Page 6 - Healthy Living

12.Asbestos Asbestos fibers are strong, heat resistant, chemical resistant, and useful in providing heat insulation. Therefore,
their most common uses include floor and ceiling tiles, plasters, insulations, adhesives, wallboard, roofing materials, fire-
proofing materials, and cement products. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and inhalation of asbestos fibers is known to cause
respiratory problems and lung diseases such as Asbestosis, Mesothelioma, or Lung cancer. All three of these diseases experi-
ence delayed development and the diseases may not manifest for 10-40 years after the initial asbestos exposure.

13.Chromated copper arsenic (CCA) in pressure treated wood
Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is a pesticide/preservative used to prevent rotting in lumber designed for outdoor use. CCA
contains arsenic, chromium, and copper and was widely used for residential purposes in the United States from the 1970s until
EPA phased it out in 2003. CCA-treated wood can be found virtually anywhere outdoor lumber is being utilized, such as play
sets, decks, and picnic tables.
CCA-treated wood can be hazardous to human health because arsenic is a known carcinogen. Exposure to arsenic can cause
cancer of the lung, bladder, skin, kidney, prostate, and nasal passage. Arsenic exposure can also lead to nerve damage, dizzi-
ness, and numbness. Arsenic can leach to the surface of the treated wood, becoming accessible for absorption through ex-
posed hands and skin touching the wood surface and, especially in the case of children, ingestion through normal hand-to-
mouth behavior. Arsenic can also leach into the ground surrounding the location of the treated wood.

14-Formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is used widely to manufacture building materials and numerous household products. It is also
a by-product of combustion and certain other natural processes. Thus, it may be present in substantial concentrations both in-
doors and outdoors. In homes, the most significant sources of formaldehyde are likely to be pressed wood products made using
adhesives that contain urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins. Pressed wood products made for indoor use include particleboard, hard-
wood plywood paneling, and medium density fiberboard, which contains a higher resin-to-wood ratio than any other UF
pressed wood product and is generally recognized as being the highest formaldehyde-emitting pressed wood product. Formal-
dehyde is also used to add permanent-press qualities to clothing and draperies, as a component of glues and adhesives, and as
a preservative in some paints and coating products. Formaldehyde, a colorless, pungent-smelling gas, is a known respiratory
irritant and carcinogen. It can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, and difficulty in breathing
in some humans exposed at elevated levels (above 0.1 parts per million).

15.Perfluorinated compounds, including PFOA. Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a family of fluorine-containing chemicals
with unique properties to make materials stain and stick resistant. PFCs are used in wide array of consumer products and food
packaging, such as microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and cleaning and personal-care products like shampoo, dental floss,
and denture cleaners. Even Gore-Tex clothing contains PFCs. Although these chemicals have been used since the 1950s in
countless products, they’ve been subjected to little government testing.

There are many forms of PFCs, but the two most notorious are: PFOA or perfluorooctanoic acid, used to make Teflon products.
PFOA is broadly toxic. It does not break down in the environment and has a half-life in the body of more than four years. PFOA
is a likely human carcinogen; it causes liver, pancreatic, testicular, and mammary gland tumors in laboratory animals.

PFOS or perfluorooctane sulfonate, a breakdown product of chemicals, was used until 2002 in the manufacture of 3M’s Scotch-
gard treatment, used on carpet, furniture, and clothing. PFOS causes liver and thryoid cancer in rats. PFOS’s half-life is estimat-
ed at more than 8 years.

16.Phthalates. Phthalates, called “plasticizers,” are a group of industrial chemicals used to make plastics like polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) more flexible or resilient. Building materials are the largest end use for PVC. Major uses of flexible PVC in buildings in-
clude carpet backing, resilient flooring, wall coverings, acoustical ceiling surfaces, upholstery textiles, roof membranes, water-
proofing membranes, and electrical cord insulation. Phthalates are nearly everywhere in modern society, and can also be found
in toys, food packaging, hoses, raincoats, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, adhesives, detergents, hair spray, and shampoo. Cer-
tain phthalates are known or suspected endocrine disruptors, meaning they impact and alter the human hormone system.
Phthalates are also suspected to be potent reproductive toxins, especially in boys.