- Approximately 1.4 million children under the age of 12 are poisoned in
the US each year. In fact, children account for 85 percent of all poison
victims, and over 70 percent of these children are under the
age of 5. Among children ages 5 and under, the most common poison is a
household cleaner or personal care product. 1 Ordinary products used by adults each day around the home can
become dangerous poisons in the hands of a child.
2
- In 1987, the EPA undertook an ambitious program to identify and compare
the urgency of environmental problems. The idea was that, with limited
resources, the agency should be focusing on those pollutants that pose the
greatest risk to society. Among the top hazards were those found indoors, including exposure to cleaning products. 3
- Another study, conducted over a 15-year period, found that women who worked at home had a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who had jobs away from home. The study concluded that the increased death rate
was due to daily exposure to the hazardous chemicals found in ordinary
household products. 4
- Cancer is the number-two killer of adults and the leading cause
of death from disease in children. 5
- Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household
products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do
many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby
products.
Fuels are made up of organic chemicals. All of these products can release
organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they
are stored.6
- EPA's Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies found levels
of about a dozen common organic pollutants to be 2 to 5 times higher inside
homes than outside, regardless of whether the homes were located in
rural or highly industrial areas. 7
- Many scientists and doctors are discovering that there is a connection
between our increased use of household chemicals and the increased incidence
of chronic illnesses in children like cancer, asthma, ADD, birth defects,
and a host of other problems. 8
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