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Is Your Home Making You Or Your Family Sick?

Is Your Home Making You Or Your Family Sick?

• Question: What do carpets, paint, household cleaners and building materials have in common?
• Answer: All can contain toxic compounds that could be making you and your family sick.

According to recent CSIRO research, Australia faces a significant air quality challenge, but it is largely a result of indoor rather than outdoor pollutants. The CSIRO estimates that occupants of new homes in particular may be exposed to many times the maximum allowable limits of some indoor air pollutants.

"For many of us, our main exposure to air pollutants will be when we are indoors, such as at home, in the workplace or in entertainment venues," says Dr Pearman, Chief of CSIRO Atmospheric Research.

Parents today are very concerned with their family’s health, conscious of making the best choices wherever possible. However, what many of them overlook is the indoor environment they create when renovating or building a new home, and how that could affect their own and their children’s health.

With recent studies showing that in Australia the incidence of asthma and allergies, especially in children, is on the rise, many leading authorities believe there is a definite connection between the environments in which we live and work and the state of our health, in particular the growing cases of respiratory problems.

Typical health effects of poor indoor air quality include headache, fatigue, coughing, sneezing, eye, nose and throat irritations and dizziness. Pollutants in your home interior can include:

•    VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) which are chemicals released into the air from products and materials such as paints and varnishes, home furnishings and carpets.
•    Formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen and is released into the air from board products such as MDF boards and particle boards used to manufacture kitchen cabinets and furniture.
•    Carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide given off from unflued gas heaters.

The majority of these chemicals have not been thoroughly tested and their long-term, cumulative impact on human health is unknown.
After occupying a newly built or renovated home many people are exposed to high levels of indoor pollutants. Statistically the time that people spend indoors can range from 60% of the time for 15-24 year olds to nearly 90% for those over 65. So it is vital that when people are indoors they are not exposing themselves to an unhealthy environment.

This is where green interiors come in. Creating a green interior is easier than you think. It is about making smarter choices with the products and materials you use when you build or renovate. By choosing products and materials from manufacturers that have reduced or eliminated harmful substances from the production processes, you can substantially improve the quality of the indoor air in your home.

It is time for a radical rethink about the way we create the interiors of our homes. Interior design must incorporate healthy green principles and create spaces that are healthy for you to live in, as well as being good for the environment.

Top 5 Tips when renovating or building your home:

* Use low or zero VOC paints and floor finishes.
* Insist upon low formaldehyde emission materials for your kitchen cabinets.
* When installing new carpet, insist on natural jute underlay, natural fibres and have the carpet aired prior to installation.
* Avoid the use of furnishing and upholstery fabrics containing fire retardants and fabric protectants.
* When designing your home, ensure that it can be adequately ventilated to improve your indoor air quality.

Sharon Hamilton – Interior Design Director

PO Box 260
Avalon NSW 2107
Ph: 02 9973 2756
www.yourabode.com.au

The 'Percs' In This Business May Be Deadly

The 'Percs' In This Business May Be Deadly

Is dry cleaning a silent killer in our community?

Clinical studies reveal that perchloroethylene (‘perc’), the most commonly used chemical in the dry cleaning process, is believed to cause cancer, kidney disease, induce asthmatic attacks and allergic reactions.

The Asthma Foundation of Victoria is sufficiently concerned to throw its sizeable weight behind a new dry cleaning company that utilises the latest non-toxic, chemical free Wet Cleaning technology.

More than 90% of dry cleaners in Australia regularly use ‘perc’ as their principal cleaning agent.

Millions of Australians are potentially at risk every time their clothing or bed linen is dry cleaned. In Victoria alone, more than 650,000 asthmatics face an uncertain prognosis when they come into contact with items that have been cleaned with ‘perc’ or other approved toxic chemicals.

Young children, the elderly and others in at-risk categories are considered to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of these chemicals.

Robin Ould, the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, said his organisation had taken the unusual step of publicly endorsing Melbourne-based dry cleaner, Daisy H2O Dry Cleaning.

The Foundation’s decision was made after an exhaustive investigation into the techniques pioneered by the company and its managing director, Paul Littmann.

Mr Ould is also calling for both State and Federal Governments to introduce legislation to restrict or eliminate the use of perchlorethylene and other toxic fluids in the dry cleaning industry. He says Australia is one of only a handful of countries without this type of legislation.

"Many people with asthma have difficulty with traditional dry cleaning which can trigger asthma symptoms," Mr Ould said.

"We want governments to be proactive, and to recognise the hazards that Australians face. The irony of people getting sick because of their desire to be hygienic should not be lost on our politicians or community educators."

Mr Littmann said Daisy HO Dry Cleaning developed the non-toxic, chemical free Wet Cleaning technology in conjunction with an Adelaide based equipment importer. The technology was based on similar technology employed in the United States and Europe.

He says his company is the only “stand alone” garment cleaning plant in Australia that exclusively utilises a total environmentally friendly process. Currently there are two stores in Melbourne (Brighton and Port Melbourne) and an agency in Prahran.

"The largest user of ‘perc’ in Australia is the dry cleaning industry," Mr Littmann said. "It is a silent killer because people clean their clothes in the belief that the process is hygienic and family-friendly."

"The challenge is not only for governments to legislate but for our industry’s peak body to call for change and actively work to implement it."

Mr Littmann says his 20 year involvement in the advertising industry taught him that truth in advertising is the highest ideal.

"There is a price to pay when advertisers exploit the public interest, and the standard of care should be equally demanding for dry cleaners. Some could argue that the standards should be higher because of the intimate nature of the dry cleaned product. "

Mr Littmann believes that most Australians are ignorant of the medical consequences of exposure to ‘perc’ and other toxic chemicals. According to the World Health Organisation and the US-based National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, short-term exposure can cause depression of the central nervous system, impaired memory, headaches and dizziness, noise and throat irritation, and dermatitis. Long-term exposure can cause damage to the liver and kidneys and leukaemia.

In 2004 Daisy H2O Dry Cleaning received a special commendation from WorkSafe Victoria in the Best Risk Solution category.

The Asthma Foundation of Victoria receives a financial benefit from Daisy HO Dry Cleaning which is used to assist with its education and training programs.

Further information available from:

Paul Littmann, MD, Daisy HO Dry Cleaning www.daisy.net.au