EWG and Duke make a discovery that could be dangerous for women and girls.

What are endocrine disrupters? Why should we know?

A recent article on the senior women website tells us why we need to know  this term and why we should be concerned.

The Environmental Working Group works constantly to protect us, the American people, from  becoming victims of the products we use, the food we eat, and the air we breathe. The EWG and Duke University conducted research to find out what girls and women are innocently doing to harm their endocrine or 
hormone systems.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that, at certain doses, can interfere with the endocrine (or hormone) system in mammals. These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders. Any system in the body controlled by hormones can be derailed by hormone disruptors.

The research study included ten nail polishes such as OPI, Sally Hansen, Wet n Wild and others, popular with girls and women in this country. Nail color is trendy with girls as young as twelve. Adult women flock to nail salons where polish and other chemicals are applied.

The Duke and EWG research shows that within hours of polishing their nails, the subjects’ blood contained a toxic chemical, TPHP, which has growing evidence suggesting it may affect the hormone regulation, metabolism, reproduction and development systems.

Read the complete article on this subject at the link below.

http://www.seniorwomen.com/news/index.php/duke-ewg-study-finds-toxic-chemical-nail-polish

MCS and Air Fresheners

Recently while traveling to Atlanta, we stopped for lunch at a well-known chain restaurant. The food is always good. Sadly, the ladies’ room reeked of “air freshener.” I checked the ceiling for the little box that dispenses the toxic chemicals. It hung on a wall in a corner above the door.
According to an article by Richard Alexander, founding member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, air fresheners often interfere with the ability to smell by coating nasal passages with an oil film or by releasing a nerve deadening agent. Two toxic chemicals found in air freshener are formaldehyde and phenol. Formaldehyde is a highly toxic, known carcinogen. That means that every time we go into a bathroom “freshened” with these chemicals, we breathe in a substance that causes cancer. Could that be why I cough and wheeze and often have a blinding headache when I’ve been exposed to those smells?
Phenol can cause your skin to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives if it touches you. It can also cause cold sweats, convulsions, circulatory collapse, coma and even death.

Why are we being subjected to such poisons in restrooms, restaurants, and even in our own homes? Because we don’t complain to the owners and managers of the public places that use these chemicals and because we don’t read labels and learn how the ingredients cause damage to our bodies.


Richard Alexander has served as a member of the Board of Governors of The State Bar of California, President of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and the Board of Governors of Consumer Attorneys of California. He is a founding member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and heads Alexander Hawes, LLP

I'M A CANARY

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a health problem where sensitive people– some studies show up to 30% of the general population– react unfavorably to very low levels of synthetic chemicals in the environment from things like pesticides, cigarette smoke, paint fumes, wood preservatives, photocopier fumes, perfumes and epoxy. Symptoms vary from fleeting to severe and might include rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, fatigue, flushing, dizziness, nausea, coughing, or difficulty concentrating (reference).
People with MCS are often call “canaries.” The name comes from an old practice of miners who took canaries with them into the mines; if the canary died from toxic air in the shaft, the miners had time to escape with their lives. People with chemical sensitivities are the canaries of the modern world.





This is excerpt from article on The Canary Report.