Toxic Household Cleaners and Your Health

17 February 2010, 3:30 PM
Trip Van Noppen
Getting the Dirt on Household Cleaners
Historic litigation may shine light on toxic ingredients


Help Protect Children From Toxic Pesticides Do household cleaners contain ingredients linked to asthma, nerve damage and other health effects? Manufacturers aren't telling, but Earthjustice attorney Keri Powell may have uncovered the key to their pursed lips.

While investigating a potential legal strategy, Keri found buried in the pages of a book of New York State statutes a long-forgotten law authorizing the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to require household cleaning product manufacturers to disclose their chemical ingredients and information about the health risks they pose. In other words, pay dirt.

State regulations issued in 1976 made these disclosures mandatory. Such laws are practically nonexistent in the United States, and the New York law has been altogether overlooked.

Until now.

Earlier this month, Keri led a group of clients into the New York State Supreme Court for historic arguments over chemical disclosure, a case that could have national ramifications. Consumers and their advocates may finally get a satisfactory answer to that critical opening question, which has vexed them for years.

Some disclosures have already been made as a result of the case. After Keri discovered the law and realized companies had for decades been escaping a legal obligation, several household cleaner manufacturers doing business in New York State were put on notice. Letters we sent to the companies in Sept. 2008 requested that they begin obeying the law within 30 days or risk possible legal action. The letters prompted some companies, including the manufacturer of Simple Green products, to file disclosure reports for the first time.

Even though the law Keri unearthed is state-specific, the household cleaners it regulates are not. Simple Green products sold to consumers in the Empire State are no different from Simple Green products sold anywhere else in the country, so consumers across the United States benefit equally from these disclosures and any further information gained as a result of our litigation.

In Mar. 2009, SC Johnson announced that it too would disclose chemical ingredients rather than face Earthjustice attorneys in court. Concurrently, the company launched a candid website that "offers a detailed look at the ingredients in [SC Johnson's] products so you can make the right decisions for your home."

But four companies—Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight, and Reckitt-Bensicker—stonewalled, and thus found themselves a few weeks ago across from Keri and her colleagues in a Manhattan courtroom as defendants in this first-of-its-kind lawsuit. They made it clear that their lips are sealed until authorities pry them open. As Health Campaigner Kathleen Sutcliffe wryly remarked last week, Mr. Clean went to court and pled the fifth.

While this unprecedented legal work unfolds, efforts are being staged on other fronts to change the way toxic chemicals are treated in the United States. A few months ago, I wrote about the urgent need to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act, the major U.S. law concerned with keeping the public safe from toxic chemicals in commercial products. We are awaiting introduction of new federal legislation to fix the current broken system. The household cleaners case helps push the national reform effort forward by showing that disclosure of ingredients and health effects is good for consumers and good for business.

But our New York case also demonstrates that much can be done while we wait for federal reform. After all, figuring out what's in a household cleaner shouldn't be as hard as finding a decades-old, neglected statute in a book of New York laws. Our hope is that all a consumer will have to do in the future to uncover the ingredients in their spray bottle is look at the label.



Health and Toxics household cleaners
RELATED ACTION ALERTS: Coal Ash is Hazardous to Our Health!

Missing Endangered Seniors: Amber Alert Program for Seniors

New Laws in Illinois

With the beginning of a new year and new legislative session underway, I intend to periodically focus attention in my e-newsletter on new laws that have gone into effect here in Illinois. You may or may not be aware of changes in the law that could have an impact on you, your family or your community, and I hope to offer an explanation as to why these laws were enacted.

Amber Alert Program for Seniors

The first new law of interest establishes an Amber Alert Program for Senior Citizens and is legislation that I worked on last year with Senator Maggie Crotty and the Illinois State Police. Senate Bill 27, now Public Act #96-0149, helps locate elderly individuals who are missing.

The new Endangered Missing Person Advisory Program, commonly referred to as a “Silver Alert”, establishes a regional system which enhances the ability of local police agencies to rapidly transmit information regarding the older adult who is often afflicted with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia and places a high priority in reporting, investigation and public notification. These new efforts are similar to Amber Alert which has been successful in locating children who are believed to have been abducted and in danger. Unfortunately, we have all read about cases of seniors wandering from home, getting disoriented or losing their way while driving. A delayed search can result in the loss of valuable time to locate a missing person.

The Illinois Department on Aging in coordination with the Illinois State Police is developing a community outreach program to promote awareness among the State’s healthcare facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other senior centers. The guidelines and procedures will ensure that specific health information about the missing person is not made public through the alert. State Police will determine whether the missing person is endangered or considered “high risk,” meaning circumstances indicate that the person may be at risk of injury or death. For more information about program services to assist older adults in Illinois and their caregivers, call the IDoA Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966.

In addition, another new law relating to the same topic is House Bill 282, now Public Act #96-0442, which adds to the definition of "missing endangered senior", a person with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias who is reported missing. It provides that the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board shall conduct training programs for law enforcement personnel to assist in finding missing seniors as the population with this disease increases.

Marianjoy Traumatic Brain Injury Support Group: High Hopes in Wheaton

New Year's Resolution for Optimal Living with Brain Injury sponsored by Dr. Nancy Devereux, Licensed Psychologist at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital.

Technical assistance call for the Community College Consortia program: Friday, 1/15

The $70 million Community College Consortia Program will seeks to rapidly create HIT academic programs at Community Colleges (as defined by the 1965 Higher Education Act) or expand existing ones to rapidly create or expand health IT training programs at approximately 70 community colleges throughout the nation.

Please note that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) will be hosting a second Technical Assistance call for potential applicants, next Friday, January 15th from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST.

Interested parties are encouraged to join the call using the following information:

•To participate:
•https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/dt/join?id=CBP43S&role=attend&pw=W%3EBj%5Eb6
•Audio
•Dial in number: 888-769-8716
•Participant passcode: 6123844


A previous technical assistance call was held in December 16, and a PowerPoint slide presentation and transcript from the call is available at http://healthit.hhs.gov/communitycollege.




There will be time reserved for a Question and Answer session. Please be advised that the TA call will be a listen only event as questions can only be accepted electronically. You are encouraged to submit questions in advance to HITEducation@hhs.gov. During the call, questions will be accepted via the questions tab in the Live Meeting environment.


For detailed information on the Community College Consortia program visit http://healthit.hhs.gov/communitycollege.

First Time Users:
To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Microsoft Office Live Meeting.


Visit http://healthit.hhs.gov/hitechgrants for information on additional HITECH funding opportunities.

York Township Volunteer Service by Gardenia C. Hung

HOW I BECAME SICK AFTER VOLUNTEERING TO CLEAN WITH CLOROX HANDWIPES AND LATEX GLOVES AND SPRAY ALL THE HANDLEBARS, DOORKNOBS, METAL PLATES, DUST DIRTY TABLES AND CHAIRS IN THE AUDITORIUM, HALLWAY AND LOBBY ?

I DEVELOPED A BACKACHE AND A SORE RIGHT SHOULDER AND PAIN ON THE UPPER BACK WITH STIFFNESS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE NECK AND HEADACHE MIGRAINE WITH ALLERGIES, HIGH FEVER, CONGESTION, SNEEZING, AND A SKIN RASH ON THE RIGHT HAND FINGERS. EXTREME PAIN AND ACHE ALONG THE RIGHT SIDE. I HAVE BEEN TO THE DOCTOR AND TAKEN PAIN RELIEVERS DURING NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2009. COURTESY: G.C. HUNG

HHS Healthbeat: Arguing Raises High Levels of Cytokines Associated with Health Conditions Causing Heart Disease

,HHS HealthBeat (December 17, 2009)
Non-fighting words


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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Arguing can raise levels of body chemicals called cytokines, which fight infection. But continued high levels of cytokines are associated with conditions such as heart disease.

Researcher Jennifer Graham at Penn State has been looking at ways for couples to work on their differences without amping up their cytokines.

As part of her study, she had couples flip the hot switches on topics like money and in-laws.

Graham found that use of reasoning words during a fight controlled cytokines. So reasoning may be better than fighting, for your health and relationship – and:

[Jennifer Graham speaks] "Expressing yourself clearly and thinking deeply about conflict may also help lead to a resolution of the situation."

The study in the journal Health Psychology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: December, 16 2009

"Living with Brain Injury: Survivor and Family Issues" Presentation by Dr. Nelson Escobar, M.D.

Courtesy: Dr. Nelson Escobar, M.D. Director, Traumatic Brain Injury Program at Marianjoy Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, High Hopes Brain Injury Support Group which meets on the 2nd Tuesday every month, 6:30-8:00 p.m. sponsored by Dr. Nancy Devereux, M.D., Tel. 630-909-8607