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Do You Have These Toxic
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Some cleaning products and air fresheners have unhealthy emissions.
Persons involved in cleaning, especially those who clean occupationally or often, might encounter excessive exposures to these pollutants owing to cleaning product emissions.
Maternal exposure to toxic chemicals during pregnancy can disrupt development or even cause the death of the fetus. Effects can include birth defects, low birth weight, biological dysfunctions, or psychological or behavioral deficits that become manifest as the child grows.
Sources: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (1998); Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (1999); Scorecard (2007).
Here's the List of Cleaning Products and Health Risks:
Many all-purpose cleaners contain neurotoxins and nasal irritants that can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled. Synthetic solvents may cause hormone disruption.
Butyl Cellosolve (2-butoxyethanol, 2-butoxyethanol acetate or Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether). Butyl cellosolve is a high volume chemical with production exceeding 1 million pounds annually.
The general population is exposed to 2-butoxyethanol and 2-butoxyethanol acetate mainly by breathing air or having skin contact with liquids, particularly household cleaners, which contain these compounds. Butyl cellosolve is a toxic glycol ether chemical used in cleaning solutions.
Material Safety Data Sheet reports potential irritation and tissue damage from inhalation, ingestion, cutaneous, and/or ocular exposure. People who swallowed large amounts of cleaning agents containing Butyl cellosolve experienced breathing problems, low blood pressure, low levels of hemoglobin, acidic blood, and blood in the urine.
Formaldehyde Formaldehyde is a preservative found in many household products. Formaldehyde is an anticipated carcinogen.
Low levels of formaldehyde cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin. People with asthma may be more sensitive to the effects of inhaled formaldehyde. Drinking large amounts of formaldehyde can cause severe pain, vomiting, coma, and possible death. In animal studies, rats developed nose cancer from formaldehyde.
Automatic Dishwasher Detergents. Some products contain dry chlorine that is activated when it encounters water in the dishwasher. Chlorine fumes are released in the steam that leaks out of the dishwasher, and can cause eye irritation.
Carpet Cleaners. Carpet cleaners can be extremely toxic to children; who tend to play and crawl around on carpets. The fumes given off by carpet cleaners can cause cancer and liver damage.
Carpet and upholstery cleaners accounted for 5397 poison exposures in 2005. The majority of these, exposures, over 3500, involved children under 6. Source:Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure Database (2005).
Naphthalene Possible human carcinogen found in moth balls and metal polishes. Exposure to large amounts of napthalene may lead to hemolytic anemia. Napthalene may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blood in the urine, and a yellow color to skin.
Mice that breathed naphthalene vapors daily for a lifetime developed lung tumors and some developed nose tumors. Sources: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2005).
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Bleach. The chemical known as hypochlorite in bleach causes more poisoning exposures than any other household cleaning substance. May cause reproductive, endocrine, and immune system disorders. Source: Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure Database (2005).
Degreasers. Many degreasers contain petroleum distillates and butyl cellosolve; which can damage lung tissues and dissolve fatty tissue surrounding nerve cells.
Drain Cleaners. One of the most hazardous products in the home, drain cleaners often contain lye or sodium hydroxide; strong caustic substances that cause severe corrosive damage to eyes, skin, mouth and stomach, and can be fatal if swallowed.
Glass Cleaners. Ammonia is found in many glass cleaners and the ammonia fumes can irritate skin, eyes and the respiratory system. Ammonia based glass cleaners accounted for 6,356 poison exposures in 2005. Source: Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure Database (2005).
Ammonia Exposure to high levels of ammonia in air may be irritating to your skin, eyes, throat, and lungs and cause coughing and burns. Asthma sufferers may be more sensitive to breathing ammonia than others.
Swallowing concentrated solutions of ammonia can cause burns in your mouth, throat, and stomach. Getting ammonia into the eyes can cause burns and even blindness. Sources: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2004); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
Oven Cleaners. One of the most dangerous cleaning products, oven cleaners can cause severe damage to eyes, skin, mouth and throat. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry.
Sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide is very corrosive and can cause severe burns in all tissues that come in contact with it. Sodium hydroxide is odorless; thus, odor provides no warning of hazardous concentrations.
Inhalation of sodium hydroxide is immediately irritating to the respiratory tract. Swelling or spasms of the larynx leading to upper-airway obstruction and asphyxia can occur after high-dose inhalation. Inflammation of the lungs and an accumulation of fluid in the lungs may also occur.
Cancer of the esophagus has been reported 15 to 40 years after the formation of corrosion-induced strictures. Ingestion of solid or liquid forms of sodium hydroxide can cause spontaneous vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, and difficulty swallowing. Corrosive injury to the mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach is very rapid and may result in perforation, hemorrhage, and narrowing of the gastrointestinal tract.
Skin contact with sodium hydroxide can cause severe burns with deep ulcerations. Sodium hydroxide contact with the eye may produce pain and irritation, and in severe cases, clouding of the eye and blindness. Long-term exposure to sodium hydroxide in the air may lead to ulceration of the nasal passages and chronic skin irritation.
Scouring Cleansers. Some cleaners may contain sodium hydroxide or bleach that can irritate mucous membranes and cause liver and kidney damage.
Scale or Lime Removers. These are products designed to remove mineral buildup like lime, scale and soap scum. Source: ScienceLab.com.
Sulfamic Acid Sulfamic acid is toxic to lungs and mucous membranes. Direct skin contact with sulfamic acid is corrosive and causes irritation, dryness or burning. Eye contact can result in corneal damage or blindness.
Inhalation of sulfamic acid will produce irritation to gastro-intestinal or respiratory tract with burning, sneezing or coughing. Severe over exposure of sulfamic acid can produce lung damage, choking, unconsciousness or death.
Toilet Bowl Cleaners. One of the most dangerous cleaning products, toilet bowl cleaners can contain chlorine and hydrochloric acid. Harmful to health simply by breathing during use. Toilet Bowl Cleaners accounted for 10,461 poison exposures in 2005. Source: Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure Database (2005).
Hydrochloride/ Hydrochloric Acid (HCI) HCI can cause severe damage to skin and eyes. Brief exposure to low levels of HCI vapor causes throat irritation. Exposure to higher levels of HCI can result in rapid breathing, narrowing of the bronchioles, blue coloring of the skin, accumulation of fluid in the lungs, and even death.
Exposure to even higher levels of HCI can cause swelling, spasm of the throat and suffocation. Some people exposed to HCI may develop an inflammatory reaction called reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS), a type of asthma caused by some irritating or corrosive substances.
Swallowing HCI causes severe corrosive injury to the lips, mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach. Sources: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2007). Managing Hazardous Materials Incidents. Volume III, Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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