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Cancer-proof your home, You wouldn't feed your family a food that you knew caused cancer. But what if you're spraying a cancer-causing chemical every time you clean your sink? In the past few years, consumer health groups have studied many household products and warned that they contain carcinogens, or ingredients known to cause cancer. Here are the prime products to send packing, along with safer replacements to substitute.
If it's hard for you to avoid these products, don't panic. In most cases, the likelihood that using them will tip you from no cancer to cancer is actually pretty small. Still, little risks can add up, and who wouldn't want to eliminate potential hazards from the home if it's not too onerous to do so?An odorless, radioactive gas that's produced by the natural decay of uranium, radon is more common than you might think. After smoking, it's the leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has found that nearly 1 in 3 homes checked in seven states had radon levels over 4 pCi/L, the EPA's recommended action level for radon exposure.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from rock and soil; well water can also be a source of radon, as it's water soluble. The only way to find out if there's radon in your home is to test for it. Call the National Safety Council's National Radon Hotline at (800) 767-7236 and they'll send you a low-cost radon detector; inexpensive models are also available at most hardware stores.
Safer substitute: There's no safe substitute for radon; you don't want it in your home. Getting rid of it once you detect it is a job for professional radon mitigators.Your makeup bag and medicine cabinet may be hazardous to your health, containing chemicals that are known carcinogens. Philip Landrigan, dean of Global Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, advises avoiding the "dirty dozen" toxic chemicals in skin care listed in National Geographic's Green Guide, including antibacterials; formaldehyde; hydroquinone; mercury and lead; parabens; phenylenediamine; coal tar; diethanolamine; 1,4-Dioxane; nanoparticles; and petroleum distillates.
According to Landrigan, chemicals belonging to a class called phthalates are among the biggest culprits in beauty products because they mimic the action of our natural hormones. Phthalates such as dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and diethyl phthalate (DEP) are used in beauty products as "plasticizers," to harden nail polish, help hair spray adhere to the hair, and fix scent in perfumes. Phthalates are also found in the flexible plastic bottles in which shampoo, lotion, and other beauty products are stored, and they can leach into the contents.
Another of the worst offenders is lipstick, which may contain lead, known to cause numerous health problems, including cancer. In response to a public health effort by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the FDA recently conducted two separate investigations testing lipsticks for lead, and the results were pretty scary. Lead was detected in every single one of the lipsticks tested, and not in small amounts. The first FDA test revealed lead levels up to 3.06 ppm (parts per million), and the second test found lead levels up to 7.19 ppm.
Lastly, be aware that beauty labels are not always honest. In one recent study, keratin-based hair straighteners labeled "formaldehyde-free" were found to contain formaldehyde. While the levels found were fairly low, stylists are at risk because of repeated exposure.
Safer substitute: The generic term "fragrance" can cover a lot of chemical additives; choose fragrance-free products or fragrances made from botanical ingredients. Natural skin care and beauty companies sell natural and organic skin care lines that list their ingredients transparently and are free of phthalates, heavy metals such as lead, and other toxic chemicals.BPA, or bisphenol A, has been in the headlines endlessly the past couple of years, but that doesn't mean we know what to do about it, since the news has been both alarmist and confusing.
Here's the lowdown: BPA is a phthalate and a synthetic estrogen linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and heart disease. In 2010, the President's Cancer Panel recommended that consumers not use water bottles and other containers made with BPA and urged that the ingredient be removed from commercial production, but that has happened in only a handful of states. Still, BPA-free bottles are now manufactured by all of the major bottle manufacturers, and BPA-free bottles are fast becoming the norm, at least where they are available. Unfortunately, BPA has been much slower to phase out in other products, such as the lining of cans. Because BPA can react with the metal of the cans, and cans are heated as they're sterilized, canned food is "high risk" for BPA.
Another ingredient used to make plastics more pliable is diethylhexyl adipate (DEHA), which is also classified as a possible carcinogen. DEHA is in almost all plastic wraps and has properties similar to phthalates, like BPA. Unlike BPA, it has yet to be phased out of most products.
Heating plastic does make it more likely that any chemicals contained in it will be released into food, so do not microwave food in any plastic container, and don't cover bowls and other containers with plastic wrap when heating.
Safer substitute: Look for "BPA-free" on labels. Use metal water bottles when you're out, a filtered water pitcher when you're home. Or get a built-in filter attachment for your faucet. Microwave food in glass or ceramic containers.
If it's hard for you to avoid these products, don't panic. In most cases, the likelihood that using them will tip you from no cancer to cancer is actually pretty small. Still, little risks can add up, and who wouldn't want to eliminate potential hazards from the home if it's not too onerous to do so?An odorless, radioactive gas that's produced by the natural decay of uranium, radon is more common than you might think. After smoking, it's the leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has found that nearly 1 in 3 homes checked in seven states had radon levels over 4 pCi/L, the EPA's recommended action level for radon exposure.
Safer substitute: There's no safe substitute for radon; you don't want it in your home. Getting rid of it once you detect it is a job for professional radon mitigators.Your makeup bag and medicine cabinet may be hazardous to your health, containing chemicals that are known carcinogens. Philip Landrigan, dean of Global Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, advises avoiding the "dirty dozen" toxic chemicals in skin care listed in National Geographic's Green Guide, including antibacterials; formaldehyde; hydroquinone; mercury and lead; parabens; phenylenediamine; coal tar; diethanolamine; 1,4-Dioxane; nanoparticles; and petroleum distillates.
According to Landrigan, chemicals belonging to a class called phthalates are among the biggest culprits in beauty products because they mimic the action of our natural hormones. Phthalates such as dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and diethyl phthalate (DEP) are used in beauty products as "plasticizers," to harden nail polish, help hair spray adhere to the hair, and fix scent in perfumes. Phthalates are also found in the flexible plastic bottles in which shampoo, lotion, and other beauty products are stored, and they can leach into the contents.
Another of the worst offenders is lipstick, which may contain lead, known to cause numerous health problems, including cancer. In response to a public health effort by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the FDA recently conducted two separate investigations testing lipsticks for lead, and the results were pretty scary. Lead was detected in every single one of the lipsticks tested, and not in small amounts. The first FDA test revealed lead levels up to 3.06 ppm (parts per million), and the second test found lead levels up to 7.19 ppm.
Lastly, be aware that beauty labels are not always honest. In one recent study, keratin-based hair straighteners labeled "formaldehyde-free" were found to contain formaldehyde. While the levels found were fairly low, stylists are at risk because of repeated exposure.
Safer substitute: The generic term "fragrance" can cover a lot of chemical additives; choose fragrance-free products or fragrances made from botanical ingredients. Natural skin care and beauty companies sell natural and organic skin care lines that list their ingredients transparently and are free of phthalates, heavy metals such as lead, and other toxic chemicals.BPA, or bisphenol A, has been in the headlines endlessly the past couple of years, but that doesn't mean we know what to do about it, since the news has been both alarmist and confusing.
Here's the lowdown: BPA is a phthalate and a synthetic estrogen linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and heart disease. In 2010, the President's Cancer Panel recommended that consumers not use water bottles and other containers made with BPA and urged that the ingredient be removed from commercial production, but that has happened in only a handful of states. Still, BPA-free bottles are now manufactured by all of the major bottle manufacturers, and BPA-free bottles are fast becoming the norm, at least where they are available. Unfortunately, BPA has been much slower to phase out in other products, such as the lining of cans. Because BPA can react with the metal of the cans, and cans are heated as they're sterilized, canned food is "high risk" for BPA.
Another ingredient used to make plastics more pliable is diethylhexyl adipate (DEHA), which is also classified as a possible carcinogen. DEHA is in almost all plastic wraps and has properties similar to phthalates, like BPA. Unlike BPA, it has yet to be phased out of most products.
Heating plastic does make it more likely that any chemicals contained in it will be released into food, so do not microwave food in any plastic container, and don't cover bowls and other containers with plastic wrap when heating.
Safer substitute: Look for "BPA-free" on labels. Use metal water bottles when you're out, a filtered water pitcher when you're home. Or get a built-in filter attachment for your faucet. Microwave food in glass or ceramic containers.