Many different chemicals, some of them toxic, are used in the manufacture of textiles. Some are harmful to us humans or to our environment, while others are currently not considered hazardous. Some of the chemicals used in the manufacture and finishing of textiles may remain in the final textile product when the products reach the consumer. It is difficult to know exactly which chemicals are present in the textiles since the supply chains are long, complex and global. When going down the supply chain, the amount of information often decreases. Different companies, or even countries, may have different requirements about providing information, and it is problematic, in particular for small importing companies, to ensure that their demands are fulfilled by suppliers and sub-contractors. So what kind of toxins and chemicals are used in the textile-making process? Fabric dyeing and washing need a lot of chemicals, but the most dangerous ones are the chemicals used in finishing. Upholstery fabrics and for example men’s shirts use very advanced finishing coatings, everything from fire proofings to wrinkle-resisting or stain-deterring finishings. Formaldehyde is often used in wool production processes and in finishings to provide stain resistance and wrinkle resistance. Other toxic chemicals in finishes are, for example, PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), which are used in flame resistance, and optical brighteners.
So how dangerous are these substances? Well, formaldehyde is linked to allergies, skin irritation, headaches and eye and nose irritation. Optical brighteners can cause similar reactions in humans, but also harm fish and plants through accumulation in the water purification systems. How to avoid these harmful toxins then? There is no simple answer to that question. In Finland, the most simple thing to do is to use domestic textiles as much as possible. The regulation of toxins in Finland is strict, and harmful finishing chemicals are prohibited. Of course, for example cotton is not grown in Finland, but we have good alternatives. Linen is a fabric material that is cultivated and produced here in Finland. Other good choices are organic cotton, silk and wool. And remember to look for the Oeko-Tex Standard! This product certification shows that the use of toxins in everything from the raw materials to the finished clothes has been strictly limited. People all over the world are highly concerned about air quality. Fewer people, though, have ever thought about indoor air. The majority are quite sure that air outside is more polluted than inside their houses. However, it is vice versa. I would like to present the major sources of indoor air pollution and give some tips which can help to improve the situation. Household products First of all, I would like to mention personal care and household cleaning products which we actually use in our everyday life. Our morning starts in the bathroom and we use shampoo, soap, toothpaste and skin scrubs. Then we, mostly girls, use different types of cremes and, finally, we do our make-up and hair, again using plenty of beauty products. During the day, we wash dishes several times using washing detergent. We also do our laundry, which includes use of powder and softener, for example. All these products are made of chemicals and emit a huge amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which can lead to cancer, asthma attacks, skin and eye irritation and so on. So, try to choose personal care and household products with low concentrations of VOCs. Here is the link which I, personally, use to choose all the detergents, cleaners and laundry products. (http://www.ewg.org) VOC'sCarpeting is another issue which is worth discussing. Materials which carpets are made of and the process of producing carpets involve plenty of chemicals which can affect our health as soon as they are released into the air. The component called styrene, which is used in latex for carpet base, is one of the most dangerous VOC sources in carpets. Along with chemicals, bacteria, dust, mold and mildew can be found in carpets. All together, these can cause skin irritation, headaches, fatigue, eye and nose irritation and difficulties in breathing. That is why, when choosing a carpet, I would strongly recommend you to buy Green Label products, which have a low level of VOCs. It is also quite a good idea to let your new carpet air out before laying it indoors, and keep the room with a new carpet well ventilated. You should also look for a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter (high-efficiency particulate air filter) that will help you to keep the carpet clean and thus improve the indoor air quality. Nonstick cookware is also dangerous for our health. It emits a chemical (perfluoro-octanoic acid) into the air which is linked with cancer, thyroid decease, reduced fertility and elevated cholesterol. This issue is now being studied by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the USA, as this chemical has been found in people’s blood samples. RadonAnother danger is radon gas, which comes from the ground and water. It actually comes from a natural decay of uranium, which is found in almost all soil types. Radioactive particles of radon can get inside your lungs and cause lung cancer. In order to protect yourself from radon gas penetration inside your home, you should prevent any cracks or holes in your house’s foundations. Mold Our daily routine includes cooking and washing, which leads to increase of water vapors in the air. A high level of moisture can result in mold growth. So, those who have some kind of allergies can have an asthma attack or start coughing. In view of the fact that everything inside our houses pollutes the air we breathe, it is essential that we take steps to improve air quality. Proper ventilation is the key way to keep your indoor air clean and safe to breathe. Kristina Shunova Resources: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Fluorinated Telomers. 2014. EPA. Read 10.10.2014. http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pfoa/ Radon.Health risks. 2014. EPA. Read 10.10.2014. http://www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisks.html Volatile Organic Compounds. 2014. EPA. Read 10.10.2014. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html Much research has been done to figure out how the natural environment affects us, especially our health. A large amount of data has been collected and some things have been proven by different experiments but still much is under investigation. Here are some findings about the impact of a natural environment on our physical and mental health, what kind of landscape brings out those effects and how much time it takes to get the benefits. Improvements to physical health The forest environment with its scents, sounds and appearance can lower the blood pressure and stress level. A decreased stress level itself can protect people from stress-based diseases but also promote the functioning of the human immune system, which contributes to reducing the risks of illnesses caused by viruses and bacteria, or even cancer. Getting outdoors can also reduce cardiovascular diseases and mortality rate, but also help people who suffer, for example, from diabetes. Maintenance of mental health Nature seems to have even greater effects on mental health than physical. It helps to maintain good feelings and strengthen them, but also to make negative thoughts more positive. That could mean, for example, reducing aggression and depression, helping people recover from stress and mental exhaustion. And what is important (especially for us students) nature could promote memory and attentiveness, raise energy levels and clarify thinking. What kind of environment is the best? According to some experiments, even viewing a picture of natural scenery or nature through a window had some beneficial effects. Also listening to recorded sounds of nature or watching a video could make change for the better. Still, the most efficient environment seemed to be a forest with good natural diversity. Even just sitting there could improve mood. But exercising in green surroundings was found to magnify the positive health effects of exercising and also seemed to make it easier to commit to exercising and to keep to an exercise routine. How much time is needed to get the benefits? There is no need to wander around in the woods for many hours to start getting the positive effects. Even ten minutes in the natural world could lower your blood pressure, and that doubled could lighten your mood. An hour raises attentiveness and two hours could improve the functioning of the immune system. The longer one spends in a natural environment, the longer-lasting the effects are likely to be. A three-day walking trip is able to boost the immune system, lower blood pressure and sugar levels for days. Anna-Maija Mattila References: http://issuu.com/hanneleh/docs/terveytt___luonnosta_kirja?e=10827272/6754131 Picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Forest#mediaviewer/File:Grib_skov.jpg We have to eat – there’s no way around it. And unless you’re growing potatoes in your backyard and keeping cows in your toolshed, cultivating your food is likely a huge burden on the environment. Conscientious consumers wish to know how to minimize their own impact, and it is said that a rather effective way of doing this is cutting back eating meat. How exactly does meat production compare to vegetable cultivation, and would the planet be better off if we all became celery-munchers and carrot-chewers? The answer is more complicated than one might suspect. This is partly because there are numerous ways of assessing the impact that a certain type of food has on the environment, including the water it consumes, the land it requires or the waste it produces. But there is no dearth of research exploring this very issue, from all possible angles. Environmental Working Group (EWG) did a lifecycle assessment of 20 different types of meat and vegetable proteins on the basis of how much CO2 the production of each emits. According to their findings, beef, lamb, pork and salmon are the worst offenders, but cheese is also right up there, meaning that dairy-consuming vegetarians are not entirely absolved. But the greenhouse gases emitted depend heavily on the fertilizers used, the differences in soil conditions, and the extent to which practices such as cover cropping and manure managements are implemented. One lettuce farm may be much less environmentally friendly than a neighboring one, depending on the farming methods. Full lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of various food products (based on data from EWG)
An article in The Star suggests that instead of comparing meat with plants in terms of the greenhouse gases each generates, or the feed or fertilizer that goes into its production, the comparison should be done in terms of the calories that each item provides. For example, a kilogram of beef contains 2280 calories, whereas a kilogram of broccoli contains only 340 cal, meaning you would have to eat 6.7 kg of broccoli to get the same amount of calories. This requires a whole lot of nutrients, water and space to grow. What the calorie-based approach fails to take into consideration, however, is the calories that went into producing that one kilogram of beef in the first place. Livestock are fed mainly corn and soy, and resources and land that has gone into the growing of these crops could have been used to grow food for human consumption, instead. To avoid this issue, some livestock is fed only grass and hay, which is generally considered a more sustainable choice. Another thing that The Star article points out is that where your meat comes from counts. Should you eat a wild animal whose overpopulation does damage to its habitat, you will be doing a favor to the environment. Of course, this is not an actual solution, because no wild populations of animals could possibly sustain the numbers required by the demand for meat. A tragic example of a species once estimated to number in the billions, but hunted into extinction in the late 19th century largely for its meat, was the passenger pigeon. These North American birds once flew in flocks so large it took hours for them to pass, but once the massive commercial exploitation of the species started, their numbers plummeted, and the last known passenger pigeon died in 1914. But the type of meat and its origin certainly play a part in how environmentally friendly it is, and these issues are often more complicated than seems at a first glance. The grass-feed diet, mentioned above, is better because it leaves the food crops for human consumption, plus grazing can sometimes be done in areas where no crops can be grown, thus providing more efficient use of our dwindling land resources. But in the stomachs of ruminant animals, grass and hay also produce more methane, which has 23 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide; furthermore, the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations estimates that 20% of the world’s pastures have already been degraded by grazing livestock. In the end, there are so many factors affecting one’s choice of diet that it is almost impossible to give any bite-sized advice. That doesn’t stop environmental groups from trying. The report by EWG boils down to a few basic things: get more of your protein from lentils, beans and tofu, consume only organic dairy products, waste less and buy only what you eat, choose chicken rather than beef, and try to at least have one meat-free day per week. Many big changes start from little ones. Martta Paavola What are hormones? Hormones are chemical messages that are released from the body’s gland tissues located in the endocrine system. The chemical information is sent as a signal through the blood stream to the targeted cells that contain receptors. The function of hormones on the targeted cells is to deliver the chemical message that activates the cell to perform a specific task, for example, estrogen from the endocrine system is responsible for egg (ovum) release during ovulation. An illustration of hormone release from the secreting cells and its flow to a targeted cell is shown below (image from: www.sinauer.com) in fig 1. Fig 1. Flow of the hormone to targeted organ When hormones are released into the blood stream they bind to a cell containing matching receptors; their shape is like a key that fits exactly into a lock. Just as the wrong key cannot open the door, hormones do not fit in cells that have no receptors. Hormones reach all parts of the body and only attach to a cell containing receptors in order to produce a particular effect. If there is no attachment to the cell’s receptors, no effect will be produced. When a hormone binds to the cell it either changes the cell’s existing protein or activates genes responsible for new protein synthesis. According to researchers 50 hormones have been identified in humans and other vertebrates. WHY HORMONES IN OUR BODY? Hormones in the human body are secreted by the endocrine system and released into the bloodstream to all parts of the body; they regulate the biological activities such as reproduction and growth. For example, hormones regulate the reproductive system starting from conception (the process where female egg and male sperm fuse together) and continue to regulate the growth and function of the reproductive organs into adulthood. Hormones also regulate the development of the brain and nervous system. For more… (http://www.epa.gov/endo/pubs/edspoverview/whatare.htm) The focus of this blog is reproductive hormones that are secreted by ovaries and testes. What are reproductive Hormones? Reproductive hormones are secreted from ovaries and testes and are sent to all parts of the body via the blood stream. Ovaries are female reproductive organs and produce two main hormones known as estrogen and progesterone. Testes are the male reproductive organs, and they function to release a hormone called testosterone. The function of both female and male hormones is to regulate and enhance the development of reproductive organs, and for example, breast growth in females and chest enlargement in males as well as ovum (egg) and sperm synthesis. Hormone inhibitors and their mimicking effects Hormone inhibitors, colloquially known as gender benders, are any chemicals capable of inhibiting or preventing the effect of hormones, as well as mimicking a hormone’s action. The mimicking effect happens as the result of environmental chemicals having a similar chemical structure to natural hormone; this allows them to weakly attach to the cell’s receptors, thereby preventing the attachment of natural hormones to the same cell. These chemicals include Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) such as DDT, Dioxin, PCB and Endrin, Aldrin and Dieldrin. POP chemicals are present in the environment because some of them are used in industrial applications; these include PCB, Dieldrin and Dioxins. Others, such as DDT, have been widely used as pesticides. (DDT is now banned in many countries, but its effects persist.) Others get into the environment as waste products of human activities such as nuclear power generation, burning of coal, mining, waste incineration (burning of waste), and manufacturing of some plastics that are made of PCB chemical compounds. Several studies conducted by scientists indicate that human exposure to POPs is through air pollution and water contamination, because most of these chemicals are released into lakes or rivers, and air. A study carried out by Elizabeth Lee Vliet MD, in 2003 indicated that there is a link between these environmental chemicals and reproductive hormones. Natural hormones such as estrogen and testosterone are blocked from attaching to their receptors because the environmental chemicals such as DDT, Dioxin and PCB, when they enter the bloodstream, attach to cell receptors intended for natural hormones. Thus estrogen and testosterone hormone are prevented from attaching to the same cell, resulting in health risks. See more at (www.herplace.com/hormone-infor/gender-benders.htm) (http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/S/SexHormones.html) Effects of Hormone inhibitors Hormone inhibitors in the human body may cause the body to react abnormally. For example, the reaction could be abnormal sperm synthesis in males and disruption of the menstruation cycle, miscarriages, premature delivery, low birth weight and dysfunction in fetus and infants in women. Other areas include neurological disorders such as learning disorders and distorted memory as well as, diseases like breast and pancreatic cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma (tissue hardening) THE BOTTOM LINE Thus, there is a need to focus on how hormone inhibitors can be removed from the environment, and vigorously promote the production of safe alternative chemicals that are environmentally friendly Kashobwe Lackson I went numb as the lecture about the origins and effects of dioxins was delivered in one of my ecotoxicology classes. My mind flashed back to the ignorant behavior in my past adventures while growing up in Lagos, Nigeria. I reminisced about how I and my siblings were always excited when given permission by our parent to burn some old household materials in our backyard. We really got so excited that we went as far as collecting our neighbor’s trash so we could have more stuff to incinerate. We would all gather around the burndrum and watch it burn with so much excitement. That was then; now I know that improper incineration produces very toxic and hazardous chemical compounds called dioxins and furans. What do I now know about dioxins and furans? Dioxins and furans are chemically related groups of chlorinated compounds that have similar chemical and biological properties. Dioxins and furans can be classified into three main groups, which are Polychlorinated dibenzo-P-dioxins (PCDFs), Polychlorinated dibenzo furans (PCDFs) and Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These compounds are mostly used as chemical raw material in producing many household items, such as clothes, plastic bottles and furniture. The presence of these toxic chemical compounds in the environment is caused mainly by human activities, especially during different combustion processes, such as commercial and municipal waste incineration, drum burning of household materials, smoking of cigarettes, and burning of fuel, including wood, oil and coal, to mention a few. Why should we be concerned about dioxins and furans? Dioxins and furans possess chemical structures very similar to those of human hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, which are hormones responsible for sexual and reproductive development in humans. Because of this similarity in chemical structure, dioxins and furans are able to bind to particular cells in the same way estrogens and testosterones do, but as they are not hormones, when they bind to these cells, a dangerous chain of events starts to happen. These events can eventually lead to reproductive and developmental problems in humans. Dioxins and furans can also damage the human´s immune system and has been proven to be a major cause of cancer. Fig 1: Chemical structure of a female hormone (Oestradiol) Fig 2: chemical structure of a dioxin (Octachlorodibenzodioxin) How can this be controlled? The continuous production of these toxic compounds in the environment can be controlled by proper incineration of chlorinated material, including Polyvinyl-chloride (PVC), which is found in most household items. So if you have old clothes and household rubbish you would like to dispose of, send it to a proper facility where it can be incinerated at a temperature above 850 o C. Please don´t use your burndrum. Source: http://www.lookchem.com/cas-326/3268-87-9.html Bello Adedayo |
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