It is estimated that since World War II, more than 80,000 synthetic chemicals have invaded our world. About 40 million
tons are manufactured worldwide. It is shocking to learn that hardly any of these substances have been tested for safety,
but have been added to our food, skin care, water, cleaning products etc. without our consent and, most of all, without
warnings of their potential dangers.
Approximately 1000 new synthetic chemicals are made each year. Surprisingly, city dwellers use more synthetic chemicals
per acre than farmers and spend more than one billion dollars annually. In a lifetime 50 lbs of toxic waste can enter a body
from drinking water and at least 450 lbs can enter the body through the skin.
Organochlorines are chlorine-based chemicals. They are extremely toxic and lethal and include herbicides, pesticides,
including DDT, its metabolite DDE, dieldrin, atrazine, methoxychlor, hetachlor, kepone, chlorine bleach, most disinfectants
and vinyl chloride which is used to make plastic products such as bottles and soft toys for babies. These accumulate in our
bodies in many ways: from drinking water; from food grown with agricultural chemicals; from plastic migrating into canned
and microwaved foods and from food or body contact with chlorine bleached paper products (coffee filters, tampons,
paper cups, toilet papers).
Although pesticides are designed to kill insects and other organisms, thats not all they do. In fact, only 2 per cent of the 1.2
billion pounds of pesticides sprayed on crops accomplish this purpose! The other 98 per cent are absorbed into the air,
water, soil or food supply and into our bodies.
The majority of organochlorines are stored in fat cells and breast tissue. The tendency of organochlorines to stay in the
body is evidenced by the fact that recent samples of fat and breast milk collected from women in the United States and
Canada contained DDT, chlordane and dieldrin, organochlorines banned for over three decades (as well as those in
current use such as DDE and PCBs).
Women with high levels of agricultural organochlorines in their blood are 4 to 10 times more likely to develop breast cancer
than women with low levels. Women with breast cancer have 50- 60 percent more PCBs, DDE and other pesticides and
organochlorines in their tissues than women without breast cancer.
The really scary thing about these pervasive chemicals is that foetuses and infants can be harmed by exposure to chemicals
at levels that do not appear to harm adults. In fact, these hormone disrupting chemicals can have effects at extraordinarily
low doses, as low as parts per trillion. Mixtures of synthetic chemicals can have effects that are different from those of
individual synthetic chemicals. For example a combination of only two different organochlorines together in minute doses
has been found to be 1000 times more potent in affecting human estrogen receptors as with the chemicals alone. Products
that look innocent, such as commercial soaps and shampoos, can be harboring potent carcinogenic hormone disrupters.
The same applies to our food. Lettuce, can be sprayed with pesticides as many as 12 times in its short life. The lawns
children play on, the household cleaners used in ovens, on the sink, for the toilet, the water we shower in etc. These are
just some of the ever-contaminating ways synthetic chemicals have silently infiltrated into our lives and put our health at risk.
How can you avoid the toxic invasion?
Going organic is really no longer an option. From eating organic
fruits and vegies to using organic personal care products, household
cleaning products and organic pest control, going organic is really
the only way to go. A recent study found that pre-schoolers who
were eating primarily organic foods had 6-9 times less pesticide
residues in their bodies! Making small changes does make a
difference!
Also choose cosmetics that contain the fewest ingredients; these are still effective. As the list of a product's ingredients
grows, so does the possibility that it will cause adverse reactions, including allergy, irritation, and cancer. Handle all
cosmetics in a way that prevents bacterial contamination. Do not leave product containers uncapped. Do not share them.
Do not use your fingers instead of applicators.
Aren't cosmetics regulated for dangerous chemicals?
Cosmetics are the least regulated products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The FFDCA
does not require pre-market safety testing, review, or approval for cosmetics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) pursues enforcement action only after the cosmetic enters into the stream of commerce or sometimes after it is on
the shelf. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that 884 of the chemicals available for use in
cosmetics have been reported to the government as toxic substances. A U. S. General Accounting Office report notes that
the FDA has committed no resources for assessing the safety problems of those chemicals which have been found to cause
genetic damage, biological mutations, and cancer. Because of minimal regulation, products plainly dangerous to your health
are being sold.
FDA officials have found that many cosmetic manufacturers lack adequate data on safety tests and have generally refused
to disclose the results of these tests. The FDA estimates that only three percent of the 4,000 to 5,000 cosmetic distributors
have filed reports with the government on injuries to consumers. In addition, it is estimated that less than 40 percent of the
nation's 2,000 to 2,500 cosmetic manufacturers are even registered.
Are people being directly injured by cosmetics?
The skin is extremely permeable. Cosmetic ingredients most certainly are absorbed through the skin. You only need to
look at products like nicotine and hormone patches to know that anything we put on our skin is absorbed into our
bloodstream. Chemicals may penetrate the skin in significant amounts, especially when left on the skin for long periods, as
in the case of facial makeup. One study showed that 13 percent of the cosmetic preservative butylate hydroxytoluene
(BHT) and 49 percent of the carcinogenic pesticide DDT (which is found in some cosmetics containing lanolin) is absorbed
through the skin.
In 1990, there were some 38,000 cosmetic related injuries that required medical treatment in the U.S. That figure does not
include the many people who use cosmetics and suffer from allergies, irritation, and photosensitization yet accept these
uncomfortable complications as the normal cost of grooming. They never visit their doctor or a hospital emergency room,
and they rarely connect their allergies or irritated eyes to the cosmetics they use.
Fluoride an insiduous product
 Why be concerned about fluoride?
It is a cumulative poison; classified as a contaminant by the USEPA; on Canadian
hotlist. Fluoride is extremely toxic, more so than lead, less than arsenic. 2 grams is
enough to kill an adult; 500milligrams will kill a child. Read the poison labels on
toothpaste.
Because the hazardous waste & fluorine from the chemical fertilizer industry is the
source of the fluoride chemicals used to fluoridate water. Marketing the fluoride for
commercial use and for the public water supply is NOT an appropriate vehicle for
hazardous waste management.
Europe has shunned fluoridated water. This has occurred on the grounds that the
water supply is an inappropriate way to deliver medication and that it is a unethical to force people to ingest medication
against their will & fluoride is the only chemical added to water to treat humans and not the water. As a result of research in
Europe, Sodium fluoride treatment of water is now illegal in Sweden, Denmark and Holland. Germany and Belgium have
discontinued their fluoride experiments human population and France and Norway have never found sufficient evidence to
warrant water fluoridation.
If the science supporting fluoridation is correct then most Europeans should have mouths full of
rotting teeth & that however is not the case. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO)
cavity levels in unfluoridated Europe are on par, if not better than, North America.
Some undesirable properties of sodium fluoridation include:
Inhibits proper functioning of the thyroid gland and all enzyme systems this makes weight reduction difficult.
Damages the immune system & some disorders that may arise include: sclera derma, lupus, various forms of arthritis,
likelihood of cancer and other degenerative diseases increases.
The quantities of sodium fluoride in water supplies can be a potent pathogen when used regularly.
Fluoride has found its way into our toothpaste, cosmetics, mouthwash, dentrifices, and products containing
water e.g. soft drink, cordial, fruit juice, canned and bottled foods, public water supplies.
References
Pitchford, P., 1993, Healing with Whole Foods: Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition, North Atlantic Books,
California.
Stathom, B., 2005., The Chemical Maze Shopping Companion: Your guide to food additives and cosmetic ingredients,
possibility.com
http://www.pure-food.com/fluoride_in_water.htm
SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE
|
Narelle Chenery,
Director of Research and Development
for ONE Group and formulator of the world's first certified organic skin and body care
products, Miessence, and member of the Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists looks at
the much maligned and often
misunderstood chemical, sodium laureth sulfate. |
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is a chemical used universally in cosmetics, personal care and skin care products. Whilst
SLES is often claimed to be natural because it can be derived from coconut oil, it is the manufacturing process that bears
looking into.
Ethoxylation is a process that uses ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen, to manufacture 'milder' surfactants like SLES.
Ethoxylated surfactants may be contaminated with 1,4- Dioxane (dioxane), an un-wanted by product of the manufacturing
process.
Ethoxylated ingredients, including detergents, foaming agents, emulsifiers and certain solvents are identifiable by the phrase
"PEG," "Polyethylene," "Polyethylene glycol," "Polyoxyethylene," "-eth-," or "-oxynol-."
Exposure to large amounts of dioxane can cause kidney and liver damage. Accidental worker exposure to large amounts of
dioxane has resulted in several deaths. Symptoms associated with these industrial deaths suggest dioxane causes adverse
nervous system effects. Laboratory studies show that exposure to dioxane over a lifetime causes cancer in animals.
Dioxane may likewise cause cancer in humans. 1
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the presence of dioxane, even as a trace contaminant is cause for
concern and the Commission continues to monitor its use in consumer products. 2 Skin absorption studies demonstrated
that dioxane readily penetrates animal and human skin during use of contaminated shampoos and other personal care
products, although it is uncertain how much is available for absorption and how much evaporates instead of penetrating the
skin. It also caused systemic cancer in a skin painting study. 3
The Australian government have assessed the main risk for the general public for dioxane exposure is from consumer
products containing dioxane as an impurity. A so-called 'worst case scenario' for daily intake is 7 micrograms, based on an
assumed level of 30ppm dioxane in end-use products. This is claimed to be 1000 times 'safer' than levels where no adverse
effects were observed in animal studies. 4 However, overseas studies have shown dioxane levels to be much higher than
the assumed 'low' level of 30ppm. Dioxane has been found in household products at the following levels: shampoos
(50-300ppm), dishwashing liquid (3-65ppm), baby lotion (11ppm), hair lotions (47-108ppm), bath foam (22-41ppm) and
other cosmetic products (6-160ppm).
Two studies reported an increase in liver cancer of 50% and 64% in workers employed in workplaces where dioxane is
present. The same authors also carried out a workplace exposure survey and reported that the majority of dioxane levels
measured in workplaces were less than 3ppm! Although they claim the data was insufficient to speculate on the workplace
exposure levels in the liver cancer studies.
Scorecard, the internet's most popular resource for information about pollution problems and toxic chemicals, lists dioxane
as a recognised carcinogen and suspected cardiovascular or blood toxicant, gastrointestinal or liver toxicant,
immunotoxicant, kidney toxicant , neurotoxicant, respiratory toxicant and skin or sense organ toxicant .
However 'safe' dioxane is purported to be, it is still not something I would like to see in any amount in my personal care
products. Some manufacturers may claim that the alarming facts previously mentioned are irrelevant because they are
based on the product in it's pure 100% concentrated form and not relevant for the diluted form found in personal care
products. But think about it... no matter how you look at avocado oil, whether in it's concentrated form, or diluted form, it
still ain't toxic!
"My philosophy is if it is possible to create a product without the use of any harmful, or even potentially
harmful, chemicals then do it!" And it is certainly possible: the Miessence certified organic product range is living proof
that skincare can be made with only beneficial 100% natural and organic ingredients.
Parabens
(alkyl esters ofp-hydroxybenzoic acid) are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in the thoudands of cosmetics,
personal care products, pharmaceutical products and food. There are six commonly used forms (Methylparaben,
Ethylparaen, p-Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, n-Butylparaben and Benzylparaben) and it is estimated that they are used
in at least 13,2000 cosmetic products. According to the leading researcher of a recent study, Philippa Darbre, an oncology
expert at the University of Reading, in Edinburgh, the chemical form of the parabens found in 18 of the 20 tumours tested
indicated that they originated from soemthing applied to the skin, the most likely candidates being deodorants,
antiperspirants, creams or body sprays. The research was published in the journal of Applied Toxicology on 8 January
2004.
MIT (methylisothiazolinone)
Researchers are now finding that the active ingredient in antimicrobial soaps and personal care products causes nerve
damage. The ingredient is called MIT (methylisothiazolinone), and it is found in antimicrobial soaps, hand soaps, dish soaps
and a surprising number of personal care products. People buy these personal care products thinking they're protecting
themselves from infectious microbes. They think it makes them immune to viruses and bacteria that might be found in their
bathrooms or kitchens, and thus they believe in the mythology of using antimicrobial soaps to create a sterile environment in
their own homes.
This mythology has been promoted by the manyfacturers of these products who, through clever adverising, propogate the
distortion that bacteria on the kitchen counter and in the bathroom are responsible for making people sick. But the reality is
that we don't live in a sterile environment anyway. The only thing that prevents you from getting sick is a healthy immune
system. we are exposed to bacteria and viruses literally hundreds of thousands of times each day. It is our immune system
that takes care of these threats and keeps us safe, not antimicrobial soap. It also turns out that this active ingredient is
chemically similar to agent orange. That's right, this was the weapon of mass destruction used in Vietnam. And while it's not
accurate to say that there's agent orange in your antimicrobial soap, there is indeed a chemical compound that's similar in
it's function, purpose and molecular structure. Is this something you want to be caoting your dishes with? How insane is
that? |
