Autism - What is the matter?

As a former Special Education teacher, I have seen the number of students with an autism spectrum disorder grow significantly.  It's baffling to say the least as to why.  When we look at all the new chemicals and toxins in the products we use, in the air, in the water, in the home, we can see how these can possibly be the culprit.  Mercury is one of the most targeted toxins.  But there is no way to know for sure.  Just look at the list of products and ingredients that contain Mercury.  As far as I'm concerned, taking these products out of the homes and schools will help as we move closer to finding the reason these children are hindered with this diagnosis.  

This is from an Autism research site (see the link below for the full article and

sourcing.)  

 

Here is the link:
http://www.tacanow.com/containingmercury.htm

What is Autism?

Autism is a devastating neurological and biological disorder that typically affects children between the ages

of 18 months to five years of age. Autism currently affects 1 in every 166 children born today. There

are over 1.5 million people in the United States  alone with autism. Autism affects each individual

differently and at different levels of severity. Some people with autism are severely affected, cannot speak,

require constant one-on-one care, and are never able to live independently. While others are have less

severe symptoms, can communicate, and eventually acquire the necessary skills to live on their own.

Typically, autism affects individuals in four key areas:

• Communication (verbal and non-verbal)
• Social skills
• Behaviors
• Learning

Mercury Containing Chemicals

We have heard a lot in the news about Mercury and Thimersol. These potential harmful ingredients can
be found in MANY commercially available items items per the Environmental Protection Agency. This is
a list of information as of May 2002 from the Environmental Protection Agency provided off the internet.
Here is the link for this information:

• http://www.epa.gov/region01/steward/neeat/mercury/invent.html

Inventory of Mercury Sources in a Health Care Environment
PLEASE visit the site above for the full listing
MERCURY CONTAINING CHEMICALS
Mercury (II) oxide
Mercury chloride
Mercury (II) chloride
Mercury (II) sulfate
Mercury nitrate (for corrosion of copper alloys)
Mercurochrome
Mercury iodide
Mercurial diuretic
Fixatives (many)
"Metexchange" reagent
"Precision" reagent
Preservatives (e.g., Thimerosal, Phenylmercuric acetate, Phenylmercuric nitrate)
Stains (e.g., Carbol-Fuchin, Gram iodine, trichrome blue, mercury chloride, Carbol Gentian violet, Gomori's,
Sulfuric acid (commercial grade, Hg as impurity)
Thimerosal(used in Haemophilus, hepatitis, rabies, tetanus, influenza, diptheria, and pertussis vaccines)
Zenker'ssolution and other histological fixatives


OVER-THE-COUNTER PHARMACEUTICALS CONTAINING MERCURY
Thimerosal
Phenylmercuricacetate used as preservatives
Phenylmercuricnitrate
Opththalmicproducts and contact lens solutions
Nasal sprays (as preservative)
Topical anti-microbials and disinfectants (e.g., Merthiolate,
tinctureof Merthiolate)
Diuretics (mersalyl, salts, mercumatilin, mercuramide,
mercurophylline, mercaptomerin, merethoxylline)
Eye cosmetics
Hemorrhoidalointments (use discontinued in 1995)
Homeopathic remedies (listed as `mercurius' on label)
Merbromin/water solution (used in plastic/reconstructive surgery as
disinfectantand marker)
Mercuric chloride peritoneal lavage in cancer surgery (uncommon in
US)
Skin bleaching creams (OTC use discontinued in early 1970's, but some
prescriptionformulations still available)
Teething powder (discontinued in 1950's)
Human and veterinary vaccines (now being reviewed by FDA)


GENERAL USE PRODUCTS CONTAINING MERCURY
Ajax Powder
Alconoxsoap
BoraxoPads
Comet Cleaner
Derma Scrub
Dove soap
Ivory dishwashing liquid
Joy dishwashing liquid
Kodak Fixer
Kodak Developer
Lysol Direct
Murphy's Oil Soap
Soft Cide Soap (Baxter)
Soft Scrub
Sparkleen detergent
Sunlight dishwashing detergent
Plus, Many greeting cards, gift gadgets, etc have batteries
containingmercury


Note: This information is being provided by the Environmental Protection Agency. We do not warrant
the accuracy of this information. Please check with you local agency for any questions. 

 

Hazardous Chemicals in Children's Products and more

Chemicals Not Listed on Product Labels Due to Weak Regulatory Standards

This is the reason why I will only purchase safe, healthier products. For more information about where to purchase these products go to www.livetotalwellness.com/maryann
You can have safer products delivered right to your door while paying less per use than name brands purchased at your regular store. Let me show you how.


For Immediate Release: March 12th, 2009
Contact: Stacy Malkan, 202-321-6963, stacy@safecosmetics.org; Jovana Ruzicic, 202-667-6982, jovana@ewg.org; Stephenie Hendricks, 415-258-9151, stephdh@earthlink.net

For a list of the products tested, and the findings, click http://safecosmetics.live.radicaldesigns.org/search.php

Washington − Despite marketing claims like “gentle” and “pure,” dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, according to product test results released today by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The chemicals were not disclosed on product labels because contaminants are exempt from labeling laws.

This study is the first to document the widespread presence of both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in bath products for children. Many products tested for this study contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, including the top-selling Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and Sesame Street Bubble Bath.

Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are known to cause cancer in animals and are listed as probable human carcinogens by the Environmental Protection Agency. Formaldehyde can also trigger skin rashes in some children.

“Given the recent data showing that formaldehyde and the formaldehyde-releasing preservative, quaternium-15, are significant sensitizers and causal agents of contact dermatitis in children, it would be prudent to have these removed from children’s products,” said Sharon Jacob, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of California San Diego and contact dermatitis specialist at Rady Children’s Hospital.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says that “the presence of 1,4-dioxane, even as a trace contaminant, is cause for concern.”

Contrary to industry statements, there are no regulatory standards that limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or most other toxic chemicals in personal care products sold in the United States. Other nations have stricter standards. Formaldehyde is banned from personal care products in Japan and Sweden. The European Union bans 1,4-dioxane from personal care products and has recalled products found to contain the chemical.

But there are signs the U.S. is gearing to catch up. Key Congressional leaders point to the findings of this report as further evidence of the need for action. “When products for babies are labeled ‘gentle’ and ‘pure,’ parents expect that they are just that,” said Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.). “To think that cancer-causing chemicals are contaminating baby shampoos and lotions is horrifying. I intend to soon introduce legislation requiring greater oversight of our cosmetics industry. We need to ensure that the chemicals that are used in our everyday products are safe.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said, “The fact that we are bathing our kids in products contaminated with carcinogens shows how woefully out of date our cosmetics laws are and how urgently they need to be updated. The science has moved forward, now the FDA needs to catch up and be given the authority to protect the health of Americans.” Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) commented that “Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are better suited for the chem lab, not a child's bathtub. This important report shows that 'No More Tears' can trigger toxic fears, and it provides another reason why these and other cosmetic products must be further regulated. ”

For the study, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 top-selling children’s products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that:

* 17 out of 28 products tested – 61 percent – contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane; these included Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Sesame Street Bubble Bath, Grins & Giggles Milk & Honey Baby Wash and Huggies Naturally Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea Baby Wash.
* 23 out of 28 products – 82 percent – contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm). Baby Magic Baby Lotion had the highest levels of formaldehyde.
* 32 out of 48 products – 67 percent – contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm. American Girl shower products had the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane.

“There is absolutely no reason why manufacturers can’t remove hazardous chemicals in products being applied to babies’ bodies every day,” said Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., president and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund. “Children are exposed to toxic chemicals from many sources. We need to protect them from these kinds of repeated, unnecessary exposures.”

“Products made in the U.S. and marketed for children should not contain chemicals linked to cancer or any other health problem,” said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at Environmental Working Group and creator of the Skin Deep cosmetic safety database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com). “Congress urgently needs to reform federal policy to protect the most vulnerable members of our society by ensuring that the personal care products we use every day are free from harmful chemicals.”

Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said that the usual regulatory approach of assessing risk one chemical at a time does not account for the combined effects of very low levels of hidden contaminants in personal care products and from other sources. “Rather than waiting for definitive proof of human harm, we must lower exposures to controllable agents that we know or suspect cause cancer," Davis said.

The full results of the study can be found in the report, “No More Toxic Tub” at http://www.safecosmetics.org/toxictub.

# # #

Founding members of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics include: Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, Breast Cancer Fund, Clean Water Fund, Commonweal, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, National Black Environmental Justice Network, National Environmental Trust and Women's Voices for the Earth. www.SafeCosmetics.org

Partner organizations in the following states assisted in the release of this report and may be available for interviews and local angles. Please contact Shannon Coughlin, scoughlin@breastcancerfund.org or 415-336-2246, for more information.

New Study Finds Toxic Chemicals in Many Conventional Cleaners

You don't have to purchase products that are hazardous to you and your family's health. Go to www.livetotalwellness.com/maryann and find out how you can be safer and healthier.

New Study Finds Toxic Chemicals in Many Conventional Cleaners
Contributed by Seventh Generation

Call it another nail in the coffin of conventional cleaning products: A new study has found that literally dozens of popular household cleaners contain undisclosed toxins that have been linked to asthma, fertility and other problems. The research points out something most consumers still don't realize. Namely, that the household products they think are safe really aren't.

The new report, from Montana-based non-profit Women's Voices for the Earth, examined Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for dozens of top-selling conventional cleaning products and found that most of formulas they studied contain one or more chemicals linked to any number of negative health effects.

MSDS are chemical information summary sheets whose use in manufacturing and commercial settings is required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These standardized forms provide varying degrees of additional data about the chemicals, products, or formulas used by a specific facility or in a specific product. They must be prepared for the employees of any company that handles the chemicals or products in question so that everyone can better understand the hazards associated with the materials with which they're working. Since federal regulations do not require cleaning product manufacturers to fully disclose all the ingredients their formulas contain on product labels, an MSDS for a particular product is usually the best and often only way to figure out what hazards it contains.

Even so, MSDS do not necessarily list all the ingredients a cleaner contains. The law requires that only those hazardous ingredients present in levels above one percent (or one tenth of one percent for carcinogens, neurotoxins, and teratogens (chemicals capable of affecting fetuses) need be disclosed even though many chemicals pose a clear and present danger in lesser amounts. In addition, MSDS' need only list materials that meet the agency's official definition of hazardous. If a chemical has not yet been formally placed on OSHA's lists of known hazardous materials, it doesn't need to appear on an MSDS.

In studying cleaning product MSDS, Women's Voices for the Earth found that a number of chemicals linked to asthma and reproductive disorders kept appearing, including:

• Monoethanolamine (MEA), a solvent that appeared in laundry detergents, and all-purpose and floor cleaners.

• Ammonium quaternary compounds, disinfectants used in disinfectant sprays and toilet cleaners.

• Glycol ethers, like 2-butoxyethanol, solvents added to glass cleaners and all-purpose spray cleaners.

• Alkyl phenol ethoxylates (APEs), surfactants used in laundry detergents, stain removers, and all-purpose cleaner.

• Phthalates, fragrance carriers that were discovered in glass cleaners, deodorizers, laundry detergents, and fabric softeners.

Scientific studies have linked EGBE to reproductive problems like testicular damage, reduced fertility, death of embryos, and birth defects. People exposed to high levels of EGBE for a few hours experience nose and eye irritation, headaches, vomiting and a metallic taste in their mouths. A 2006 California Air Resources Board study on indoor air quality and cleaning products found that people using common products that contained EGBE could be exposed to amounts up to 12 times higher than that state's one-hour safe-exposure standard.

Because manufacturers rarely offer complete ingredient disclosure on their cleaning products' labels, there's really only one thing consumers can do to protect themselves and their families from any hidden hazards those products contain: Only buy products whose labels tell you everything they contain. Don't rely on promises of safety or environmental benefits. Even products marketed as earth-friendly can contain toxic ingredients. Where cleaners are concerned, ingredients labels speak louder than claims. Knowing what ingredients are in the products you use, and keeping your family away from any that keep secrets is the healthiest advice a person can receive.

To find out more about conventional cleaning products, obtain a free on-line copy of the new study, and learn about the Women's Voices for the Earth Safe Cleaning Products initiative visit http://www.womenandenvironment.org/.

[To find cleaning products on OTA's searchable directory, click here]

To find products that are safe for you, your family and the environment that are made without the toxic chemicals go to www.livetotalwellness.com/maryann