridge with white vinegar or bioactive detergent to maintain a hygienic surface, both top and bottom?

We all should be aware of radioactive radon poisoning as the gas builds up indoors when windows are closed in the winter. They must be opened occasionally. Depression is the least of your problems with that harmful gas. Dangerous volatile organic substances also abound in your dwelling place. As well as formaldehyde from that fabric conditioner, benzene (another carcinogen), its relatives such as xylene and toluene, acetone, and ethylene glycol are some of the 20 most used household poisons in the US. Asthmatics and others with breathing difficulties need to avoid all aerosols, paint and solvents, beauty supplies, air fresheners and bleach and polishes.

What are the alternatives? Well staying dirty seems quite attractive after that, but there are many inexpensive eco-products which we are not here to advertise. The eartheasy website has some and a host of uses for soap, vinegar, corn-starch, lemon juice, baking soda and others here. Don’t think we are scaremongering. It is simply the danger is there, and just look how often someone dies simply because their stove produced carbon monoxide!


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