Young children especially vulnerable
Koren says young children are especially vulnerable, partly because of exposure. Everything goes in their mouths and they virtually live on the floor. And young kids are more sensitive because they are still developing the basic body systems: the brain, internal organs, respiratory and immune systems are not fully developed until adolescence.
Koren and his researcher are studying the babies of women who were exposed to chemical solvents in the workplace. They’re finding vision problems.
“Vision is one of the functions of the human brain, so it means that these chemicals find themselves through the mum, through the umbilical cord, into the baby, into the developing brain, and damaging functions there, and the baby is born already with a problem,” Koren said.
Manufacturers are obliged to release toxicology data in the workplace. But when these same chemicals are used in the home, the exposure is lower. But no one know what affect they may have — and there’s no obligation to inform us.
Dr. Virginia Salares, indoor air quality expert. |
In Canada, respiratory illness is now the leading cause of admission to hospital for children. Childhood asthma has jumped by 400 per cent. After injuries, cancer is now the leading cause of death in children between the ages of five and nine.
Dr. Virginia Salares specialized in indoor air quality. We asked her what’s in some of the products being marketed to young families. One product we looked at — Lysol Anti-bacterial Action Spray — lists ethanol 79 per cent. Not just any ethanol, Salares, says. It’s denatured ethanol.
Salares has put together a book for us, full of data sheets which lists the hazards of specific chemicals in the workplace. Here’s what she discovered about denatured ethanol:
“May cause irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes, may cause central nervous system depression if inhaled or ingested.”
There’s also alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride — a pesticide.
The ads suggest you can spray this every day, where kids are playing. Salares says that’s something parents should think about.
“Do they want to spray the air people are breathing? Or that kids with toys or surfaces that children are touching, do they want them sprayed?”
Clorox Disinfecting Wipes lists two ingredients: dimethyl benzyl ammonia chloride .145 per cent and dimethyl ethyl benzyl ammonia chloride. Again, more pesticides.
