Women who work in the home have a 54% higher risk of dying from cancer than women who work outside of the home because of their increased exposure to household chemicals. [Toronto Indoor Air Conference of 1990 from a 15+ year study]
150 chemicals found in the home have been connected to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders. [The Consumer Protection Agency)
In an EPA report to the US Congress regarding the Indoor Air Quality Act of 1989, they stated that indoor air quality is one of the nation’s most important environmental health problems.
“Chemicals have replaced bacteria and viruses as the main threat to health. The diseases we are beginning to see as the major causes of death in the latter part of (the 1900's) and into the 21st century are diseases of chemical origin.” [Dr. Dick Irwin, Toxicologist, Texas A&M University]
Diseases that used to occur later in life are now appearing at younger ages. Diseases that used to be rare are more frequent. For example:
- There has been a 28% increase in childhood cancer since the addition of pesticides into household products.
- Cancer is now the #2 killer of children – second only to accidental poisonings. Since 1977 the rate of cancer among American children has been steadily rising at a rate of nearly 1% each year. [National Cancer Institute]
Some products release contaminants into the air right away, others do so gradually over a period of time. Some stay in the air up to a year. These contaminants, found in many household and personal care products can cause dizziness, nausea, allergic reactions, eye/skin/respiratory tract irritations and some cause cancer. [American Lung Association]
In 1901, cancer was rare: 1 out of 8,000. Since the Industrial Revolution, the cancer rate today has risen to 1 in 3 and is not improving. [The American Cancer Society]
In one decade, there has been a 42% increase in asthma (29% for men, 82% for women). The higher rate for women is believed to be due to women’s longer exposure times to household chemicals. [Center for Disease Control]
Just by reducing (not eliminating) environmental carcinogens alone, we could save at least 50,000 lives taken by cancer annually. [Dr. Lee Davis, former advisor to the Secretary of Health]
Even small doses of neurotoxins, which would be harmless to an adult, can alter a child’s nervous system development. [Environmental Health Perspectives 106 Supplement 3:787-794 (June 1998)]
Out of 2,435 pesticide poisonings in a one-year period, over 40% were due to exposure to disinfectants and similar cleaning products in the home. [State of California Study]
Developing cells in children’s bodies are more susceptible to damage than adult cells that have completed development, especially for the central nervous system. During the development of a child, from conception through adolescence, there are particular windows of vulnerability to environmental hazards. Most disturbing – until a child is approximately 13 months of age, they are virtually no ability to fight the biological and neurological effects of toxic chemicals. [Herbert L. Needleman, M.D., Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., Raising Children Toxic Free]
