We’re all doing the best we can, trying to make sensible choices about
what’s best for ourselves, our families, and the lovely planet we call home.
But when we’re bombarded
with clever marketing alongside real and imaginary research discoveries, sometimes even reading the fine print isn’t
enough.
Take all the new antibacterial soaps, wipes, washes, toothpastes, cleansers and clothing now flooding
the marketplace.
Clean is good, right? So, shouldn’t cleaning away bacteria be even better and healthier?
In a word, No.
No fine print reveals that antibacterial products can kill a functioning septic
system, requiring a $20,000 replacement.
No product directions explain that antibiotics-- in everything from
prescription medicine to animal feed –- have spawned new, drug-resistant “super bugs.” Now, hospitals, hyper-vigilant
about cleanliness, can breed serious new infections like MRSA.
Clean should be the goal, not “germ-free.”
Exposure to germs helps strengthen our immune systems.
“10 Dangerous Household Products You Should Never Use Again,” not only lists dangerous stuff from non-stick cookware to household cleaning products, but offers alternatives as
well. Insecticides
and herbicides, number 4 on their list, should never be kept where a curious child might find them.
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These products already make their way into our homes on shoes and clothing.
Designed to kill plants and bugs, most have ingredients that are harmful to people, too.
How harmful? New
information on the dangers of herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers keeps appearing.
For example,
the nation’s most widely used herbicide, Roundup, has a reputation for being relatively benign, although its active
ingredients damage the reproductive systems of laboratory mice, according to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. According
to the EPA, about 100 million pounds are applied to farms, lawns, parks -- including places like the North Peninsula’s
Olympic Discovery Trail.
“We use it to clear off the vegetation six inches from the trail,”
said Chuck Preble, vice-president of the Olympic Discovery Trail Coalition. Clallam County volunteers spray herbicides as
part of trail maintenance; Roundup is often used in preparing new trail sections, he explained.
“Although
we could use herbicides, no one has,“said Jeff Selby, Jefferson County trail coordinator.
In
a new study, scientists found that Roundup’s inert ingredients amplified the toxic effect on human cells—even
at concentrations more diluted than what’s used on farms and lawns.
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An inert ingredient, polyethoxylated tallowamine, or POEA, was more deadly
to human embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells than the herbicide itself, according to Chemical Research in Toxicology.
Researchers called these results “astonishing.”
In the Bay Area, the EPA may examine some 74 pesticides that endanger wildlife including Malathion, an insecticide
suspected of harming the delta smelt and the California tiger salamander, and sodium nitrate, a hazard to the San Joaquin
kit fox, the Alameda whipsnake and San Francisco garter snake, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In waterways,
Permethrin, a common insecticide used in homes and croplands, can hurt crustaceans and insects at the base of the ocean’s
food chain. Chlorpyrifos, banned in households but available to apple and grape growers, threatens many species.
One way to sidestep most of these hazards: Don’t have anything in your home that your grandparents wouldn’t
have had in theirs.
Another: Take a lesson from our Canadian neighbors. In 2001, Halifax banned using lawn
and garden chemicals near schools, day care centers, parks, playgrounds,
senior citizens' residences, universities,
churches or hospitals; other cities and provinces are following.
The David Suzuki Foundation, which sees
these chemicals in the water air and soil as a human health issue, is tracking and encouraging Canada’s progress.
No is a powerful answer.
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