"We've focused a
lot of effort in the last decades on controlling the big sources of air
pollution and on the chemicals in consumer products that contribute to
outdoor ozone formation. However, now we've learned that we need to pay
attention to other aspects of pollution sources that are right under our
nose," said William Nazaroff, a UC Berkeley professor of environmental
engineering and the study's lead author.
California Air
Resources Board (ARB) funded the study to understand how consumer
products used in the homes causes pollution. The goal for ARB is to
create regulations that will protect public health and welfare. They
have been doing so for the past 4 decades.
The full report
titled, “Indoor Air Chemistry: Cleaning Agents, Ozone and Toxic Air
Contaminants” was published online at the following location
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/indoor.htm.
The two chemicals
studied were Ethylene-based glycol ethers and terpenes.
Ethylene-based
glycol ethers are most often found in various cleaning agents, latex
paints, and other products as well. Ethylene-based glycol ethers are
considered to be considered hazardous air pollutants according to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment.
The toxicity of Ethylene-based glycol ethers can vary in toxicity
depending on the product.
Terpenes are not
considered toxic by themselves. Terpenes are found in pine, lemon and
orange oils that are used for either a solvent or to give a distinctive
scent. The problem with the terpenes is that they produce a toxic
compound when it reacts with ozone. Outdoor air containing ozone
entering the household, copiers and printers, and some air purifiers are
sources for ozone indoors.
The researchers
tested air fresheners, cleaning products, disinfectants, general purpose
degreasers, wood cleaners, furniture maintenance products, spot
removers, and multi-purpose solvents. They tested a total of 21
products that are commonly available at retail stores in Northern
California.
The reaction with
the terpene containing products had with ozone was similar to the
effects of smog and haze. There also was presence of formaldehyde which
is a respirator irritant and a carcinogen. According to the
International Agency for Cancer Research this is a Group 1 carcinogen
which is known to cause cancer in humans. The amount of terpenes and
the amount of ozone were both factors in creating the toxicity levels.
The researchers
give some examples of dangerous scenarios that could be harmful to your
health, they write the following:
“Cleaning in a
small, moderately ventilated bathroom.
In calculations based on emissions from one of the glycol-ether
containing products, the team found that a person who spends 15 minutes
cleaning scale off of a shower stall could inhale three times the "acute
one-hour exposure limit" for this compound set by the California Office
of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
Air freshener
and ozone in a child's bedroom.
This scenario could occur when people use both air fresheners and
ozone-generating devices simultaneously in a room. This could lead to
exposures to formaldehyde that are 25 percent higher than California's
guideline value. Because other sources of formaldehyde could also be
present in the room, exposure to formaldehyde would probably be even
higher, the report states.
Multi-house
cleaning by a professional home cleaner.
Under this scenario, a person who cleans four houses a day, five days
per week, 50 weeks per year, would take in about 80 micrograms per day
of formaldehyde, double the guideline value set by California's
Proposition 65. In addition, the person's intake of fine particulate
matter during the hours spent cleaning would exceed the average federal
guideline level for an entire year. These quantities are in addition to
the formaldehyde and particulate matter that the person would be exposed
to from all other sources and activities during the year.”
Nazaroff
recommends using care with cleaning products, especially cleaning
professionals who are at the highest risk. Make sure to ventilate the
room you are cleaning. Try to use diluted versions instead of the full
strength cleaner. He recommends not using ozone generators or ionizing
air cleaners if you are going to use terpene containing cleaning
products or air fresheners.
Nicole Wilson
Best Syndication
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