Toxic Products

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Toxic Products

• Hidden Harms in the Classroom

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Why Is Examining The Products You Use Important?

• Commonly used products have adverse health
  effects, particularly for children
• These products also have adverse effects for the
  environment
• Worker health matters-both that of your
  custodians and those who produce the chemicals
• There are safer, cost effective alternatives

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Why Children are More Vulnerable To Toxins

• Hand-to-mouth behavior and playing close to the
  ground
• Heavier exposures to environmental toxins, pound
  for pound, compared to adults
• Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in NYC found
  Developmental processes can be easily disrupted
  Early windows of great vulnerability
• Many hours spent in school with air that is often
  2-5x more contaminated than outdoor air (US EPA)

Overall evidence strongly suggests that a poor
environment in schools, due primarily to effects
of indoor pollutants, adversely influences the
health, performance, and attendance of students
US Department of Education report, 2004
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If We Can Buy It, It Must Be Safe, Right?

• No! Products Have Unlisted Ingredients and
  Unknown Dangers
• According to US EPA, of the 2,863 most commonly
  used chemicals only 7 have complete toxicity
  data and 43 have NO toxicity information
  available 1
• 1 of every 3 cleaning chemicals used in schools
  causes environmental or health problems (Center
  for a New American Dream)

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INFORM Found That Of 250 Common Janitorial
Products

• 7 Should not be used
• Severe environmental and health threats
• 56 Require extreme care
• Blindness, severe skin damage, absorption
  
  through skin to internal organs
• 37 Require routine care
• Temporary irritation, harmful ingredients

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High Risk Ingredients(Department of Interior)
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Volatile Organic Compounds
A Simple Way to Understand Off-Gassing

• Acute Problems Nose and Throat Discomfort,
  headache, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness,
  and fatigue
• Chronic Problems Cancer, Damage to Organs and
  Central Nervous System
• Cleaning products are responsible for
  approximately eight percent of total
  non-vehicular emissions of VOCs (Green Seal).

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1,4 dichlorobenzene (1,4 DCB)

• Likely carcinogen (Dept. of Health and Human
  Services)
• New research links it to reduced lung function
  (Natl Institute of Environmental Health
  Sciences)
• In this study 96 of a group of 953 people had
  concentrations in their blood
• Found in toilet bowel cleaners, air
  fresheners, paint, and other
  deodorizers

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Cleaning Products as Asthma Triggers

• Nationwide 1 in 13 children have asthma, and
  a study at UMDNJ found that 1 in 8 children in
  New Jersey have it. Asthma is the primary factor
  for school absenteeism and hospital admission
  among chronic conditions.
• Janitorial workers experience the highest rates
  of occupational asthma, twice the rate for other
  workers (Study in American Journal of Industrial
  Medicine)
• An article in the Journal of Occupational and
  Environmental Medicine found that in four
  statesCalifornia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and
  New Jersey 12 percent of work-related asthma
  cases were associated with exposure to cleaning
  products, and 80 percent of those were new onset
  cases
• Even short-term exposure to cleaning agents
  caused asthmatic attacks (A Study in the European
  Respiratory Journal)

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The Most Toxic Cleaners

• Acid Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Carpet Spotter
• All-purpose Cleaner
• Floor Finish Stripper
• Baseboard Stripper
• Graffiti Remover
• Disinfectant

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Paint

• When the EPA tested the indoor air quality after
  a fresh paint application, it was found that VOC
  levels were 1000 times higher than outside
• Petroleum-based (oil/alkyl) paints can contain up
  to 60 VOCs
• Water-based paints have less VOCs but no law on
  VOC content! Contain biocides
• Both Latex and Oil Based Paint can contain
• heavy metals and
  Carcinogenic (Natl Toxicology Program)
• solvents
• phthalates
  Developmental and Reproductive toxin (NIEHS)
• formaldehyde Nose
  and throat cancer, menstrual disorders (Natl
  
• 
  Toxicology Program)
• other carcinogenic compounds

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Environmental Impacts

• Aquatic Toxicity
• Eutrophication
• Bioaccumulative and Persistant Chemicals
• Smog precursors
• Ozone Depleters
• Non-renewable resources
• Certain chemicals from common school products
  are found in fish bile, surface waters and breast
  milk

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Your Right-to-Know About Toxins
MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets
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Lets Examine One MSDS Sheet
3.2 POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS Eye
Contact Corrosive (Eye Burns) Signs/symptoms
may include cloudy appearance of the cornea,
chemical burns, severe pain, tearing, ulcerations,
significantly impaired vision or complete loss
of vision. Skin Contact Severe Skin Irritation
Signs/symptoms may include localized redness,
swelling, itching, dryness, cracking, blistering,
and pain. Allergic Skin Reaction (non-photo
induced) Signs/symptoms may include redness,
swelling, blistering, and itching. Inhalation Res
piratory Tract Irritation Signs/symptoms may
include cough, sneezing, nasal discharge,
headache, hoarseness, and nose and throat
pain. May be absorbed following inhalation and
cause target organ effects. Ingestion Gastrointes
tinal Irritation Signs/symptoms may include
abdominal pain, stomach upset, nausea, vomiting
and diarrhea. May be absorbed following ingestion
and cause target organ effects.
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What is It???

• A well-known brand name!
• 3M Brand All Purpose Cleaner
  Degreaser

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In Summary

• You need to proactively examine the products you
  use
• Many conventional products used in schools are
  linked to cancer, asthma, respiratory problems,
  various organ problems, and severe irritation of
  the skin
• These products are contaminating the indoor air
  that every child, teacher and staff person is
  breathing in nearly 9 hours a day
• The environment is also feeling the effects of
  these toxins in the water, land and air

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If We Have a Choice, Why Create A Toxic Legacy?
Photo courtesy of The International POPs
Elimination Network
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Alternatives Do Exist!

• Green Seal Products
• GS-37 Standard for Industrial and Institutional
  Cleaners. This standard deals with
  general-purpose, bathroom, and glass cleaners, as
  well as paint that are used in offices,
  institutions, warehouses, and industrial
  facilities.

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Green Seal Certifies

• No carcinogens
• Not corrosive
• Non-Toxic to humans and aquatic life
• Low VOCs, phosphorus and phthalate content
• Free of ozone depleters, heavy metals and other
  harmful chemicals
• Recyclable packaging
• Animal testing is discouraged
• Provided in a concentrate
• Biodegradable
• More environmentally friendly packaging

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Traditional Green Seal
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Arent Green Cleaners More Expensive?

• NO! Many are competitively priced, and if not,
  there are easy ways to keep costs down
• Talk with current vendors to see options within
  your current purchasing system
• Creative ideascollaborative purchasing,
  competitive bidding

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Recognition of Green Cleaning by Governments

• Law in New York state making use of green
  cleaners mandatory in public buildings and
  schools 1
• All of NJs state properties and authorities are
  now required to purchase and utilize green
  cleaning products (Executive Order 76, Governor
  Codey, 2006) 2

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Step 1 Understanding the Hazards in Your School

• Create an inventory of all products in use and
  complete walk-through checklist
• Retrieve MSDS data sheets on all those products
• Identify the hazards according to the data sheets
  and through company contact

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Step 2 Take Action

• Talk with your suppliers and test other suppliers
  to find cost-effective green cleaning
• Test products if you wish, then purchase!
• Create guidelines for green cleaning at your
  school
• Incorporate those guidelines into a school policy
  or resolution to institute green cleaning for the
  future

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Step 3 Learn Your New Products

• Understand benefits of the product
• What is the most effective way to use them?
• Do you need to clean differently with the less
  toxic products?
• Dialogue with the vendor about product

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General Rules of Thumb

• Choose and use disinfectants wisely
• Antibacterial products do not produce a "cleaner"
  clean. Regular soap removes dirt and bacteria,
  while and a disinfectant renders a surface
  sterile.
• These harsher products can be bad
  for septic systems, and human health

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General Rules of Thumb

• Choose products that disclose specific
  information on ingredients and environmental
  claims
• Ingredients to Avoid
• Corrosives
• Chlorine Bleach
• Ammonia
• Phosphates
• Petroleum Products
• Fragrances

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Success Stories

• "Our two main concerns, as we explored going
  green were do the products work as well as
  traditional products and what about the
  additional cost? The certified products proved
  to us that the chemicals work just as good or
  better than traditional cleaning products and we
  are not spending any more money to be 'green'.
• Michael Rinderknecht Business
  AdministratorGlen Rock Board of Education,
  Bergen County, NJ

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You Did It!

• Publicize accomplishments in newsletters, local
  papers, letters home to parents
• End of year report

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Further Resources

• www.greenflagschools.org
• www.childproofing.org
• www.environmentalhealthnews.org
• www.informinc.org

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Change Follows Understanding

• If the earth were your body, you would be able
  to feel the many places where it is suffering.
  Every day, children and adults die because of the
  pollution of air and water. These things are
  related. - Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist Monk

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Questions?