Avoiding Toxic Chemicals in the Home

You are wise to be concerned about the many unhealthy-and unnecessary- man-made chemicals in conventional household and personal care products, including some shampoos, soaps and lotions marketed for babies. "Babies and young children are particularly vulnerable to environmental toxins, which can disrupt the development of their rapidly growing nervous, hormonal and respiratory systems," says Philip Landrigan, M.D., a Green Guide editorial advisor and director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment (CCHE) at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Happily for our children's health, we can choose safer and more environmentally sound alternatives in a growing green marketplace. But it's also important not to worry too much: While there are many ways in which to reduce your baby's exposure to toxins, you needn't feel you have to do them all at once. It's hectic enough to be a new parent, and every little change helps.

Following are some tips and safer choices regarding some everyday household and baby items: laundry detergents, pesticides, cleaning and body care products, and "teething" toys. For more detailed, comprehensive information, including extensive product lists, in these and other categories, such as baby bottles, pressed woods and wood finishes, flooring, carpets, mattresses and other decorating products, please see Product Reports and search the Archives at www.thegreenguide.com.

Also see the Resources section below.

Remember, especially as your baby begins to crawl about and explore, that even least-toxic alternative products should be kept well out of the reach of children and behind locks, as any cleaning or laundry formulation can be toxic if swallowed or touched.

LAUNDRY PRODUCTS
You've already taken two big steps by choosing an all-natural laundry detergent and all-cotton diapers (organic, hopefully), both of which make daily contact with your baby's sensitive skin. To ensure that a laundry detergent is as natural as possible, choose products that list all ingredients and are plant- rather than petroleum-based. It is also a good idea to choose fragrance-free detergents, as fragrance residues on clothes can produce skin irritation and rashes as well as watery eyes and noses, according to Harvey Karp, M.D., author of The Happiest Baby on the Block (Crown, 2002). Allergies, Dr. Karp says, can develop through repeated early exposures to irritating substances.

Also to be kept out of the laundry room: Chlorine bleach, also called sodium hypochlorite, which gives off caustic fumes and is highly poisonous if swallowed. Choose non-chlorine bleaches that use sodium percarbonate or sodium perborate, instead. Or, give diapers a pre-wash soak in water mixed with either borax, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar.

Some best, least-toxic laundry products to look for:
Seventh Generation
Ecover
Sun & Earth
Bi-O-Kleen

FRAGRANCES
Fragrances in conventional laundry detergents and other home cleaning products, room-freshener sprays and cosmetics (including your expensive perfumes, if your baby is sensitive to them) can cause responses that "range from runny nose to wheezing and coughing" and aggravate asthma and allergies, Dr. Karp warns.

While even natural scents, particularly citrus-based ones, can cause irritation and provoke allergic reactions, synthetic fragrances pose a more insidious health threat because they contain chemicals known as phthalates, which have been found to produce cancer of the liver and birth defects, including reproductive system abnormalities, in lab animals. Phtalates are not required to be disclosed on labels and so can hide behind the catchall term "Fragrance" on ingredients lists.

When buying any kind of bodycare or household product, your safest bet is to look for "Fragrance Free" or products that specify that they use only 100% plant essential oils, which do not use phthalates.

HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS
A major source of indoor air pollutants is conventional cleaning products, loaded with fragrances and petroleum-based volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that vaporize into the air you and your infant breathe. VOCs can evaporate, or "offgass" from cleaning products, paints and finishes long after they have dried. The combined emissions of all these offgassing products in our households produce a potent indoor smog! As infants breathe proportionately more air, for their body size, than adults do, their exposure is all the greater.

Safety alert: Note that chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) should never be mixed with any product containing ammonia or quaternium compounds, as this produces toxic chlorine gas. Best to remove these toxic substances from your home altogether!

Scouring Powder
Bon Ami powder is a chlorine-free substitute for Comet or Ajax

Some Safer Cleaning Products:
The Green Guide editors' favorite nontoxic floor cleaner is one cup white distilled vinegar per gallon of hot water. For extra strength, use ½ cup borax (like vinegar, a natural disinfectant) and 2 gallons of water, plus 1/4 cup of any liquid soap.

All-Purpose Cleaners:
AFM Super Clean concentrated all-purpose cleaner/degreaser vAubrey Organics Earth Aware All-Purpose Household Cleanser
Dr. Bronners' Sal Suds
Ecover Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
Vermont Soapworks Liquid Sunshine Nontoxic Cleaner

Dish soaps:
Ecover cleansers and dish soaps
Naturally Yours Gentle Soap
Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid

Heavy-Duty Cleaners
Some of the most toxic and corrosive ingredients are found in conventional drain, oven and toilet-bowl cleaners. Here are some safer alternatives:

Earth Friendly Earth Enzymes Drain Opener
Naturally Yours Enz-Away enzyme drain opener
AFM SafeChoice Safety Clearn for toilets
Ecover Toilet Cleaner
Ecover Cream Cleaner for ovens
1st EnviroSafety's Multi-purpose Cleaner for ovens

A make-your-own, VOC-free oven cleaner: Make a paste of ½ cup washing soda (sold in supermarket laundry aisles), ½ cup baking soda and water. Apply to oven overnight, and rinse off next day wearing rubber gloves.

For Windows, use ½ cup white vinegar in 2 cups water, or buy Earth Friendly Products handy vinegar-based Window Kleener in a spray bottle.

All-Natural Disinfectants:
Earth Power Herbal Disinfectant
Seventh Generation Sanitizers

PESTICIDES
It's very important to avoid the use of synthetic pesticides, including herbicides and fungicides, in your home and garden, especially if you have a small baby or toddler or are pregnant.

Many insecticides are organophosphate neurotoxins that pose an especially grave threat to developing brains and nervous systems. Because of the danger to young children, Dursban/chlorpyrifos, a common household pesticide, has been banned for residential uses since 2001. Diazinon, another organophosphate, has been banned for use on produce that's most frequently eaten by children. Other pesticides, such as atrazine, have been shown to have hormone-disrupting properties in wildlife.

Use least toxic pest controls. Seal cracks and mend leaks that attract pests. In summer, removing sources of standing water such as old tires, rain gutters, wading pools and potted plant saucers eliminates mosquito breeding spots. Boric acid, which kills cockroaches, can be scattered at the backs of shelves and counters, so long as it's kept out of the reach of children and pets.

For more ways to control pests without synthetic chemicals, see "Common Sense Home Pest Control" at www. thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=16&sec=2 And the Washington Toxics Coalition's www.watoxics.org

To safely dispose of pesticides, call your local solid-waste agency or 800cleanup (cleanup.org) or the National Pesticide Information Center, 800-858-7378

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
Many conventional personal care products marketed for babies contain questionable ingredients. For instance, Johnson's Baby Shampoo uses quaternium -15, a preservative that contains formaldehyde, a probable human carcinogen, according to the EPA. And "fragrance," as noted above, is a catch-all term disguising the presence of problematic phthalates. To complicate matters, the labels "organic, natural and hypoallergenic" are currently unregulated with regard to personal care products and thus meaningless, with exception of certified organic essential plant oils.

Because synthetic fragrances offgass from adult products into the air your baby breathes, and we hold our babies against our skins, where products can rub off on them, we should take the precaution of using less toxic cosmetics for their sake as well as our own.

Also sidestep antibacterials, which work no better at germ-killing than regular soap, according to the National Institutes of Health, and contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant super germs that threaten our health.

Therefore, it pays to read labels. For an article explaining what ingredients to avoid and why, plus a downloadable wallet-size list of the "Dirty Dozen" ugliest ingredients in personal care products, go to www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=100+S=uglies

Below are some short lists of products for babies and adults that are free of the most problematic synthetic chemicals:

Soaps & Shampoos
In general, look for unscented pure vegetable oil soaps, such as ones based on olive or coconut oil Aubrey Organics facial bar soaps contain no synthetic chemicals.
Kiss My Face Bare Naked Bar Soap is free of fragrances and dyes
Vermont Soapworks has "supermild" soaps scented with essential oils
Aubrey Organics Soothing Blue Chamomile Shampoo
Aveda Scalp Benefits Balancing Shampoo contains botanical ingredients
Dr. Hausschka Herbal Hair Conditioner
John Masters Shampoo and Conditioner
J.R. Liggett's Old-Fashioned Bar Shampoo-plus, no bottle!
Terressentials Pure Earth Hair Wash is detergent- and petroleum-free with organic botanical oils
Tom's of Maine Natural Baby Shampoo & Body Wash is based on gentle plant oils with no synthetic chemicals

Moisturizers and Diaper Creams

Moisturizers:
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Complexion and Body Moisturizer
Burt's Bees Vitamin E Body & Bath Oil
Jason Natural Cosmetics Vitamin K Creme Plus for Skin
Kiss My Face Ultra Hydrating Moisturizer

Diaper Creams:
Plain zinc oxide lotion, inexpensive and available at pharmacies, is a least-toxic choice.
Burts Bees Diaper Ointment combines zinc oxide with pleasant plant oils

A note on baby powder: Talc, a mineral found in many face and body powders, has a structure similar to asbestos, which has been linked to lung and ovarian cancers. For adults, a healthier alternative is cornstarch. But because any fine particles, including cornstarch, can penetrate deep into lungs and cause breathing problems, it's best not to powder baby.

Sunscreens and Sunblocks

These products should not be used on babies under the age of six months, who should be kept out of the sun between the most burning hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. When they do go out, keep them in the shade and protect them with cute floppy hats and tightly-woven clothing.

For older babies, zinc oxide formulations are the least toxic currently known.

Zinc Oxide Ointment, a popular diaper lotion, will also block sun.

Mustela Bebe/Enfant uses zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which physically block sun without added chemicals.

Epicuren Discovery Zinc Oxide Sunscreen and U.V. Natural use only zinc oxide.

PAINTS
Lead, a brain-damaging heavy metal banned from use in household paint in 1978, remains an all-too-live health threat to young children's development, persisting in an estimated 38 million U.S. homes. If your home was built in 1978, and old paint is flaking or crumbling, have the chips tested for lead by an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified lab. Otherwise, your infant or toddler may suffer lead poisoning from inhaling or ingesting lead dust. Even absent a full-blown case of lead poisoning, according to pediatric psychiatrist Herbert L. Needleman, M.D. of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, even low exposures to lead can contribute to learning disabilities and antisocial behavior.

Certainly, before undertaking any renovations in your home that may disturb old paint, you should have it tested for lead. Because of its high neurotoxicity and the danger of spreading the dust over a wide area, never remove lead paint yourself; it must be removed and cleaned up by a certified lead specialist when your family is not in residence.

When it comes to new paint, look on labels for no-VOC or low-VOC formulations. By choosing these cleaner, greener paints you will avoid such toxic VOCs as formaldehyde, benzene, toluene and xylene, all known carcinogens or neurotoxins. Below are some better brands:

AFM Safecoat Zero VOC
BioShield Clay Paint (no-VOC, all natural)
EcoSpec by Benjamin Moore (low-VOC)
Kelly Moore Enviro-Coat Enamel (no-VOC)

For more information see Resources, below.

TEETHING TOYS
Soon your baby will be teething, if not already, and in search of soft things to chomp on. While cheerful, colorful plastic teething toys are a popular gift item for this age group, they can contain phthalates, those culprits found in synthetic-fragranced cleaning and personal care products. Phthalates are also used as plasticizers to soften PVC plastic, also known as vinyl. In some lab tests that replicate the action of a chewing infant, phthalates have been found to migrate from soft vinyl. As a precaution, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission has recommended that American toy manufacturers not use soft vinyl in toys for children under the age of three. Britain has banned all PVC toys, and a European Union report recommends that all EU countries do the same.

Toy companies that have gone PVC-free include Brio, Chicco, Early Start, Lego, Little Tykes, Primetime Playthings, Sassy and Tiny Love. Lamaze Infant Development is PVC-free for children under free.

RESOURCES
For more information on the above products and ingredients, as well as on bedding, including crib mattresses, furniture, paints, finishes, flooring, carpets and other items for baby, please visit www.thegreenguide.com

Updates on dangerous chemicals in cleaning and other household products and pesticides can be found at www.watoxics.org

The ultimate pesticides clearinghouse is Pesticide Action Network. See www.panna.org

For chemicals in personal care products, see www.nottoopretty.org

For info on antibiotic resistance, see www.apua.org

To find EPA-certified labs and experts, contact the National Lead Information Center, 800-424-LEAD; or see epa.gov/opptintr/lead

For details on chemicals in paints and extensive lists of brands and where to find them, see "Paint Product Report" at www.thegreenguide.com

To distinguish reliable from unregulated labels and claims, go to www.ecolabels.org

For studies on children's environmental health, go to Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Center for Children's Health and the Environment at www.childenvironment.org