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A panel at the last conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held last week in Washington, revealed surprising new information on chemicals and particles in homes and on their potential to wreak havoc on human bodies, especially the smaller ones.
The studies presented at & nbsp;session entitled "Focuses at the center of chemical exposure: unification of chemists, engineers and health scientists" has shown that pollutants can be released into your home by everything from cooking to cleaning through to filling inside your furniture. Some of these chemicals and particles have been badociated with thyroid disorders, respiratory problems and cancers.
Marina Vance of the Mechanical Engineering Department of CU Boulder and Visiting Professor Joost de Gouw of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences of the School (CIRES) talked about household products and cleaners that emit air pollutants. Their research took place in a 1,200 square foot unmanned test house built as part of a collaborative project with the University of Texas at Austin.
Vance, which has long been part of the project, called HOMEChem, has used advanced sensors and cameras to monitor the quality of indoor air over the course of a month. The scientists conducted daily household activities, including cooking and cleaning at home, and measured their effects on air quality. According to Vance, "We wanted to know: how do basic activities such as cooking and cleaning alter the chemistry of a home?"
Of course, we all live in houses where cooking and cleaning take place daily, so what's the problem? Well, it turns out that the chemical compounds emitted by these activities get into your body by breathing in the air, eating the food you produce and touching your furniture.
The final results of the study are still pending, but & nbsp; allowed researchers to point out that
… routine domestic activities generate significant amounts of volatile and particulate chemicals in an average home, leading to indoor air quality levels equivalent to those of a large polluted city.
Even tasks as simple as boiling water on a stove flame could contribute to potentially dangerous levels of gaseous air pollutants and suspended particles. "Even the simple fact of toasting toast particle levels much higher than expected," says Vance.
Gouw, also from UC Boulder, pointed out that, even though we often view vehicles as a major source of air pollution, & nbsp; Clean air advocates have made improvements in this area. In the meantime, we have found that indoor chemicals, such as cleaners, glues, coatings and personal care items, become a much larger source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
He added that some pollutants (such as ozone and fine particles) are being monitored by the EPA:
"… Data about toxins in the air such as formaldehyde and benzene and compounds such as home-made alcohols and ketones are very rare."
But it's not just your cleaning products or cooking choices that cause toxins in the air. Heather Stapleton, Environmental Chemist at the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment, also told the public that his research& nbsp; showed that semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were commonly found in the bodies of children living in homes with vinyl flooring, as well as in sofas and chairs containing fire-retardant chemicals.
While Boulder researchers used their test house to research as they wished, Stapleton and his team were testing children who were already living in homes with these risk factors.
Despite the fact that SVOCs are widely used in all fields, from electronics to furniture, and "can be detected in almost all indoor environments," Stapleton said "Little research has been done on the relative contribution of products and materials specific to the overall exposure of children to SVOC. "
As part of this project, Stapleton and colleagues from Duke, CDC, and Boston University examined 203 children from 190 families between 2014 and 2016 to measure household exposure to these chemicals in Canada. collecting samples of indoor air, dust and foam. furniture in each of the children's homes. They also took a sample of towels, urine, and blood from each child.
(Of course, all US researchers working on human beings, especially children, must have their research approved by an ethics committee and provide some kind of resources to participating families.)
In the blood and urine badysis, 44 biomarkers were used by scientists to determine if the samples indicated exposure to toxins. In houses where the living room sofa contains flame retardant materials (especially polybrominated diphenyl ethers flame retardant, or PBDEs) children had a six-fold higher concentration of this chemical in the blood. Children in homes that had vinyl floors in each room (although this represents only 9% of homes) had concentrations in their urine of a compound called phthalate metabolite of benzyl and butyl (BBP) 15 times. higher than in children living with no vinyl flooring.
Although most studies on the role of these chemicals in diseases have not shown a conclusive cause-and-effect relationship and therefore require more evidence, PBDEs have been linked to neurodevelopmental delays, 39, obesity, endocrine and thyroid disturbances and cancer. BBP has been badociated with respiratory disorders, skin irritations, multiple myeloma and reproductive disorders.
"Originally, the skepticism was whether these products really did or did not contribute to air pollution, but not anymore." from Gouw said. He continued:
"In the future, we need to refocus the research efforts on these sources and give them the same attention we have given to fossil fuels." The picture we have in the head about the "Fossil Fuel." atmosphere should now include a house. "
Neither Stapleton nor Vance could be contacted to comment on the measures to be taken to avoid damage caused by poor indoor air quality, The World Health Organization has long recognized the dangers of this pollution, especially for children, and the need for good ventilation during cooking, use of lids for pots and pans, cleaning of cooking areas and keeping children safe smoke to protect them.
But research also leaves us wondering how to maintain our lifestyle and keep a home clean if even cleaning products can have adverse health effects. It is difficult to break a window in winter or in an area where outdoor pollution is also a problem. Children are always touching things in the shops, schools and homes of other people over whom we have no control. Asking people to replace their vinyl flooring or buying a sofa without flame retardant materials is not always profitable.
American Foundation Against Asthma and Allergies list even more sources of domestic pollutants this can affect the quality of the air. Although they include a long list of things we can do to improve this quality (note that this information is & nbsp; sponsored by Dyson), & nbsp; follow all recommended steps & nbsp; could seem tedious and furniture guidelines may require significant investment (eg, throw pillows, & use washable curtains, purchase of sofas and armchairs in leather or vinyl, replacement of carpets by a soil with low VOC content, etc.).
however, some of the steps Agency recommendations from around the world can be a good starting point for new behaviors, including paying attention to the materials that make up the new household items you buy. & nbsp; The next time you buy cleaning products, you can get unscented and non-aerosol versions. And you can ventilate your home when the weather (and other conditions) allow it. Unfortunately, you will probably want to remove candles and air fresheners from your home if allergies and asthma are potential problems. And when you have money, you can also invest in air filters, especially in areas where pets and children spend time.
Unfortunately, US law does not currently require manufacturers to list all the ingredients of consumer products and labels such as "Natural" or & nbsp;"green" does not necessarily mean that products are safer. Better air quality will require research from you, and it is best to find a reliable source of information (not a manufacturer 's website, dedicated to promoting its products to from you). & Nbsp; A starting point is that of the EPA & nbsp;Safer choice& nbsp; website listing products evaluated by scientists for safer ingredients and more honest labeling. & nbsp;
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A panel at the last conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held last week in Washington, revealed surprising new information on chemicals and particles in homes and on their potential to wreak havoc on human bodies, especially the smaller ones.
The studies presented at the session, titled "Focuses at the Center of Chemical Exposure: Unite Chemists, Engineers and Health Scientists," showed that pollutants can be released into your home by everything from cooking to cleaning going through the load inside your furniture. Some of these chemicals and particles have been badociated with thyroid disorders, respiratory problems and cancers.
Marina Vance from CU Boulder's Department of Mechanical Engineering and visiting professor Joost de Gouw from the School's Cooperative Institute for Environmental Science Research (CIRES) spoke about household products and cleaning products emitting atmospheric pollutants. Their research took place in a 1,200 square foot unmanned test house built as part of a collaborative project with the University of Texas at Austin.
Vance, which has long been part of the project, called HOMEChem, has used advanced sensors and cameras to monitor the quality of indoor air over the course of a month. The scientists conducted daily household activities, including cooking and cleaning at home, and measured their effects on air quality. According to Vance, "we wanted to know: how do basic activities such as cooking and cleaning change the chemistry of a house?"
Of course, we all live in houses where cooking and cleaning take place daily, so what's the problem? Well, it turns out that the chemical compounds emitted by these activities get into your body by breathing in the air, eating the food you produce and touching your furniture.
The final results of the study are still pending, but have allowed researchers to report that
… routine domestic activities generate significant amounts of volatile and particulate chemicals in an average home, leading to indoor air quality levels equivalent to those of a large polluted city.
Even tasks as simple as boiling water on a stove flame could contribute to potentially dangerous levels of gaseous air pollutants and suspended particles. "Even just toasting toast has raised particle levels well above expectations," said Vance.
Gouw, also from UC Boulder, pointed out that while we often see vehicles as a major source of air pollution, air quality advocates have made improvements in this area. In the meantime, we found that indoor chemicals, such as cleaners, glues, coatings and personal care items, became a much larger source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
He added that some pollutants (such as ozone and fine particles) are being monitored by the EPA:
"… data on toxins in the air such as formaldehyde and benzene and compounds such as alcohols and ketones from home are very rare."
But it's not just your cleaning products or cooking choices that cause toxins in the air. Heather Stapleton, an environmental chemist at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, also told the audience that her research had shown that semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were commonly found in the bodies of children living in houses with vinyl flooring, sofas and chairs containing flame retardant chemicals.
While Boulder researchers used their test house to do whatever they wanted, Stapleton and his team were testing children who were already living in homes with these risk factors.
Despite the fact that SVOCs are widely used in all fields, from electronics to furniture, and "can be detected in almost any indoor environment," Stapleton said, "little research has been conducted on the relative contribution of specific products and materials to the overall exposure of children to SVOCs. "
In this project, Stapleton and colleagues from Duke, CDC, and Boston University examined 203 children from 190 families between 2014 and 2016 to measure the home exposure of these chemicals to the home by taking samples of indoor air, dust and foam in the furniture. in each of the children's homes. They also took a sample of wiping by hand, urine and blood from each child.
(Of course, all US researchers working on human beings, especially children, must have their research approved by an ethics committee and provide some kind of resources to participating families.)
When testing for blood and urine, 44 biomarkers were used to determine if the samples indicated exposure to toxins. In homes where the living room couch contained fire-retardant materials (particularly flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs), children had a six-fold higher concentration of this chemical in their blood. Children in homes that had vinyl floors in each room (although this represents only 9% of homes) had concentrations in their urine of a compound called phthalate metabolite of benzyl and butyl (BBP) 15 times. higher than in children living with no vinyl flooring.
Although most studies on the role of these chemicals in diseases have not shown a conclusive cause-and-effect relationship and therefore require more evidence, PBDEs have been linked to neurodevelopmental delays, 39, obesity, endocrine and thyroid disturbances and cancer. BBP has been badociated with respiratory disorders, skin irritations, multiple myeloma and reproductive disorders.
"Originally, the skepticism was whether these products actually did or did not contribute to air pollution, but not anymore," de Gouw said. He continued:
"To move forward, we need to refocus research efforts on these sources and give them the same attention we have given to fossil fuels." The picture we have in our heads about The atmosphere should now include a house. "
Although neither Stapleton nor Vance could be contacted to comment on the measures to be taken to prevent damage caused by poor indoor air quality, the World Health Organization has long recognized the dangers of this pollution, especially for children, and recommended good ventilation during cooking. use lids on pots and pans, cleaning cooking areas and removing children from smoke to protect them.
But research also leaves us wondering how to maintain our lifestyles and keep a home clean if even cleaning products can have adverse health effects. It is difficult to break a window in winter or in an area where outdoor pollution is also a problem. Children are always touching things in the shops, schools and homes of other people over whom we have no control. Asking people to replace their vinyl flooring or buying a sofa without flame retardant materials is not always profitable.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America is identifying even more sources of domestic pollutants that can affect air quality. While they include a long list of things we can do to improve this quality (but note that this information is sponsored by Dyson), taking all the recommended steps may seem tedious, and the furniture guidelines may require large investments (for example, scrapping). throw pillows, only use washable curtains, buy sofas and armchairs in leather or vinyl, replace carpets with low-VOC floors, etc.).
However, some of the steps recommended by agencies around the world can be a good starting point for adopting new behaviors, including paying attention to the materials that make up all the new home items you buy. The next time you buy cleaning products, you will get unscented and non-aerosol versions. And you can ventilate your home when the weather (and other conditions) allow it. Unfortunately, you will probably want to remove candles and air fresheners from your home if allergies and asthma are potential problems. And when you have money, you can also invest in air filters, especially in areas where pets and children spend time.
In the United States, manufacturers are unfortunately not obliged, at present, to list all the ingredients of consumer products and labels such as "natural" or "green" does not necessarily mean that products are safer. A better air quality will require research from you, and it is best to find a reliable source of information (not a manufacturer's website, dedicated to marketing their products). EPAs are a place to start Safer choice website, which lists products that have been evaluated by scientists for safetyer ingredients and more honest labeling.
