Green Business Opportunity News                                                       February 2010 

Topping the News

Should Manufacturers of Cleaning Products Pay a Portion of Americas Healthcare Costs?













You'll Be Surprised at
What is Making You Sick







CBS News "White House Turns Blind Eye to EPA Chemical Testing"











NBC Nightly News: Test Confirms Toxic Chemical Build Up




 
Recent studies conducted by USC scientists at the Berkeley Institute of Medicine, resulted in a report showing American manufacturers of cleaning products are knowingly using toxic chemical compounds in their cleaning solutions.
 
Chemicals shown to cause breast cancer, diabetes, asthma, bronchitis and liver disease.
 
Known as Neurotoxins and Carcinogens, manufacturers of cleaning products use these chemicals in low doses with cleaners such as bleach, toilet bowl cleaners, glass cleaners, oven cleaners, rug cleaners, and antibacterial soaps.
 
A dose refers to the amount of toxic chemical that is allowed per ppm (part per million) by the federal governments toxic chemical regulatory laws.
 
Knowing these toxins become airborne when in use, researchers in Spain wanted to know what the chemical ppm build up would be in the human blood stream, as a result of chemical exposure though normal breathing, or through aerosol skin absorption.
 
Tests were conducted by Dr. Jan-Paul Zock of Barcelona Spain in joint studies conducted at  the Municipal Institute of Medical Research (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain, the Respiratory Epidemiology and Public Health Group, the Imperial College, London, in the United Kingdom , the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), and the National Heart and Lung Institute .

Results showed a conclusive, and alarming, 40% increase of new Adult Asthma cases within their control group of workers in the cleaning industry.
 
This raises a series of critical questions for those  American Congressional Leaders to consider, while trying to figure out ways to finance health care in America:
 
  • Could humans absorb other, more toxic chemicals, through repeated exposure?

 

  • If that chemical build up is present, and found to be above the manufacturers recommended ppm, resulting in over exposure to the consumer, does the excessive chemical intake result in a  disease known to be associated with the chemical?
    • If the answer is found to be "yes", would the manufacturers of cleaning products be held liable due to their negligence, for not conducting long term chemical exposure studies?
  • If these chemicals are tested and proven to be directly related to illness's suffered by unwary consumers, can the manufacturers of cleaning products be held accountable to the American public for long term health care related costs, as was the tobacco industry?

 

  • Finally, should Congress be petitioned to launch an immediate and extensive investigation, through independent research studies, to see if there is a link between chemicals used in cleaning products, and the build up of the chemicals in the human blood stream?
 
Congressional Leaders are urged to seize this opportunity, in a time when American health care is in dire need of repair, to potentially protect it's citizens from the real possibility of illness's related to chemical poisoning, and the associated health care costs to taxpayers.
 
If companies are found liable, American tax payers should be able to be compensated now, and in the future, for health care related costs that are a direct result of chemical poisoning by the manufacturers of cleaning products.

Continue to Page 7 Enzyme Cleaners


Care 2
Mar 09, 2010 12:01PM

http://www.care2.com/greenliving

Dave Chameides on Mar 09, 2010 10:01AM

The Final Word On Haiti (Bicycles, Batteries and Generators?Oh My)

Ok, I lied, it’s not the final word on Haiti, not that I could have that word anyway. After last week’s post, I had a few other thoughts (and a few things to add) and thought I’d shoot them out here. I only titled this post The Final Word, because after this I’ll [...]

Dave Chameides on Mar 08, 2010 03:45PM

Go See The Cove!

Editor’s Note: The Cove won the Oscar for Best Feature Documentary! Congratulations! Thanks to the passionate filmmakers who spread awareness through this documentary and to viewers who took action, including those who signed the Care2 petition. Some articles just write themselves and some I just can’t get started. Well today, I’m stuck with the latter problem. [...]

Melissa Breyer on Mar 08, 2010 02:30PM

Start to Stop the Clutter

Uncluttering is the act of restoring balance to your life by eliminating unimportant things—and doing it will free up time, energy and space for the things that really matter. You can get rid of clutter. No matter how much you have, how small your home, or how little spare time you have, you can transform chaos into order, and here's how to start.

There's no right way to unclutter and no one way that works for everyone. What's important to remember is that getting started is far more important than how you get started.

Megan, selected from Planet Green on Mar 07, 2010 10:13AM

11 Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen

By Kelly Rossiter, Planet Green The weekly grocery bill takes up a lot of the average family’s income so here are some ideas about how to trim down the bill. 1. Ditch prepared meals right now: Consumers have been led to believe that they don’t have the time to cook and it simply isn’t true. You can [...]

Ronnie Citron-Fink on Mar 07, 2010 08:08AM

Choices, Choices, Choices: How Sustainable Are Yours?

“The 800 lb. gorilla behind virtually all of the ’sustainability challenges’ is you and me, the consumer. The problem is not that we are bad, but that we have been blind to the impacts of our everyday choices which are about to change.” ~ Peter Senge, MIT Sloan School of Management As we watch the trend [...]