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Green Living Now™News, Edition Thirty-One

1. Is Your Laser Printer A Polluter?

Do you have a laser printer? If so, which brand? You may be wondering why I care. Well, it turns out that an Australian study stumbled upon the fact that certain models of laser printers generate ultra fine particles of pollution that can harm your health. When you breathe them, they can find their way deep into your lungs and cause respiratory irritation, and even heart disease and cancer. Sitting next to one of these high emitting laser printers is like hanging out in a cubicle next to a smoker puffing away on a cigarette. Cough, cough…Researchers say that even a small amount of these ultra fine particles can be related to health hazards.

Having poor ventilation in the building makes it worse. That said it's best not to have a ventilation source near the printer because it'll just distribute the particles all over the room. Also, the newer the toner cartridge and the larger the density of toner coverage, the larger the amount of particles emitted. The researchers tested other office equipment, but laser printers seemed to be the worst offenders.

The good news is that out of the 62 laser printers tested, 23 did not emit anything detectable, 4 were in the low category, 2 were in the medium category, and 13 were in the high category. The 15 to avoid are: HP Color LaserJet 4650dn, HP Color LaserJet 550dtn, HP Color LaserJet 8550N, HP LaserJet 1320N, HP LaserJet 1320n, HP LaserJet 2420dn, HP LaserJet 4200dtn, HP LaserJet 4250n (old cartridge), HP LaserJet 4250n (new cartridge), HP LaserJet 5(a) (further study needed), HP LaserJet 8000DN, HP LaserJet 8150N, Toshiba Studio 450. Mid-level emitters: HP LaserJet 1020, HP LaserJet 4200dtn. The low level emitters are: Canon IRC6800, HP LaserJet 5M, HP LaserJet 9000dn, Ricoh CL3000DN; And the Non-emitters are: HP Color LaserJet 4550DN, HP Color LaserJet 8500DN, HP LaserJet 2200DN, HP LaserJet 2300dtn, HP LaserJet 4 plus, HP LaserJet 4000N, HP LaserJet 4000TN, HP LaserJet 4050N, HP LaserJet 4050TN, HP LaserJet 4si, HP LaserJet 5(b) (further study needed), HP LaserJet 5000n, HP LaserJet 5100tn, HP LaserJet 5N, HP LaserJet 5si, HP LaserJet 5si/NX, HP LaserJet 8000DN, HP LaserJet 8150DN, Ricoh Aficio 2022, Ricoh Aficio 3045, Ricoh Aficio 3245C, Ricoh Aficio CC3000DN, and Toshiba Studio 350.

No one, not the state or federal government, is regulating indoor air pollution, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tells us is worse than outdoor air pollution. Many of us don't even know what creates indoor air pollution. Some of the most common contributors are: cigarette smoke (that's a no-brainer); formaldehyde from pressed wood, polyurethane foam, glues, adhesives, fiberglass insulation, and other building materials; chemicals from carpets and other synthetic flooring; toxic chemicals from paints, stains and wall coverings; cleaning chemicals (including air fresheners); pesticide products; biological contaminants (mold, mildew, viruses, bacteria, animal dander, dust mites, insects and rodents); personal care products (perfumes, hair care products, hand/body lotions, etc.); and office equipment (printers, copiers, computers, etc.)

Here's what the EPA says about health affects of indoor air pollution: "A number of well-identified illnesses, such as Legionnaire's disease, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, have been directly traced to specific building problems. These are called building related illnesses. Most of these diseases can be treated; nevertheless, some pose serious health risks and may require prolonged recovery times after leaving the building.
Sometimes, however, building occupants experience symptoms that do not fit the pattern of any particular illness and are difficult to trace to any specific source. People may complain of one or more of the following symptoms: dry or burning mucous membranes in the nose, eyes, and throat; sneezing; stuffy or runny nose; fatigue or lethargy; headache; dizziness; nausea; irritability and forgetfulness. These symptoms may or may not be related to poor indoor air quality. Poor lighting, noise, vibration, thermal discomfort, and psychological stress may also cause, or contribute to, these symptoms. There is not single manner in which these health problems appear. The complaints may be localized in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout the building. When most of the complainants report relief of these symptoms soon after leaving the building, the phenomenon has been labeled sick building syndrome. In the opinion of some World Health Organization experts, up to 30 percent of new or remodeled buildings worldwide may be the subject of excessive complaints related to indoor air quality."

So, what's a concerned person to do?

Thankfully, many of the sources of pollution are ones we can control. The easiest things to change (provided people are willing) are the cleaning products and personal care products that you're using.

· One really important step is to stop using all synthetic air fresheners (including the plug in and spray varieties). Rather than cleaning the air, they simply mask the smells. Even worse, some coat your nasal passageways with an oily substance that inhibits your ability to smell the offending odors.

· Another thing to pay attention to is the dishwasher detergent you are using. Why? Because you know that steam that comes out of the machine on the dry cycle? Well, accompanying that steam is usually chlorine bleach and a host of other nasty chemicals that you end up breathing. This is particularly harmful for people with asthma and heart conditions. I use Ecover's dish tablets.

· And, whatever you are using for laundry detergent and fabric softener is with you 24 hours per day. It's on your clothes and your bed sheets and towels too. Switch to a safer choice, such as Aubrey Organics Earth Aware soap. That's what I use. I also use an oxygen based non-chlorine bleach product to boost the cleaning power of the soap.

· If you are in an office, especially if someone is chemically sensitive, you may want to create a "no fragrance" policy. Essentially that means people should avoid wearing perfume, cologne, after shave and aromatic hair care and body care products. That might also include laundry detergents and fabric softeners, as many of them can be easily detected standing next to the person wearing them. Even if you aren't chemically sensitive, these synthetic fragranced products aren't good for you to breathe.

What else can you do to clean up your indoor air?

There are many things, but here are a few more:

· Stop using pesticides (the only kind I use are ant traps where the bait is fully enclosed, so none of my pets can get to it (also important for curious small children). Remember pesticides are designed to kill living things.

· Use only natural cleaning products, soap based, such as Bon Ami, distilled white vinegar, Aubrey Organics Liquid Sparkle and Earth Aware, Vermont Soap Organic castile soaps, including Liquid Sunshine.

· Switch to truly organic and natural personal care and skin care products. Aubrey Organics has a bunch of excellent shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, and baby products. Benedetta is my favorite organic skin care line.

· Choose No VOC paints, such as ICI brand (that's the one I use and it's available in a nearby paint store).

· When building a new home or renovating an existing home, select solid wood furniture, including cabinets (no formaldehyde outgassing. Antiques are a good choice too as they've already outgassed from any stains, paints, and waxes, etc.) Also, choose natural flooring material instead of carpet and vinyl. Solid wood, ceramic tiles, marmoleum, bamboo, cork, are all excellent choices. We replaced our vinyl kitchen and bathroom floors with ceramic tile, and are finishing our basement using cork.)

· Choose water-based adhesives instead of solvent based.

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/occupgd.html#factors%20that%20contribute%20to%20indoor%20air%20quality

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/08/01/MNFBRAN0J2.DTL&type=printable

2. Purge The Pesticides, Please.

Okay, for those of you who still aren't convinced that spending the extra money to buy certified organic food is worth it, keep reading. A new peer-reviewed study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives, found that children who ate organic fruits, vegetables and juices had no signs of the toxic pesticides in the urine and saliva. Children who did eat conventional fruits, veggies and juices had biological markers of organophosphates (malathion and chlorpyrifos). What was particularly interesting about this study was that as soon as the children in the study switched over to organic produce (often within 8 to 36 hours) the pesticides were no longer detected. The author of the study, Chensheng Lu (a professor at Emory University's School of Public Health) said that there wasn't any certainty that the pesticides measured in his study would cause negative health affects in the children. He did point out that a recent animal study showed persistent cognitive development impairment in rats after chronic dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos. Not a good sign. It seems like common sense that eating pesticides, which are designed to kill living organisms, aren't going to improve one's health. We're exposed to so many chemicals in our day-to-day life, some we can control, and others we can't. Doesn't it make sense to get rid of the ones we have control over? This is especially important when we are talking about children. Why?

Children have lower levels of detoxifying enzymes. This means that their bodies cannot process out certain toxic chemicals as easily as adult bodies can. Additionally, children's bodies are continually growing and developing. This makes children more vulnerable to the ill effects of toxic chemicals, like pesticides. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, "More children with brain tumors and children with other cancers were found to have had exposure to insecticides compared to children without cancer or tumors." Not surprisingly, links have been found between childhood cancer and exposure to flea collars on pets and home pesticide 'bombs'. Additionally, bladder cancer in dogs is associated with a lifetime exposure to flea and tick dips. If your children are anything like my daughter when she was little, they often play on the ground, or carpets, where pesticides accumulate. And who usually spends the most time playing with (hugging, dressing up, etc.) the family pets? Our children do.

In 2004, The Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) released a review of research on the health effects of pesticides. Consistent links between pesticides and a variety of cancers, neurological diseases, and reproductive disorders, and other health effects were found. Children are particularly susceptible due to their rapid growth, small body size, and behavior patterns (playing on the floor, lawn, putting things in their mouths frequently, ingesting larger amounts of food and beverages relative to their body weight.).

And, from Canada, we see this, "Doctors at a weekend conference in Winnipeg say there is a disturbing trend when it comes to the rising rate of certain cancers. They say pesticides are to blame for the increase - especially in childhood cancers. Steve Rauh chairs the environment committee for the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg. He says 70 per cent of the toxins we are exposed to come from the foods we eat. He wants to see policy changes that would encourage organic farming. "Our department of agriculture does not provide the kind of support to organic farming that it ought to be providing," he says. The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment has taken a strong position against municipalities using pesticides."
What to do?

Though I wholeheartedly recommend buying, growing and eating organic food, if you're worried that buying organic food will break your bank, here's a list of produce that have the highest and lowest pesticide contamination. You can start by making sure that when you buy foods from the "highest levels of pesticides" list that they're organic. This list was compiled in a study done by the Environmental Working Group. Also, the foods that often contain the most chemical residues are meat and dairy products, so go organic with those first.

Find out more info about the study and pesticide levels for each food by going to http://www.ewg.org.

HIGHEST PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION:

1 (worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apples 96
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 83
7 Cherries 75
8 Lettuce 69
9 Grapes - Imported 68
10 Pears 65

LOWEST PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION:

10. Cabbage 17
9. Bananas 16
8. Kiwi 14
7. Asparagus 11
6. Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
5. Mango 9
4. Pineapples 7
3. Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
2. Avocado 1
1. (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)

(http://www.ocfp.on.ca/local/files/Communications/Current%20Issues/Pesticides/Summary%20of%20Remarks.pdf)

http://www.ewg.org

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