Green Goodness

BLOG #5

• What did you find after researching your household products?
• The first product I chose to search for is my Laundry Detergent- I've been using Gain Liquid Laundry Detergent Lavender scent for over 5years and I love how my clothes smell and how long the scent lasts for! Just as I suspected from this product and I'm sure others like it warnings include: Eye irritation, harmful if ingested. Recommendations for contact with eyes: rinse cautiously with water for several minutes. Remove contact lenses, if present and easy to do. Continue rinsing and if eye irritation persists, seek medical advice/attention.  Recommendations if swallowed: Rinse with plenty of water. Drink 1 or 2 glasses of water, call poison control center or contact your local physician if you feel "unwell."
• I also have a new puppy at home, she is a 7 month old Newfoundland and is 70lbs of amazing fluff! But as you can imagine we have had some accidents in the home. I purchased Nilodor Carpet Care Deodorizing Spot and Stain Remover. So naturally for this assignment it was a great product to assess. Warning include Ingestion, Skin contact and eye contact. Recommendations for contact with skin: wash with soap and water & consult a physician if a problem occurs. Recommendation for contact with eyes: flush with copious amounts of water and consults a physician. Recommendations if ingested: induce vomiting and consult physician and prompt gastric lavage.
  

• Were the results what you expected?
• Some results were expected, if ingested my products can cause moderate to severe GI upset and if contact with eyes, can cause irritation and damage if contact lenses are not removed. What was shocking were the individual chemicals found within my products. When you single them out they are terrifying.
• From my liquid detergent some individual ingredients are: Sulfuric Acid: found most commonly in commercial products such as fertilizers, batteries, explosives and petroleum refining.  Sodium Silicate which is insoluble in water and certain acids. WHAT certain acids can't dissolve it? WHAT? oh well that is all but Hydrofluoric Acid. Unreal!
• From my Pet Accident Carpet Cleaner some individual ingredients are: Free Arylsulfonic Acid these compounds are highly toxic to humans.
• Are there products you will now recommend your patients use or avoid?
• I think at this point and time I would recommend that my patient continue to use, just make sure they are using as directed. If a patient is asking for a new product, I would utilize this website to search for healthier alternatives to tailor to my patents. Especially with skin irritations/sensitive skin.

• Did you learn about any new chemicals after taking the quiz?

• What chemicals commonly found in products are most concerning for your patient/community population?
• From the quiz, probably the one question that shocked me the most was about our Mattresses. As humans we will spend nearly half our life in bed and to know that its not as safe.  I never would have known that my mattress contain flame retardants, I guess that makes sense that it would be made to be safe, but the risks are eye opening.
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• How might we shift our policies regarding potentially toxic chemicals so that our personal and household products are less risky propositions?
• Similar to my last Blog Post, I like the idea of adopting policies similar to those overseas. Having the right to chose what products I use is important to me, but not having all the details of what is in the products is what concerns me. Even those labeled as green products can be under a false guise or healthy.

IN THE NEWS:

     In keeping with our Green Clean Blog this week, I thought I would look into Dry Cleaners. As a nurse its rare that I need such services, but every now and then the scrubs do come off and I dress like a normal person. 

     I reading the article I learned that Dry Cleaning is in fact not Dry at all, but a soak that consists of a chemical called Percholoroethylene (Perc). Exposure to Perc has been shown to cause respiratory, kidney, adrenal and central nervous and reproductive system harm when exposed long term. In the United States (in 2015) nearly 85% of cleaners are still using Perc as their main cleaning solvent. Since interventions by Toxics Use Reduction Institute that number is estimated to have fallen between 50-70%.

     According to the article some alternatives are combustible and would require that businesses invest in equipment to protect against fires and explosions. But on the other hand professionals using Wet Cleaning (water-based) pose no such risk. Wet Cleaners are using computer controlled washer and dryers to be energy efficient and use biodegradable detergents to clean items.

     the goal in moving forward is to help Cleaners to identify safer alternatives and help them to make the change. As more make the change the hope is that word of mouth spreads, same results, better for the environment and the people involved.