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Environmental Health Network |
EHN P.O. Box 1155 Larkspur, California, 94977 Support and Information Line (SAIL) 415.541.5075 |
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ADOPTED!
Cleaner Air Fact Sheet
Thanks also to EHN Advisory Board member Susan Molloy, to Mary Lamielle, Executive Director of the National Center for Environmental Health Strategies, Inc. (NCEHS), and to Dr. Lawrence Plumlee for their untiring efforts down through the years on behalf of not only the already chemically injured, but everyone. EHN also thanks Linda McElver, President Canaries Foundation, Inc. and her members for joining Susan Molloy, Connie Barker and me as we worked toward passage of the Cleaner Air Signage and Pictogram in California. Susan, Connie, Linda and I also went to Sacramento to speak before the California Building Standards Commission on Nov. 28, 2001. We all renewed our efforts for the meeting of ANSI (Americans National Standards Institute) A117 Committee on Architectural Features and its Design of Public Buildings and Residential Structures for Persons with Disabilities, which was held Wednesday, December 12, 2001. Mary Lamielle and Dr. Plumlee attended the meeting. ANSI approved only the pictogram. But the image top and center on this page is now the official symbol for depicting access to cleaner air.
This revised, approved pictogram was adapted by Connie Barker, EHN and Ecology House boards, from the black and white version provided by the state of California. All who wanted the colored version owe her your thanks. As do I. Thank you, Connie! -- barb
California Building Standards Commission
And then, word came down that it was eventually voted against by ANSI. So, What now? -- barb Sharon Toji, designer of Cleaner Air sign e-mail: accesscomm@earthlink.net http://www.accesscommunications.bigstep.com/
http://www.bsc.ca.gov/documents/45-day_period/dsaac-cbc-45-et.pdf
1117B.5.12.1 Color and size of symbol. The symbol shall be used when the following minimum conditions are met. The symbol, which shall include the text "Cleaner Air" as shown, shall be displayed either as a negative or positive image within a square which is a minimum of 6-inches on each side. The symbol may be shown in black and white or in color. When color is used, it shall be Federal Blue (Color No. 15090 Federal Standard 595B) on white or white on Federal Blue, there shall be at least a 70% color contrast between the background of the sign from the surface that it is mounted on. Strictly for publicly funded public facilities or any facilities leased or rented by State of California. Not concessionaires. 1117B.5.12.2 Conditions of Use. Use of the cleaner-air symbol is voluntary. The Clean Air Symbol shall be permitted for use to identify a path of travel, and a room or a facility when the following is met:
Sharon Toji, designer of Cleaner Air sign
- The 2001 California Cycle - Meeting: November 28 10 a.m. 400 "R" Street, Sacramento
Do you face barriers to your safe access to housing and medical facilities? The designated Contact Persons, for our questions regarding modifications to the California Building Standards, are:
State Housing Law Program Manager Department of Housing and Community Development Tel.: (916) 445-9471 E-mail: Fax: (916) 327-4712
Susan M. Botelho
Please attend if you are able - a public show of support for this effort is essential, but CALL FIRST to be sure the CBSC schedule hasn't been changed (again). Get the schedule updates or other details from Michael Mankin, Access Compliance office, Division of the State Architect, at (916) 322-4700 or Linda Huber at (916) 324-9495. THANKS! Susan Molloy
Nov. 27, 2001
http://www.access-board.gov/news/fragrance.htm In September of this year, the Board undertook the issue of indoor air quality. See Board to Undertake Research on Indoor Air Quality (9/17/01) Solicitation for Bids Issued. This bid process closed October 30, 2001. http://www.access-board.gov/news/indoorair-notice.htm In December 1998, the Sierra Club's Conservation Committee and Executive Committee adopted a resolution regarding fragrance-free public venues. The resolution follows. The already chemically injured need safer paths of travel and cleaner air when attending to their needs in publicly funded facilities. Please adopted the proposed cleaner air signage and pictogram that is part of your 2001 Code Cycle: 1117B.5.12 Cleaner-Air Sign [Figure 11B-40]. Thank you. Sincerely, Barbara Wilkie President EHN
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Fragrances are not just pleasant odors ...
1117B.5.12.1 Color and size of symbol. 1117B.5.12.2 Conditions of Use. 1117B.5.12.3 Removal of symbol. As it now stands, California citizens who may have a lower tolerance for airborne pollution, estimated at 15.9 percent of the population by California Department of Health Services in 1996,[1] are put in harm's way by virtue of the fact that no one -- not even one of us -- has clear indication of the invisible, nonetheless formidable barriers to our safe access. For the substantial subset of people who, for whatever reason, are vulnerable -- infants and children, the elderly, people who have previous chemical injury, and those with pre-existing or inherited conditions -- there has been no effective protection. Those who experience adverse events when encountering the chemical and/or electromagnetic barriers, often feel as though we have just walked into a solid wall, or off a precipice. This symbol, if intent is adhered to, will do much to guide us safely as we go about our business in publicly-funded facilities or any facility leased or rented by the state of California, excluding concessionaires. Sincerely, Barbara Wilkie EHN President ---- [1] A Report on MCS : The Interagency Workgroup on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity August 24, 1998 Predecisional Draft http://www.health.gov/environment/mcs/II.htm
Michael Nearman and Stanley Nishimura, Executive Director Dear Mr. Nearman and Mr Nishimura: As a person who lives with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity -- symptoms which include chemical-induced asthma, migraines, sinusitis, rhinitis, laryngitis, fibromyalgia, aphasia ... I can assure you that by adopting 1117B.5.12 Cleaner-Air Sign [Figure 11B-40] as part of your 2001 Code Cycle, you would do much to improve the quality of my access to state buildings and the quality of my health while in state buildings on personal business. The US Access Board has acknowledged that synthetic chemicals adversely affect health and access for those already chemically injured, and because of this, the Board is now pursuing efforts to improve indoor air -- turning IAP into IAQ (Pollution to Quality). See "Board Adopts Policy to Promote Fragrance-Free Environments" at http://www.access-board.gov/ news/fragrance.htm and "Solicitation for Bids Issued," which closed October 30, 2001. http://www.access-board.gov/news/indoorair-notice.htm. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has spelled out for us a few known indoor air pollutants in their "Common Indoor Air Pollutants." They list:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/indoor.htm The barriers we face to our access are invisible. Not a single individual -- the still healthy nor the already chemically injured -- can see the chemicals (odors) emitted by such commonly used janitorial and maintenance products as pesticides, cleaners, fragrance-emitting devices, paint, new carpets, adhesives, fresh wax, etc. We need signage to indicate the hallways that will be less problematic to travel to reach areas where the air is safer in which to conduct our business. The Americans with Disabilities Act assures us a right to access. The California Building Standards Commission can do something about that right in this year. I cannot imagine spending another three long years waiting for signage that serves all the public as both common sense and common courtesy. The California Building Standards Commission can do much for the already chemically injured by adopting 1117B.5.12 Cleaner-Air Sign. We are all stakeholders when it comes to breathing.
Sincerely,
Dear Mr. Nearman and Mr. Nishimura: Re: 2001 Code Adoption Cycle as described in pages 90-91 of Monograph, 1117B.5.12 Cleaner Air Sign, Figure 11B-40
I am writing in strong support of CBSC's adoption of the Cleaner-Air signage and pictogram during the proposed change in this 2001 Code Adoption Cycle. The proposed change would include:
1117B.5.12.1 Color and size of symbol. 1117B.5.12.2 Conditions of Use. 1117B.5.12.3 Removal of symbol.
It is not a case of misery loves company, rather, it is a case of not officially recognizing that cleaner air benefits ALL people, while allowing access to the already injured. Perhaps this will become that critical first step down the path of cleaner air throughout buildings, not just along a designated safer path of travel. If CBSC doesn't take a just stand for cleaner air by adopting these proposed changes, you may rest assured that publicly-funded facilities or any facility leased or rented by the state of California, will not take that step, and therefore we who are already living with chemical injury will continue to be without vital services. And frankly, from personal experience, I know that government agencies will not take that step toward access -- be it an accessible restroom, a doorway, a flashing and buzzing emergency signal, or cleaner air -- unless it is decreed. Therefore, I beseech you to adopt the changes supporting 1117B.5.12 Cleaner-Air Sign. Sincerely, Barbara Wilkie
November 27, 2001
Dear California Building Standards Commission, I request action on California Building Code, Part 2, Chapter 11B, Section 1117B.5.12 through 1117B.5.12.3. In summary, I support adoption of this signage and pictogram to be used voluntarily by State agencies. This will help to enable access to the state's medical, social services, rehabilitation, library, and civic facilities, among others, for people whose disabilities can only be accommodated by protection from commonly encountered environmental triggers. As the president the Canaries Foundation, Inc., I speak for healthy and disabled people who demand NO Acceptable Risk and NO Junk Chemical Industry Science. (Our position statement can be found at our unfinished website www.noacceptablerisk.com) We thank you for considering this urgent issue of access for a long neglected disabled people, the hundred million Americans with chronic illnesses that are potentially affected by environmental factors, (Pew Charitable Trusts). EPA representatives have explained to me that anyone not in perfect health is of course at risk when exposed to pesticides. When my son had asthma attacks on school playing fields due to Roundup, EPA scientists explained to me that there is no testing required insuring the safety of a child with asthma. There's no warning on the label. They stated that EPA scientists agree that the secret inert ingredients of petroleum distillates are the probable cause of life threatening asthma attacks at levels less than one part per billion. You can 't smell the level of pesticides that can put us in the hospital. So when the chemical industry, says there is no scientific evidence, that's because humans aren't guinea pigs. I suggest that you request that the EPA testify. I suggest that you ask them for all the full product testing and see if the testing protects sensitive persons. The EPA Allercare report explains why Allercare, a dust mite pesticide product, was voluntarily removed from the market by the Johnson Corporation. This product was bought by many asthmatics, many became chemically intolerant and had very severe reactions. It concludes in the report on page 10: "Therefore, it appears likely that many, if not most of the moderate and major (severe) reactions to Allercare Dust Mite Carpet Powder are due to the added fragrance." Page 10. So as you can see chemicals are not safe when used as directed, and if sick disabled people use them they can have severe reactions. The fragrance industry has no safety regulations. To date the EPA doesn't have a standard to protect people WITH asthma. If they did, they would require full product testing on baby mice with asthma. At www.pesticide.org [Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides] there is a paper on secret inerts. Quite simply the chemical industries are our own national terrorists. In inerts they can hide more toxic ingredients. They don't have to include inerts in all the safety testing. Inerts make up to 99% of a product. The only conclusion that can be scientifically drawn is that there is NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SAFETY FOR ANYONE, especially sick people, because our government doesn't require full product testing. Considering Dursban, my children and I were exposed to legal levels in the late eighties and early nineties. After suffering for years with pesticide illness. A whiff of a related pesticide almost killed me. It was a product well watered in and determined by the Florida Department of Pesticide Regulation to be properly applied four days before by a licensed pesticide applicator. When the emergency squad got to my home, they couldn't find a pulse, I was almost dead. I was revived by oxygen. They told me I should be on their Pesticide Sensitive Registry. I have been disabled and home bound for the majority of my life since 1990. When my children experienced the similar symptoms after pesticide exposures, I was very concerned. I called the Dow Elanco Corporation to see when it would be safe for my sensitive 5-year-old child to enter his best friend's house that was being treated with Dursban. Dr. Robert Stone, the medical director told me to keep him out 8 days. This was years before the Dow Corporation was fined for failing to report to the EPA Dursban injuries. This was about 8 years before it was phased out of public use in June of 2000. This pesticide is recognized as causing chemical intolerances by the EPA. This information can be found on page 37 of the Recognition and Management of Pesticide Poisoning. "Follow-ups of case series have occasionally found some individuals reporting persistent headaches, blurred vision, muscle weakness, depression, memory and concentration problems, irritability, and/or development of intolerance to selected chemical odors." A free copy of this book will be sent to you if you call (703) 305 7666. Now the product is phased out of public use. So what are we to do with 3% of the population with chemical intolerances? Is there any new standard to protect this disabled group? NO. Will more and more people become disabled by this chemical? Yes. Dursban (Lorsban) is used right next to California public schools on farms. As the acceptable risk for the Dow Corporations profits, I believe you can see how this Cleaner Air signage is the first major step in to giving millions of Californians safer access. My son isn't getting an education because of his disability. He can't tolerate school, the school won't provide a reasonable education because he's too smart. We have notification, but we don't have pesticide free access. You see it's up to parents to come up with $50,000- $200,000 for lawyer and court fees to enforce the civil rights education laws. If the State of California doesn't want to provide a safe and accessible education for my son, I'm not going to risk his inheritance in a court battle to force them educate my son. He's missed four years with no hope for the remaining four years for access. He has slim chances of ever finding suitable work. Maybe this Cleaner Air signage will find it's way to some school that cares about accommodating these children and he will be able to go to school. There are about 5 other children that one Home Instructor told me she knows also can not tolerate the school environment. While the Departments of Environmental Health and Public Health, are allowed to have an accessible risk policy, I expect the Disability Access for this sensitive population not to be ignored any further. My child was the victim of National Terrorism by the Dow Corporation. No one cares if he goes to school, or is able to work. No one cares about the burden he will be on society just because of that greedy corporation that didn't fully test the full product. Our foundation is currently producing our first national public service video on Pesticides and the Glassy Winged Sharp Shooter issue, which I served as the non-governmental public health representative on the State of California GWSS Environmental Task Force. This issue of access and lack of protection for all, especially the sick should be the topic of our next video. I would love to include this Clean Air Signage information of what is adopted. The cleaner air signage is a critical beginning to right the wrong of all the suffering of so many people. It shows that California cares about its entire people. One more reason why this signage is long over due, my husband is a director at Veritas Software, the fifth largest software company in the world, their health insurance company recently sent out letters to their asthmatic patients recommending that they avoid fragrances. Tell me how a high school student does that? Imagine the petroleum distillates not only cause asthma, they may be the main reason why asthma is the largest cause of school absenteeism in America. A member of my coalition would like to see safer State Parks too, since so many disabled people sleep in their cars and flee to parks when neighborhoods become too toxic. Please for the sake of all the suffering people adopt this code today.
Sincerely,
December 12, 2001, Washington D.C. Americans National Standards Institute (ANSI)
It's quite appropriate for your clinics which are designed to be safe
places for people with chemical sensitivities to begin to display this
symbol. As yet there is no official decision on what a definition of
'cleaner air' is, and this will be discussed as the states begin to
implement codes on the use of the new signage. I'm very happy that we got
our foot in the door on this. Chemical sensitivity activists have already
managed to get this signage and a definition of it adopted by the state of
California. Susan Molloy at
The ICC (International Codes Council) serves as the Secretariat for the
ANSI (Americans National Standards Institute) Accredited Standards
Committee A117, the Committee on Architectural Features and Site Design of
Public Buildings and Residential Structures for Persons with Disabilities.
The Committee develops the ICC/ANSI A117.1 Standard on Accessible and
Useable Buildings and Facilities.
This morning, the ANSI A117 Committee on Architectural Features and its
Design of Public Buildings and Residential Structures for Persons with
Disabilities met and approved the cleaner air symbol found on the internet
as follows: If go to http://www.intlcode.org, on the right hand side is a
list of various notices. Scroll down to Meeting Notice & Proposals, click
on Proposals for the 2003 edition of A117.1, and go to chapter 7, page 28.
There you will see the "Cleaner Air" symbol which the committee adopted today.
[Or see top of this page for a reasonable facsimile.]
The verbal justification was changed to indicate that this symbol will be used
when required to indicate cleaner air. The rest of the verbage was
dropped. Sharon Toji and Mary Lamielle have worked for this for a long
time and were there with me. Susan Molloy has also worked for adoption of
this sign for cleaner air since 1983, and others have also. This signage
was adopted in California last week, with a more elaborate explanation of
what it means. Our allies at the meeting agreed that this is all the
Committee would do for us today, but all of us considered it a step forward
that we now have an official clean air symbol. This will then be sent out
for comment by states and the public, but is likely to remain an official
symbol for clean air after the comment period. So we can cite the decision
today as we work for adoption of this signage in our own states.
Sincerely,
On the right hand side is a list of various notices. Scroll down to Meeting Notice & Proposals, click on Proposals for the 2003 edition of A117.1 These are PDF files. The one you want for Cleaner Air is Chapter 7. -- barb
Lighting shall be incandescent and electrical systems and equipment shall be operable by or on behalf of the occupant or user of the room, facility, or path of travel.
Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and their controls shall be operable by or on behalf of the occupant or user.
Signage shall be posted with instructions for maintenance personnel to use only non-irritating, non-toxic products for cleaning, maintenance, disinfections, or pest management of the area. Deodorizers or Fragrance Emission Devices and Systems (FEDS) shall not be used in the designated area.
Signage shall be posted requesting occupants or users not to smoke or wear perfumes, colognes, or scented personal care products in the designated Cleaner Air room, facility, or path of travel.
Removal of Symbol. If the path of travel, room and/or facility identified by the Cleaner Air Symbol ceases to meet the minimum conditions are set forth above the Cleaner Air Symbol shall be removed and shall not be replace until the minimum conditions are again met.
Dear Mr. Lawrence Brown:
RE: 703.7.2.5 - Cleaner Air Symbol.
The Environmental Health Network (EHN) of Larkspur, California supports with some reservation the adoption of Cleaner Air Symbol 703.7.2.5. We feel that it is extremely important to officially proclaim a single, clearly understood symbol, and supporting language, indicating the Cleaner Air path of travel to the Cleaner Air room or facility in which to conduct one's business. But the language adopted in California on Nov. 28, 2001 was more inclusive. For example, California determines this sign will be an indicator for all "people who are adversely impacted by airborne chemicals or particulate(s) and/or the use of electrical fixtures and or devices."
Chemical barriers are invisible but clearly, they do exist. They adversely affect access for a wide cross-section of the public. The need for an easily recognized symbol indicating cleaner air is imperative. The proposed symbol and language will do much to grant access to those heretofore denied access because of "airborne chemicals or particulate(s) and/or the use of electrical fixtures and or devices."
EHN is pleased to see the use of safer products for cleaning and maintenance projects, as well as personal care products, included in the proposal. It is critical that the Cleaner Air Symbol be removed if the minimum conditions for use are compromised; that includes the inadvertent use of scented products. However, EHN feels the community requiring the Cleaner Air Symbol would be better served by spelling out the use of non-irritating, non-toxic products such as bait stations, sticky traps, etc., as outlined by the state of California in it's policy, 1117B5.12 (following).
EHN strongly supports the request that occupants not smoke, or wear any scented products. While the public is led to believe that fragrances are benign substances, they are not. It is imperative that people are scent-free when dealing with members of our community.
Synthetic scents are created from a large percentage of petrochemicals (70 - 100 percent, Perfumer's World). During the past two decades, synthetic scents have been formulated to waft further and last longer on the ambient air. Formulated fragrances have been added to a growing array of personal care and cleaning and maintenance products. Products with scents have been widely advertised, without any cautionary statements, adding to their popularity and to their omnipresence.
Synthetic scents contain chemicals that are known irritants and sensitizers, as well as known or suspected carcinogens, neurotoxins (adversely affecting central nervous system) and teratogens (adversely affecting embryonic and fetal development). Source: Analyses, FDA Petition, Docket Number 99P-1340.
Synthetic scents are capable of causing respiratory impairment, which in turn denies access to the people who are already living with a variety of disabilities that are exacerbated by such products.
Women who are pregnant, people with infants and young children, and people living with debilitating diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, migraines, central nervous system disorders, multiple chemical sensitivity, electromagnetic sensitivity, etc., deserve the right to know the path of safest travel for that major life activity: BREATHING. We also have a right to know of a room or a facility that has cleaner air, providing us with access equal to that enjoyed by people living without these disabling conditions.
Adopting the Cleaner Air Symbol 703.7.2.5 would do much to acknowledge this right to access of the ever-growing number of people whose breathing is adversely affected by indoor air pollution. Looking at the statistics for asthma alone, it is evident that figure has jumped from 10 million people adversely affected by asthma in 1992 to an estimated 17.3 million in 2000. In addition, that 1992 figure of 10 million people represented a jump of 30 percent over the previous decade. (Source: Twenty Most Common Chemicals Found in Thirty-One Fragrance Products by Julia Kendall, http://ehnca.org/ehn20.htm)
If building management teams provide safer paths of travel to facilities or rooms with cleaner air, accompanied by symbols identifying them, and make a strong commitment to do everything in their power to adhere to the language of the proposal, much will be accomplished to vouchsafe the right of access to people living with respiratory disabilities.
EHN, while urging you to adopt the Cleaner Air Symbol, strongly advises the adoption of California's more inclusive opening statement, the language of their number four, which describes some non-toxic pest management solutions, and the on-site log as described in number six. California's language is pasted in below for your convenience.
Thank you for your time and consideration of our concerns.
Sincerely,
Barbara Wilkie, President
Proposed: ANSI 703.7.2.5 Cleaner Air Symbol.
"The Cleaner Air Symbol shall be used to identify a path of travel, and a room or a facility when the following conditions are met:
Lighting shall be incandescent and electrical systems and equipment shall be operable by or on behalf of the occupant or user of the room, facility, or path of travel.
Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and their controls shall be operable by or on behalf of the occupant or user.
Signage shall be posted with instructions for maintenance personnel to use only non-irritating, non-toxic products for cleaning, maintenance, disinfections, or pest management of the area. Deodorizers or Fragrance Emission Devices and Systems (FEDS) shall not be used in the designated area.
Signage shall be posted requesting occupants or users not to smoke or wear perfumes, colognes, or scented personal care products in the designated Cleaner Air room, facility, or path of travel.
Removal of Symbol. If the path of travel, room and/or facility identified by the Cleaner Air Symbol ceases to meet the minimum conditions are set forth above the Cleaner Air Symbol shall be removed and shall not be replace until the minimum conditions are again met.
California's Cleaner Air Signage
1117B.5.12 Cleaner-Air Sign. „STRICTLY FOR PUBLICLY FUNDED FACILITIES OR ANY FACILITIES LEASED OR RENTED BY STATE OF CALIFORNIA. NOT CONCESSIONAIRES.¾ This symbol shall be the standard used to identify a room, facility, and paths of travel that are accessible to and usable by people who are adversely impacted by airborne chemicals or particulate(s) and/or the use of electrical fixtures and or devices. When used, the symbol shall comply with Figure 11B-40.
1117B.5.12.1 Color and size of symbol. The symbol shall be used when the following minimum conditions are met. The symbol, which shall include the text „Cleaner Air¾ as shown, shall be displayed either as a negative or positive image within a square which is a minimum of 6-inches on each side. The symbol may be shown in black and white or in color. When color is used, it shall be Federal Blue (Color No. 15090 Federal Standard 595B) on white or white on Federal Blue, there shall be at least a 70% color contrast between the background of the sign from the surface that it is mounted on. Strictly for publicly funded public facilities or any facilities leased or rented by State of California. Not concessionaires.
1117B.5.12.2 Conditions of Use. Use of the cleaner-air symbol is voluntary. The Clean Air Symbol shall be permitted for use to identify a path of travel, and a room or a facility when the following is met:
1117B.5.12.3 Removal of symbol. If the path of travel, room and/or facility identified by the Cleaner Air Sym-bol should temporarily or permanently cease to meet the minimum conditions as set forth above, the Cleaner Air Symbol shall be removed and shall not be replaced until the minimum conditions are again met. 1117B.
Lawrence Brown, CBO
Dear Mr. Lawrence Brown:
I live with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. When encountering various chemical products, such as synthetic scents in personal care and household and janitorial cleaning and maintenance products, pesticides, fertilizers, fresh wax, fresh paint, recently cleaned carpets, ... I develop disabling diseases such as asthma, migraines, and/or neurological symptoms affecting my gait.
Even though our chemical barriers are invisible they are nonetheless formidable. Therefore it is of utmost importance that "703.7.2.5 Cleaner Air Symbol" be adopted. This signage will do much to serve the ever-growing community of the already chemically injured.
While we cannot see our chemical barriers, we will be able to follow signs directing us along safer paths of travel to safer rooms in which to conduct our business. But a thought to bear in mind: This Cleaner Air signage not only offers protection for the already chemically disabled, it also offers an option to those who wish to follow the safer path.
We are all stakeholders when it comes to breathing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Wilkie
Raw Materials of Perfumery
Our modern synthetic fragrances pollute the air indoors and out. See Common Indoor Air Pollutants by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
"Frangrance." That's all you'll read on a label of a product that contains scent. You can even read "Fragrance-Free" on the label of a product that contains synthetic scent. That's OK by the FDA. However, that misleading information can cause all sorts of health problems for the already fragrance-sensitized individual, plus increases the likelihood of dealing with attitudinal problems caused by those who have yet to learn that their perceived "personal right" to use and wear scented products can adversely affect the health of untold others.
Whether you use fragrance products or not, when you see Fragrance:
Think asthma and other adverse respiratory events.
Think migraines and other headaches.
Think brain and central nervous system adverse events.
Think the formulas changed from mainly plant and animal essences to petrochemical formulations over the past couple of decades or so.
When you read:
UNEXPLAINED skyrocketing rates of asthma and other chronic diseases. Think fragrances.
Not that our modern fragrances -- found in a myriad of personal care products, as well as in household and janitorial cleaning and maintenance products -- are the only cause for these unexplained rising rates of chronic diseases. But to not look to our modern synthetic scents as a possible cause is outrageous.
The fragrance industry is self-regulated and further protected by trade secret laws. Trade secret status has done nothing to protect the industry from "rip-off" scents being manufactured -- modern analyses methods obviously have made that goal obsolete. However, trade secret status does a mighty fine job of protecting the industry from an informed consumership and astute doctors.
When you read that asthma is highest among certain demographics, think fragrances. Look to those the industry has targeted for sales. Do a little research. You'll find that African-Americans, Hispanics and infants and children (of all ethnicities) are the targets for fragrance sales.
Our elderly belong to another group of people who are suffering those "unexplained" rising rates of asthma. Just visit most skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, retirement residences. What do you find? The over-powering scent of our modern synthetic fragrances. One can find places of care that rely on honest cleaning rather than masking odors with aftificial scents, but it can take some doing. I've been there, done that!
Based on personal experience, I am not amazed that our elderly are suffering increasingly from asthma or congestive heart failure, etc. And, I surely don't think of soaring asthma rates as "unexplained." Not when I see soaring asthma rates marching in lockstep with the change in fragrance formulas, coupled with the proliferation of synthetically scented products during the same time frame.
The FDA can require it's alert message to be affixed to all fragrances released to market without substantiation of safety. Do you think a product made to be smelled (inhaled) by large numbers of people -- users and non-users -- is adequately tested when that testing is focused upon the skin reactions of only the primary user?
If not, please write to the FDA in support of Petition 99P-1340. Request that the FDA require its warning on synthetic fragrances released to market without adequate testing. That regulation is in place, the FDA has not implemented it.
That FDA alert would read: "WARNING: The safety of this product has not been determined." See FDA Authority Over Cosmetics.
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-206.html
When you read FDA Authority Over Cosmetics, take note of what all the FDA cannot do regarding the fragrance industry. Remember the FDA's mission is protecting the public health.
As Lynn Lawson informs us in her book, "Staying Well in a Toxic World: Understanding Environmental Illness, Chemical Sensitivities, Chemical Injuries, and Sick Building Syndrome," Ralph Nader had commented, "Due to some adroit lobbying years ago by the cosmetic industry, the FDA has to beg for safety, rather than demand it." (Copyright 1993; Noble Press; Page 287.)
Fragrances? Think FDA Petition . . . Write today. Write right away.
A few letters to the FDA in support of 99P-1340, which appear on EHN's site
April 2003: Health Care Without Harm
The Issue: Healthy Building
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