TOXIC FRAGRANCE REFORM

[Guest guest]

FROM: DONNA M. REILLY (SUFFOLK COUNTY)

Resident " AT RISK " from these toxic cocktails on a daily basis......

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EcoAlert from American P.I.E.

Title: Nonsense Scents

Date: 23 January, 2002

Who would think that fragrances and perfumes...and thousands of other

personal care products...represent an environmental health hazard? Flowers

and herbs have pleasured the olfactory senses for thousands of years. Today,

however, sweet smelling fragrances are typically made from a caldron of

synthetic compounds - usually derived from petroleum - including known

toxins capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system

disorders and allergic reactions. Personal care might more accurately be

called " chemical care " . Few products have been tested for safety, products

need not carry warning labels, and health risks to the people exposed are

typically dismissed.

What can't be dismissed, however, are the unsettling facts. There are

upwards to 5000 chemical materials used in fragrances; less that 1500 have

been safety tested by industry. According to the National Institute of

Occupational Safety and Health, 884 toxic substances used in the fragrance

industry are capable of causing breathing difficulty, allergic reactions and

multiple chemical sensitivities. Scents can also be particularly troubling

for asthma sufferers; toulene (methyl benzene), known to trigger asthma

attacks, was detected in fragrance samples collected by the EPA in 1991.

Toulene, listed by the Household Hazardous Waste Project (Springfield, MO)

as a hazardous waste, is volatile, flammable...and attacks the central

nervous system, eyes, blood, liver, kidneys, and skin. Methylene chloride,

listed by the EPA as being among the twenty most common chemicals found in

thirty-one tested fragrance products (also found in septic tank cleaners and

pesticides!), is a known animal carcinogen and a suspected human carcinogen.

Chemical care fragrance products impact users for sure. Like second-hand

smoke, moreover, fragrances also affect others in everyday indoor

environments. According to the latest information from the National

Institute of Health, 26.3 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed

with asthma, and up to 72% of asthmatics report their asthma is triggered by

fragrances. Air fresheners, too, can cause adverse health reactions.

Ironically, according to the Household Hazardous Waste Project, air

fresheners do not freshen the air at all. Instead, they mask one odor with

another, coat our nasal passages with an undetectable oil film, or diminish

your sense of smell with a nerve-deadening agent.

Thoughtful consumers will learn to read labels, to boycott products with

harmful ingredients, to choose products with few ingredients, to petition

the FDA for safe products (for example,

<A HREF= " http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/FDApetition/bkgrinfo.htm " >

http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/FDApetition/bkgrinfo.htm</A>), and to

encourage family and friends to do the same. We all live downwind, so

challenge the odors coming from the chemical industry. Help put an end to

nonsense scents.

Act today on this EcoAlert and thank you for your environmental

responsibility.

American P.I.E.

Public Information on the Environment

P.O. Box 676

Northfield, MN 55057-0676

Telephone: 1-800-320-APIE(2743)

Fax: 507-645-5724

E-mail: <A HREF= " mailto:Info@... " >Info@...</A>