By Lorie Dwornick
1-18-2
The following information is intended to help you make
an informed decision about the types of household cleaning
products you choose to use for yourself and your families.
You are what you eat, digest and absorb. What you absorb
includes what is absorbed through inhalation and the skin,
which happens to be the largest organ of the body. When the
liver is overworked, the skin takes over with the elimination
of toxins. Unfortunately, many toxins are not that easy to
eliminate.
Since WWII more than 80,000 synthetic chemicals have been
invented. Most have been created from petroleum and coal
tar for the purposes of chemical warfare. The sad thing is
that hardly any of these substances have been tested for
safety, but have been added to our food, water and cleaning
products without our consent and most often without informing
us of any dangers. There is a lot of intentional suppression
in this industry that adds approximately 1000 new chemicals
each year.
According to the National Research Council, "no toxic
information is available for more than 80% of the chemicals
in everyday-use products. Less than 20% have been tested
for acute effects and less than 10% have been tested for
chronic, reproductive or mutagenic effects." More than
4.5 billion chemicals are known and 50,000 are commercially
distributed. What’s worse is that tests are only done
on single chemicals. There is never any testing done on combinations,
which we’re exposed to on a daily basis. Imagine what
your lifetime exposure is.
It requires a team of scientists, 300 mice, more than $300,000
US, and 2-3 years to determine whether one single suspect
chemical causes cancer. These mice have much higher immune
systems than we do. Governments are at the mercy of economic
agendas. Industry interests almost always win over issues
regarding health or government regulation. Only 1% of toxins
are required to be listed on labels. This is mainly because
the products don’t make any claims about safety. Companies
can also classify them as "trade secrets" to avoid
listing them. Many of the ingredients labeled "inert" are
actually more toxic than the active ingredients. If you don’t
know what it is, don’t use it.
The chemical companies spend billions of dollars each year
brainwashing us. Ninety-one percent of the population applies
300-million pounds of these poisons annually, often indoors.
City dwellers use more chemicals per acre than farmers and
spend more than $1 billion annually.
The first agent of chemical warfare was chlorine. The war
ended with an abundance of this cheap chemical. In the name
of huge profits, it was added to our water supply and many
other products. Chlorine is the number one cause of breast
cancer and can be lethal. Scientists won’t handle chlorine
without protective gloves, facemasks, and ventilation, yet
it is in most store-brand cleaners, including dishwasher
detergents. The harmful effects are intensified when the
fumes are heated, as in the shower. It’s in our drinking
water, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, and more
Fluoride is worse, but space limits its discussion here.
Do your own research and avoid it. It’s one of the
biggest scams of all time. It has no benefits whatsoever.
It’s extremely poisonous!
Most household cleaners contain toxic chemicals. Ammonia
is in almost all of them and is lethal if combined with bleach
(forming chloramine). Industry requires readily accessible
information about chemicals used in the workplace that includes
the effects of combining chemicals. The main manual, Workplace
Hazardous Materials Identification System (WHMIS), contains
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Have a look at this manual.
You may be surprised at how dangerous some products are that
you use, unsuspectingly, in your home on a regular basis.
The government acknowledges that these cleaning products
are hazardous, but regulation only requires labels to indicate
if they are: combustible, corrosive, poison, caution, etc.
One Million poisonings in Canada each year are due to household
cleaner ingestion. Some are fatal. The #1 cause of household
poisoning is dish detergent. What kinds of chemicals are
in those products? These statistics were given before the
recent hype over anti-bacterials, which are even worse.
Certain types of bacteria are necessary and beneficial.
They eat decaying debris and keep the "bad" bacteria
in balance. Nature is always safest and was never intended
to destroy, like chemicals are.
Each time you wash your dishes, some residue is left on
them. The residue accumulates with each washing. Your food
picks up part of the residue -- especially if your meal is
hot ñ and you ingest it.
Dishwashing liquids are labeled "harmful if swallowed." Most
contain Naphtha, a CNS depressant, diethanolsamine, a liver
poison, and/or chlorophenylphenol, a toxic metabolic stimulant.
Do you want to be using harmful products to clean dishes
that you and your family are going to be eating off of?
A few times I unsuspectingly used anti-bacterial soap while
visiting and suffered from side effects each time. They include:
rough, dry hands, a feeling in my nose as if it had been
sanded with coarse sand paper until raw, and the strong smell
of ammonia. These effects lasted at least 20 hours after
exposure.
Washing your hands with cold water inhibits the spread of
bacteria and germs. Hot water encourages growth of unwanted
organisms. But in most cases, the bacteria are much safer
than the chemicals used to kill them. You can use plain vodka
or vinegar as a disinfectant if you are uncomfortable using
payphones, washrooms, shopping carts, etc. in public places.
Remember, people are organisms.
I spilt some Brand X dish soap on the grass, which I immediately
soaked with water until there were no more suds. About a
week later the grass was dead. If it kills the grass, what
is it doing to us?
Many household products contain harmful chemicals. For example,
formaldehyde is in almost all cleaning products, including
laundry detergents, toothpaste and shampoo.
Laundry detergents contain phosphorus, enzymes, ammonia,
naphthalene, phenol, sodium nitilotriacetate and countless
others. These chemicals can cause rashes, itches, allergies,
sinus problems and more. The residue left on your clothes,
bed sheets, etc. is absorbed through your skin, as is everything
else you touch. Thus, the success and popularity of transdermal
patches. Don’t fall prey to the bombardment of advertisements
strongly suggesting that you absolutely need these products.
You don’t, but their profit margins do. If declining
health is what you desire, use these products.
Disinfectants are usually phenol- or cresol-based and deactivate
sensory nerve endings. They attack the liver, kidneys, spleen,
pancreas, and the central nervous system (CNS) and it takes
over a year to eliminate the unhealthy effects of spraying
2 ounces, even with heavy cross ventilation.
Oven cleaners are one of the most toxic products people
use. They contain lye and ammonia, which eat the skin, and
the fumes linger and affect the respiratory system. Then
there’s the residue that’s intensified the next
time you turn your oven on. Use sea salt and baking soda
instead.
Air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by releasing
nerve-deadening agents or coating nasal passages with an
oil film, usually methoxychlor, a pesticide that accumulates
in fat cells and over-stimulates the CNS. Dryer sheets fall
into this category. They are extremely toxic. Avoid them.
(The only reason you require fabric softeners is because
the chemicals in laundry soap create the static. It may take
several washings with chemical free detergents to eliminate
the chemical residue static. Your patience will be well rewarded.)
Some other common ingredients include: P-dichlorobenzene,
naphthalene and formaldehyde. Fresh, organic citrus juices,
vinegar, spices, and essential oils will do a better job,
risk free.
Pesticides are dangerous. They are responsible for asthma,
bronchitis, eczema, migraines, death, hives, joint and muscle
pain for 16 million people in this country and the numbers
are growing. Antibiotics are pesticides. You may be surprised
to find out just how many everyday products contain pesticides,
such as toothpaste and shampoo. Most public buildings are
sprayed with pesticides on a regular basis. Don’t count
on your doctor to inform you of this. Medication and treatment
for the effects of these chemicals is a very lucrative business.
Doctors serve the pharmaceutical/chemical industry, not you.
Pesticides are the #2 cause of death by poisoning in this
country. They can linger for more than 30 years. Inhalation
can lead to nausea, cough, breathing difficulties, depression,
eye irritation, dizziness, weakness, blurred vision, twitching,
convulsions and more. They are stored in body fat. Long-term
they damage liver, kidneys, lungs, and lead to paralysis,
sterility, immune suppression, brain haemorrhages, decreased
fertility, sexual dysfunction, heart problems and coma. Diazanon
is a carcinogen, teratogen (serious birth defects), mutagen
(genetic damaging) and it causes death. Pests are not life
threatening.
Flea collars are pesticides and release a continuous supply
to the pet. In addition to the great harm caused to your
pet, it is absorbed through your skin every time you touch
your pet. Leave your pet a dish of brewer’s yeast;
it will instinctively eat it as needed and repel fleas naturally.
Please don’t let the vet turn your pet into a drug
addict because of chemical exposure and unnecessary vaccines.
Lice shampoo is a pesticide and is absorbed into the brain.
Lindane, the main ingredient, causes convulsions, seizures,
cancer and death. You can use your favourite shampoo several
times a day, every day. The lice will be gone in less than
a week. Lice are not dangerous.
Regular shampoos contain harsh chemicals. Baby shampoos
advertised as gentle and "no tears" contain some
of the worst chemicals, including anesthetizing agents to
cover up the burning sensation that would otherwise be caused
when the chemicals contact the eyes. Imagine what effect
these agents have on the eyes and brain, especially after
repeated uses.
Sodium laurel sulfate and other forms of this substance
lower brain acuity and attribute to blindness, yet they are
commonly used in shampoos, toothpastes and other personal
hygiene products.
Everything that touches your scalp is absorbed into your
brain first, so think twice before choosing to bleach, dye,
or perm your hair. Use natural alternatives, if you must.
Effects of these toxic chemicals include: illness, allergies,
asthma, ear infections, learning disabilities, nervous disorders,
respiratory difficulties and more. The American Cancer Society
stated "environmental pollution causes cancer, Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s, coughing, asthma, nervous disorders, emphysema,
wheezing, nasal congestion, burning eyes, headache, burning,
tingling, skin flushing, muscle aches, irritability, mental
confusion, uncoordination, hyperactivity and other debilitating
illnesses."
The EPA depends on industry-sponsored tests for approval.
In 1981, one company was found guilty of falsifying over
90% of more than 2000 studies. Those products are still readily
available.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Chemicals Commonly
Found in Homes identified 150 as linked to allergies, birth
defects, cancer and psychological abnormalities. Ten percent
cause high blood pressure (HBP) and migraines and 20% are
responsible for mental disturbances.
Indoor air in the home has been found to have five times
higher toxic chemical concentrations than outdoor air. This
is also true in rural areas. A five-year study conducted
by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed many
indoor air samples to be 70 times more toxic. Could this
be why almost everyone is sick, especially children and those
working in public buildings with no fresh air intake?
A scientific paper at the "Indoor Air Conference" in
1990 in Toronto stated "because of household cleaners,
housewives have a 55% higher risk of contracting cancer."
With all these dangers well-documented and well-known, industry
still spends millions of dollars each year to convince us
that we need these products. It is much more dangerous and
expensive to dispose of these toxins in hazardous waste dumps,
which are few and far between.
Exposure to toxins has synergistic and cumulative effects.
They are known as xenobiotics (foreign to the body). The
body was not designed to eliminate them, so it accumulates
them. Doctors usually treat these toxic overloads with more
poisons. Is it any wonder our healthcare costs are skyrocketing
while we keep getting sicker and sicker? There are huge profits
being made at the expense of our health.
The main ingredient in most weed killers is 2,4-D (dichlorophenoxyacetic
acid). When combined with 2,4,5-T (trichlorophenoxyacetic
acid) it forms "Agent Orange." Use of these products
creates more resistant weeds while harming us. These chemicals
eventually end up in our water table and in edible crops
planted in the vicinity. When was the last time you saw bees,
butterflies, dragonflies or ladybugs? They are almost extinct
because of the overuse of these and other similar chemicals
and pesticides. Are we next on the endangered species list?
The effects of these chemical poisonings are often given
names and treated as new diseases. We know differently. Treat
your lawn with dish soap, coke & beer, diluted with water
every month or so and use a mulching mower. Longer grass
shades weed seeds. Plant basil to keep mosquitoes and other
pests away. There are many books available about companion
planting and beneficial insects, to keep the unwelcome ones
away without compromising you
You, your pets and children walk on and absorb the harmful
chemicals applied to lawns and gardens. Avoid them. Weeds
grow where soils are barren and deficient in certain nutrients
-- the very ones that these weeds provide. They have longer
roots that reach lower into the ground to provide those hard-to-reach
nutrients, while preventing soil erosion. If you don’t
want them to spread, at least cut off the buds/flowers. It’s
usually the chemical dependent lawns that attract the weeds
and produce larger ones.
These chemicals affect your lawn the way drugs affect you.
The more dependent you are on drugs, the sicker you become
and the more drugs you take. It’s a never ending, vicious
cycle of addiction. The less drugs a person takes the stronger
their immune system is, and the healthier they are. It’s
best to avoid them all. The same goes for your lawn. It may
take a couple of years for the "withdrawal symptoms" to
subside, but the wait will be more than worth it. There is
an entire ecosystem below the surface that works interdependently
to ensure your soil, and your crops, flourish. The chemicals
also kill all these beneficial microorganisms, worms, etc.
Nature is our friend, treat it as such.
When Congress passed the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide
and Rodenticide Act (the legal basis for the EPA’s
regulation of disinfectants), it assumed that they were all
toxic. No guidelines were created for identifying non-toxic
agents. In other words, they are all toxic and to be avoided.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards
require testing a chemical to a specified amount listed in
the regulation. If it kills half of a group of test animals,
the chemical is toxic by this definition. If the test animals
survive after being exposed to an amount greater than that
listed, the chemical is non-toxic. The tests are done orally,
transdermally and by inhalation. Not very strict or reassuring
in my opinion. And where are the tests for long-term exposure,
or on humans?
Beware of toxic chemicals. The danger doesn’t end
with their use. Everything that goes down your drain eventually
ends up in your drinking water supply. This is multiplied
by what your neighbours and every other person and industry
put down their drains. More than four million pounds of household
cleaning chemicals go down Canadian drains each year.
Everything that goes down our drains and toilets ends up
at the water treatment plants where they are mixed with even
more toxic chemicals, recycled and returned to us via our
water taps (including drugs and poisons we ingested, inhaled
and absorbed, then eliminated). Eventually there will not
be enough water to dilute all these chemicals and we will
end up with pure chemicals coming from our taps. Hence the
huge market for bottled water and point of use filter systems.
Avoid distilled and "drinking" water.
The remaining sludge is extremely toxic and is marketed
as "natural fertilizer" called "bio solids." It’s
used on farms that supply produce to our supermarkets and
the livestock industry.
Whatever goes down the sewers on the streets goes directly
into the rivers. What we do to the planet, we do to ourselves.
If a product is not friendly to the environment, it cannot
be friendly to us.
If a product requires special handling or ventilation, don’t
expose yourself or your environment to it. This is where
you, your family and friends have to live and breathe. Next
time you or someone you know feels ill, instead of rushing
off to the doctor to get medicated (poisoned), why not look
for the cause in a household chemical or food additive and
eliminate it? This can save a lot of grief and more toxic
overload, which will probably be labeled as some type of
serious illness without looking for the cause.
Children are at higher risk when playing on floors with
the residue from formaldehyde, asbestos and pesticides from
common household cleaners. Their respiration rates are three
times higher than adults, and their detoxification systems
are not fully developed and cannot filter these toxins out.
Have you noticed how many children are on inhalers lately?
This is akin to putting the fire out with gasoline. The older
you are, the more years of accumulation of these toxins you
will have in your system. There are tens of thousands of
chemicals in use, but if you ever get tested, they will usually
only test for 150 or so, and those are probably not the worst
ones. That’s only about .002%. It’s a joke really.
Personal care and cleaning products are very toxic. Prior
to WWII they didn’t exist, homes were clean, and people
had fewer health problems. Do we really want to compromise
our health so the chemical companies can become wealthy?
How many toxic bombs are lurking in your home? There are
many safe, chemical free cleaning products on the market
today, or if you prefer -- use the basics; baking soda, lemon
juice, vinegar and water. You’ll be amazed at what
a wonderful job they do.
Please do your own research and use the products that are
the safest and best for your families. There are numerous
books on these subjects. Don’t leave your fate in the
hands of multibillion-dollar chemical industries whose only
concern is profit. Your shopping habits create a demand for
the products you buy. If you don’t like what is contained
in the products offered in your stores, let it be known and
switch products. Encourage industry to be responsible for
their products, as we must be with our purchases. Educate
your friends, neighbours and loved ones. Don’t ever
give anyone authority over your body or your health. It’s
your responsibility to be informed. What you don’t
know can harm you, and even kill you. Once the damage is
done, it may be too late.
Lorie Dwornick is a researcher, educator and activist living
in Winnipeg, MB. She found out first-hand about the corruption
in "the system" through cover-ups, fabrications
and deception affecting her own health. This started her
trek to get the answers she'd been denied. When she learns
of something she feels others need their eyes opened up to,
she makes it known so they don't have to go through the kind
of ongoing ordeal that's been imposed upon her since becoming
the victim of an accident many years ago. Victims are being
treated like criminals. Lorie -- like many researchers --
uncovered all sorts of things she wasn’t even looking
for. As the saying goes, "the lies are hidden in plain
view." She believes that eventually enough people will
be aware of these things to expose the corruption to the
extent that some, if not all, of it can be halted. The truth
is almost always the opposite of what the propaganda machine
(mainstream media) tells us. It is about mass manipulation
and control.
