Common Indoor Air Pollution Chemicals Around You

JANE KAY / SF Chronicle 19may04

AROUND THE HOUSE

Here are some chemicals found in common household and cosmetic products:

• Acrylamide polymers are used in some cosmetic products as stabilizers. They can cause breast tumors and decreased sperm counts in lab animals.
  
  
• Alkylphenols are released from laundry detergents, disinfectants, carpet shampoos, paints, textiles, disinfectants, hair dyes and spermicides. They can accumulate in animals, and mimic hormones in humans. Breakdown products, present in wastewater effluent, are highly toxic to aquatic organisms. Estrogenic effects have been found in rainbow trout, chickens and mice. The European Union restricts one form, 4-nonylphenol.
  
  
• Bisphenol A (BPA), used in cosmetics and disinfectants, is also in polycarbonate plastic, which is used in hard, clear plastic baby bottles and Nalgene water bottles. Orthophenylphenol, now removed from Lysol, is used in some industrial spray-on cleaners.
  
  
• Ethylene oxide, a carcinogen, is used as a gaseous disinfectant and fumigant.
  
  
• Formaldehyde, used in foam insulation, particle board, plywood and fiberboard and to treat textiles, can cause asthma and may cause respiratory difficulty and eczema. Classified as a carcinogen, it's linked to nasal and lung cancer and possibly to brain cancer and leukemia.
  
  
• PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in old building materials, electrical equipment and fluorescent lights. PCBs are linked to birth defects and neurological damage as well as interference with the endocrine system.
  
  
• Perfluorochemicals are used in Teflon and other nonstick pans, packaging for microwave dinners and water repellants in fabrics, leather and floor wax. The chemicals break down to PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid. PFOA was found in the blood of humans, triggering concerns that it would cause developmental effects in children. 3M started phasing it out of Scotchgard in 2000. The chemicals, shown to disrupt hormones in the bodies of lab animals, are found in Arctic polar bears, seals and fish.
  
  
• Pesticide residues, including chlorpyrifos (Dursban), methyl parathion and lindane, and the banned insecticides chlordane and DDT and its breakdown product, DDE, are found inside houses and in people's bodies. Most are toxic to the nervous system and may disrupt body processes governing hormones.
  
  
• Phthalates are plastic softeners in polyvinyl chloride ( PVC / vinyl) materials used in flooring, wall coverings, window frames and other building materials. The European Union last year removed all phthalates in chew toys for children younger than 3. U.S. toy manufacturers can use as much as 3 percent of DEHP, or di(2-ethylhexyl), in rattles and teethers with permission of the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Most switched to DINP, or diisononyl phthalate. The EU banned in cosmetics DEHP, which caused birth defects and testicular atrophy in lab animals, and DBP, or dibutyl phthalate, implicated in disrupting systems governed by hormones. DEHP is used in blood bags, medical tubing, vinyl backpacks, shower curtains, bathmats and floor tiles. Diethyl phthalate, or DEP, is used in deodorants and fragrances, and DBP gives nail polish its unique properties.
  
  
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are fire retardants used in polyurethane foam, furniture, carpet and drapery backing and computers. The one U.S. manufacturer of two forms, penta and octa, has agreed to end production by the end of the year. Deca, the most widely used form, is still in use. PBDEs are suspected of interfering with fetal brain development and impairing the thyroid and sexual development.
  
  
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are from combustion sources such as fireplaces, stoves, heaters and frying of grease, broiling of meat and smoking cigarettes. PAHs are suspected as carcinogens.
  
  
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) indoors come from building materials, furnishings, cleaning products, office equipment, tobacco smoke and personal care products. [Your car]  Some solvents in clothes from the cleaners can release toxic vapors. Health effects depend on the various exposures.

source: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/19/HOGDC6LU101.DTL&type=printable# 30sep04

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