Analyzing and Understanding the Chemical Exposure to Laundry Detergent to Increase Awareness and Promote Scientific literacy in Understanding STSE relationships CTL 1223: Activism in Science Education Sinthi Neal & Mavis Kao Date: October 30, 2016
Issue: Toxic Chemicals in Laundry Detergents -People buy cleaning products to get rid of stains and germs, yet most people may not be aware of the toxic chemicals in them - Canadians spend more than $275 million on house hold cleaning products in a year -There is Canadian law to regulate labelling of chemicals that cause health hazard in acute (shortterm, low dosage) exposure -However, here is no law to require manufacturers to label chemicals that result in adverse health effect in chronic (long-term, low dosage, repeated) exposure -These chemicals are found in laundry detergents and they can cause adverse health effects (Table 1) Table 1: Chemicals found in laundry detergents and their adverse health effects Chemicals MEA (monoethanalomine) DEA (diethanolamine) Fragrance chemicals (phthalates) Adverse Health Effects in chronic exposure -induce asthma -skin/ eye irritation -endocrine disrupter
Chemical Exposure (Dermal) to Laundry Detergents -The chemical route of exposure to laundry detergents include dermal, inhalation, and ingestion (American Cleaning Institute, 2010) -In this research, we focus on dermal exposure, including (1) direct (when people handwash clothes/ have direct contact with detergent) and (2) indirect (when people wear their washed clothes) -marketing tactics are used by manufacturers to make people believe that detergents are safe and better than soaps (SmartKlean, 2011) -By estimating the dermal exposure to laundry detergent, the research aims to inform individuals about their current cleaning practice on dermal exposure, their effects on health, change of habits, and raise awareness about health concerns for children and infants
Chemical Exposure (Indirect dermal) to Laundry Products (mg/ kg-day) Primary Research: Conducting Survey on Chemical Exposure to Laundry Detergent & Products Choice -Both quantitative and qualitative data about laundry detergent practice were collected by doing a survey -A total of 24 participants were studied among 3 categories (youth, adults, seniors), with 4 males and 4 females in each category -All the participants who were surveyed all used washing machine instead of hand washed -Adult females were found to have the highest chemical exposure (indirect dermal) to laundry products of about 0.067 mg/ kg-day (Figure 1) -Most people from each category believed that their laundry detergents were safe to use (Figure 2) 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 Youth (15-24) Adults (25-64) Seniors (over 65) Age Group Male Female
Secondary Research: Data Comparison to Literature Review -The upper limit for indirect dermal exposure for adult females was 0.2016 mg/ kg-day (American Cleaning Institute, 2010) -The value gained from our survey was 0.067 mg/ kg-day for adult females, which was much lower than that of the American women -This suggested there may be different cleaning practices or habits between Canadian and American adult females -From the 2010 National Cleaning survey findings, 1, 008 American adults were asked (500 males and 508 females) (American Cleaning Institute, 2016) -62% read the directions on the laundry detergent product -12% made their own cleaning products -females changed their laundry habits more significantly than men -29% reduced the frequency of laundry
Action: Raise Awareness and Express your Concerns about the Safety of Laundry Detergent Actions Checklist Stay informed about the chemicals in the cleaning products from the website of David Suzuki Foundation http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/th e-dirt-on-toxic-chemicals-in-household-cleaning-products/ Spread the message with your family, friends, and people around you to raise awareness Get individuals in the habit of inspecting and researching the ingredients in cleaning products, ex. Read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) Complete the incident report form on Health Canada website for past experiences of skin/ eye irritation when using laundry detergents Sign the petition developed by the David Suzuki Foundation to show your concerns to the Health Minister, Jane Philpott, that a Canadian law needs to be implemented to regulate the manufacturers to label all the chemicals responsible for adverse health effects, including those from chronic exposure http://action2.davidsuzuki.org/comeclean Take the survey about toxic chemicals in your home cleaning products. Results can be used to inform better practice in regulation, cleaning habits, and health issues http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/advisoriesavis/incident/index-eng.php http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/projects/whatsinside-that-counts-cleaners/survey/
Action: Laundry Detergent Do-It-Yourself (DIY) -become familiar with more natural and safer alternatives for cleaning products Natural Ingredients for Stain Removal -Use natural ingredients, such as baking soda, essential oils, lemon juice, instead of laundry detergents for cleaning -they do not contain toxic chemicals, which is better for your health and the environment Soap Nuts for Laundry Cleaning -use soap nuts, also known as soap berries, for cleaning -when these dried fruits interact with water, a natural cleanser substance, saponin, is released (Dr. Edward Group from Global Healing Centre, 2013) DIY Laundry Soap -Make your own natural laundry soap following the recipes for the following link (Queen of Green in David Suzuki Foundation, 2014) http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/resources/2011/greencleaning-recipes/
References American Cleaning Institute. (2010). Consumer product ingredient safety Exposure and risk screening methods for consumer product ingredients (2nd ed.). Washington: American Cleaning Institute. American Cleaning Institute. (2016). 2016 National cleaning survey findings. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/news/2010_national_cleaning_survey_findings.aspx David Suzuki Foundation. (2014a). Survey: Are there toxic chemicals in your home cleaning products? Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/projects/whats-inside-that-countscleaners/survey/ David Suzuki Foundation. (2014b). Tell Canada s health minister to come clean about the toxic ingredients in our household cleaners. Retrieved October 22, 2016, from http://action2.davidsuzuki.org/comeclean David Suzuki Foundation. (2014c). The dirt on toxic chemicals in household cleaning products. Retrieved October 22, 2016, from http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/the-dirt-on-toxic-chemicalsin-household-cleaning-products/ Dr. Edward Group from Global Healing Center. (2013). Soap nuts: The benefits of using all-natural laundry detergent. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/soap-nuts/ Health Canada. (2015). Consumer Product Safety: Report an Incident Involving a Consumer Product. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/advisories-avis/incident/index-eng.php Queen of Green in David Suzuki Foundation. (2013). Green cleaning recipes. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/resources/2011/green-cleaning-recipes/