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If you have chemical sensitivities, it is very likely air fresheners (in many forms) may bother you and make you feel ill. Read this article to find out why.
Environmental groups petition U.S. to regulate air fresheners
Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
Thursday, September 20, 2007
A group of heavyweight environmental organizations is asking the federal
government to crack down on air fresheners, products that scientific studies
show can aggravate asthma and pose other health risks.
In response to the groups' petition filed Wednesday with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
Walgreen Co. quickly pulled three of its air fresheners off the shelves of
its 5,850 stores nationwide.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Alliance for Healthy
Homes and the National Center for Healthy Housing filed the petition asking
the agencies to more strictly regulate the industry, which is expected to
have $1.72 billion in sales this year.
Scented sprays, gels and plug-in fresheners offer no public health benefits
yet contain harmful chemicals linked to breathing difficulties,
developmental problems in babies and cancer in laboratory animals, according
to the petition sent to the two federal agencies.
The environmental groups commissioned independent lab tests of some popular
brands and also cited health studies that call into question the safety of
some chemicals found in the air fresheners.
In spite of Walgreens' move, representatives of some companies that make air
fresheners said their products pose no health risk and help contribute to a
better quality of life in many households.
Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission in
Bethesda, Md., said his agency had received the petition. "We take it
seriously at this time," he said. [snip]
Consumers assume that products on the market have been evaluated and are
safe, the petition said. "Unfortunately, with regard to air fresheners,
these consumers are mistaken."
The groups want the federal government to require manufacturers such as
Procter & Gamble Co., S.C. Johnson, Dial Corp., Sara Lee Corp. and Reckitt
Benckiser Inc. to conduct health and safety tests, including the respiratory
effect of breathing the fresheners. Those test results should be handed over
to regulators, who should also be alerted if there are reports of adverse
reactions to the air fresheners, the groups said.
The environmental groups also want truth-in-advertising labeling that would
require listing all ingredients in air fresheners. And the government should
ban ingredients that would cause allergies or appear on California's
Proposition 65 list of chemicals linked to cancer and reproductive harm,
according to the petition.
Bill Lafield, a spokesman for the industry group that represents makers of
products like household cleaners, disinfectants and air fresheners, said the
products are not dangerous. The Consumer Specialty Products Association
represents 260 businesses. [snip]
Air fresheners "do contribute to the quality of life. Fragrances have been
used for centuries, dating back to when the Chinese and the Egyptians used
incense and fragrant oils. They obviously have a value, or consumers
wouldn't buy them," he said. [snip]
Dale Kemery, an EPA spokesman, said the agency hadn't yet received the
petition. The EPA is expected to publish the parts of the petition that
relate to its agency, and under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act,
the EPA has 90 days in which to accept or reject the petition.
If the agencies reject the groups' petition, the groups could sue. Last year
the Sierra Club sued the EPA after the rejection of a petition and
ultimately won an agreement from the EPA to require importers of most
children's products to tell the agency if there is lead in the products.
That petition also resulted last December in the Consumer Product Safety
Commission agreeing to develop a rule that would ban dangerous lead in
children's metal jewelry.
Air fresheners can waft chemicals into rooms where they are inhaled by
humans and pets. The exposure can be significant, particularly for
asthmatics, the petition said. A 2004 study published in the journal
Occupational Environmental Medicine found that about 29 percent of people
with asthma said air fresheners caused breathing difficulties.
The air fresheners can contain a number of harmful chemicals, including
benzene and formaldehyde, which are produced as byproducts in the
manufacturing process, according to the petition. Also found in air
fresheners are phthalates, a group of chemicals that are restricted under
San Francisco law in toys and child care products for children 3 and under.
The state Legislature passed a measure two weeks ago banning six forms of
phthalates from children's toys. The bill awaits signature or veto by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. [snip]
Lab animal studies show that some phthalates interfere with hormonal
systems, disrupt testosterone production and cause malformation of sex
organs. Some studies of humans have shown a link between exposure and
adverse changes in the genitals of baby boys.
The Natural Resource Defense Council sent 14 air fresheners to be tested for
phthalates in an independent lab. The tests found that 12 products,
including those marked "all natural," contained phthalates. [snip]
"We have ordered our stores to remove those air fresheners mentioned in the
report from the shelves and quarantine them," [Walgreen Co.] spokeswoman
Carol Hiively said. "We will have them tested independently. One of our
manufacturers has informed us that before this study it was already in the
process of reformulating for a non-phthalate air freshener."
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Online resources
View the petition at: HREF="http://links.sfgate.com/ZWE">http://links.sfgate.com/ZWE
For information on the trade group Consumer Specialty Products Association:
www.cspa.org
Full article at:
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/20/MNTLS9GTF.DTL&tsp=1
ALSO- How "fresh" is air freshener?
Link: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1664954,00.html |
