Chemical Hazards and Human Health

Today I am going to discuss two types of chemicals that are in our regular household products. These two chemicals are in most of our household products and pose a threat to our health. One of them is called Triclosan. Triclosan is found in our soaps, dental care products, cosmetics, deodorant, and other products. This chemical is added to products to reduce bacteria or the spreading of bacteria. It was first used in hospital settings and now is used in most products we use. According to the FDA website, Triclosan alters hormones. There were studies that were made and it concluded it did affected hormones. Also, another studied that was made concluded that Triclosan may be bacterial resistant to antibiotics. Triclosan is also considered a pesticide. In addition, the Mercola website reports that some studies have been made with animals and they have seen health risks, but they have not been tested on humans because it is not allowed. This means they do see risks in animals and think it will have risks also in humans. The FDA says the same thing and has ordered companies to prove that their products do not harm humans. The only thing that they are certain due to studies is that humans have high levels of this chemical. Also, in the Mercola website I found that a Toxicological study revealed that Triclosan does affect estrogen. Furthermore, I went into my bathroom and looked at the ingredients in my antibacterial soap Dial and it contained Triclosan. There are ways to avoid using these products. According to the Mercola website, we can avoid buying soaps with Triclosan by simply just buying the regular soaps. We should not buy the antibacterial soaps. You could also make your own soap at home the only problem is that you may not always find the ingredients you need. It depends on the type of soap you want to make. The ingredients you might need probably won’t be found in your pantry. If you are trying to make your own soap you will need to buy herbs and other ingredients. If you make your own soap it can take up to ten minutes or more. You can save also money on making your own soap, but once again it depends on the ingredients you are using. I looked up how much regular soaps cost at Wal-Mart. Some soaps cost two dollars or three dollars. When I looked how much antibacterial soaps cost at Wal-Mart, I found out they cost more. Antibacterial soaps are about three to four dollars more than regular soaps. The other chemical that is found in our household products is Alkyphenols. Alkyphenols are found in hair products, cleaning products, and others. It is considered an endocrine disruptor. The household product that has more Alkyphenols is found on laundry detergents. I checked my Downey laundry detergent at home and it did not have Alkyphenols, but in the internet I found that Downey does contain Alkyphenols. According to the O Ecotextiles website, Alkyphenols “have been shown to be toxic to aquatic organisms and an endocrine disruptor in higher animals, and therefore they pose a risk to humans.” It also mimics estrogen and the O Ecotextiles website also says, “It is harmful to normal hormone secretion and can reduce sperm count in men.” Also, according to the Berkley Green website, Alkyphenols were tested and concluded that they can cause breast cancer cells. There are ways to avoid using detergents with Alkyphenols. There are detergents that are considered green. One of them is called Planet Ultra Liquid Laundry Detergent. The prices on these detergents range from seven to thirteen dollars. The regular detergents that we are used to using cost about twenty dollars or more. In my opinion it might be better to switch to the healthy detergents. There are also ways to make your own detergent at home to avoid all the chemicals companies put in our detergent. One example I found, is that you can make your own detergent using one bar of regular soap, borax, and washing soda. You can find most of these ingredients in your house. It is easy to make and people have stated it saves them money. It is an option to avoid chemicals. Works Cited http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm205999.htm http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/12/16/antibacterial-soaps-may-pose-health-risk-fda-says/http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/29/triclosan-in- personal-care-products.aspxhttp://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/prove-those-antibacterial-soaps-are-better-safe-fda-tells-makers-f2D11744235 http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/homemade-soaps-zmaz98jjzhow.aspx http://wellnessmama.com/462/how-to-make-nautral-homemade-laundry-detergent/ http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/radiation-chemicals-and-breast-cancer/alkylphenols.html https://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/tag/alkylphenol-ethoxylates/ http://www.berkleygreen.com/toxipedia/