OT: Mercury content in common household cleaners!

[Guest guest]

Oh my gosh! Think about cleaning your tub with one of these and then

soaking your child in the tub afterwards. Not good.

A great book is that a friend came to me a few years back is, " Clean House

Clean Planet. " It talks about how to clean your house using a few benign

products (vinegar, castille soap, etc) which is cheaper and less toxic. I

add essential oils for fragrance. So my kids are inhaling essential oils

and our house is not as toxic as it would be otherwise. I do keep regular

household products on hand but I use them as little as possible.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671535951/qid=1106000707/speechvi\

lleex-20/

Tricia Morin

North Carolina

J osie wrote:

Hi Everyone:

I just read this on another rlist and thought it was important enough to

forward here.

Josie

___________________________________________________

Mercury as a contaminant in Cleaners and Degreasers

The mercury-cell process is one of the processes that may be used to

manufacture common ingredients of cleaners and degreasers: sodium hydroxide

(caustic soda), potassium hydroxide, chlorine and hydrochloric acid

(muriatic acid). When these chemicals are used to make other products, such

as bleach or soaps, mercury contamination can be introduced into the final

product. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and Medical,

Academic and Scientific Community Organization, Inc. (MASCO), through a

public-private partnership called the MWRA/MASCO Mercury Work Group,

performed laboratory analyses on some of these products.

Mercury Content of Selected Cleaners *

Product Mercury Content (ppb)

Ajax Powder 0.17

Alconox Soap 0.004 mg/kg, 0.005 mg/kg, <0.0025 mg/kg (3 tests)

Boraxo Pads

Comet Cleaner 0.15

Derma Scrub <5.0, <2.5 (2 tests)

Dove Soap 0.0027

Ivory Dishwashing Liquid 0.061

Joy Dishwashing Liquid <0.01

Lysol Direct <0.011

's Oil Soap <0.012

Soft Cide Soap (Baxter) 8.1

Soft Scrub <0.013

Sparkleen Detergent 0.0086

Sunlight Dishwashing Detergent <0.011

* Testing on cleaning products has been limited and many common cleaning

products have not been tested. The data should not be used as a substitute

for testing specific products/chemicals

Alternatives for mercury-containing cleaners and degreasers

To learn the mercury content of the cleaners and degreasers used by

hospitals, request Certificates of Analysis from all suppliers when

purchasing materials. Choose mercury-free products, if possible. If there

are no mercury-free products that meet the needs of the hospital, choose

those that are the lowest in mercury concentration.

The Certificate of Analysis should list mercury content in parts per

billion (ppb), not as a percentage. A Material Safety Data Sheet is not

equivalent to a Certificate of Analysis.

http://www.tacanow.com/containingmercury.htm

http://www.sustainablehospitals.org/HTMLSrc/IP_Merc_BMP_Cleaners.html

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

I just found this and I'm NOT happy about it. It's a list of soaps

that contain mercury; I've been using two on the list--Dove soap and

Ivory dishwashing liquid. Oh joy--NOT!!! How can they do

this???? HOW??????? Uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Mercury as a contaminant in Cleaners and

Degreasers

The mercury-cell process is one of the processes that may be used to

manufacture common ingredients of cleaners and degreasers: sodium

hydroxide (caustic soda), potassium hydroxide, chlorine and hydrochloric

acid (muriatic acid). When these chemicals are used to make other

products, such as bleach or soaps, mercury contamination can be

introduced into the final product. The Massachusetts Water Resources

Authority (MWRA) and Medical, Academic and Scientific Community

Organization, Inc. (MASCO), through a public-private partnership called

the MWRA/MASCO Mercury Work Group, performed laboratory analyses on some

of these products.

Mercury Content of Selected Cleaners *

Product

Mercury

Content (ppb)

Ajax Powder 0.17

Alconox Soap 0.004 mg/kg, 0.005 mg/kg, <0.0025 mg/kg (3 tests)

Boraxo Pads

Comet Cleaner 0.15

Derma Scrub <5.0, <2.5 (2

tests)

Dove Soap 0.0027

Ivory Dishwashing Liquid

0.061

Joy Dishwashing Liquid <0.01

Lysol Direct <0.011

's Oil Soap

<0.012

Soft Cide Soap (Baxter)

8.1

Soft Scrub <0.013

Sparkleen Detergent 0.0086

Sunlight Dishwashing Detergent <0.011

* Testing on cleaning products has been limited and many common cleaning

products have not been tested. The data should not be used as a

substitute for testing specific products/chemicals

Alternatives for mercury-containing cleaners and degreasers

To learn the mercury content of the cleaners and degreasers used by

hospitals, request Certificates of Analysis from all suppliers when

purchasing materials. Choose mercury-free products, if possible. If there

are no mercury-free products that meet the needs of the hospital, choose

those that are the lowest in mercury concentration.

The Certificate of Analysis should list mercury content in parts per

billion (ppb), not as a percentage. A Material Safety Data Sheet is not

equivalent to a Certificate of Analysis.

http://www.tacanow.com/containingmercury.htm

http://www.sustainablehospitals.org/HTMLSrc/IP_Merc_BMP_Cleaners.html