HealthiaCynthia

No Bleach Here, Thank You

Filed under: Health & Wellness, Green for Life, Chemical Toxins by healthiacynthia on March 17, 2008 10:35 pm

What follows is the reason that this Granny does not use Household bleach…. this comes from the CHEC Chemical Profile page.

  Chlorine
Rank: Red
Red = Danger! Prevent Exposure
Orange = Warning - Avoid Exposure
Yellow = Caution - Limit Exposure

Common Names: chloramine, sodium hypochlorite, bleach, hydrochloric acid, trihalomethanes, disinfection byproducts

Chlorine is a highly corrosive gas with a pungent odor that is derived from natural sources such as salt (sodium chloride) and produced in mass quantities for industrial use. Chlorine is a building block for PVC plastics (vinyl) and for numerous chemicals, including pesticides, refrigerants, anti-knock compounds, and antifreeze. Dissolved in liquid to form sodium hypochlorite, or bleach, it is widely used as a disinfectant, in bleaching, and to purify public water supplies. Another form, hydrochloric acid, may be used in some toilet bowl cleaners.

Household bleach is a weak sodium hypochlorite solution. Household bleach is the most common cleaner accidentally swallowed by children. Children can also be exposed to dangerous gases when cleaners containing bleach are mixed with other cleaning agents, such as ammonia.

Concern about chlorine exposure also arises from its ability to form more toxic byproducts. Chlorine reacts with organic matter in drinking water to produce trihalomethanes, which may cause cancer and possibly developmental effects. A recent study links children's exposure to one byproduct, nitrogen trichloride, in chlorinated indoor pools to asthma. Chlorine bleaching of paper and the manufacture and incineration of PVC plastic results in the formation of highly toxic dioxins and furans.

Acute toxicity information below is for sodium hypochlorite (bleach).

Acute Toxicity

What do these toxicity
categories mean?

Chemical Toxins:Dangers to Nurses and their Children…

Filed under: Health & Wellness, Chemical Toxins by healthiacynthia on January 17, 2008 4:56 pm

Nurses and Their Children at Risk

A nationwide survey of more than 1,500 nurses suggests nurses — and their children — might be at risk from long-term exposures to chemicals.

When caring for patients, nurses handle dozens of chemicals and drugs designed to prevent and cure illnesses. Though the benefits of these treatments outweigh the risks for most patients, the same may not be true for nurses.

They absorb a fraction of these substances, day after day. Only 6 of the hundreds of chemicals studied have been tested for safety and have workplace standards.

Are you a nurse? Click here to learn what you can do.
Or, click here to check out the survey.