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Remember those good ol' school days? Reading engrossing new books, sitting through lessons, giggling mischievously with friends, having first crushes--and inhaling 457 different chemicals from the contaminated air? You probably don't remember that last part, but chances are you actually did exactly that: a new study from the Environmental Working Group has discovered that at least that many chemicals are found in most ordinary school cleaning products.
And many of these chemicals are far from benign--some are linked to asthma, cancer, and other illnesses. It's also worth noting that this report comes at a time that childhood asthma and cancers are at rise. The biggest problem? It's that there's often no label requirements on cleaning supplies used in schools, many of which are bought wholesale. The EWG explains:
Lax labeling requirements mean that schools often don't know what they're purchasing. Many would be alarmed to learn that when used as directed, Comet Disinfectant Powder Cleanser, a product commonly used in both schools and private homes, released more than 100 air contaminants, including chloroform, benzene, and formaldehyde.
Along with the Comet, Febreze Air Freshener and a popular cleaning solvent called Simple Green were found to be widely used, and both contained nearly 100 alarming chemicals. For a full list of offending cleaning supplies, check the EWG's website.
Many states and school districts have clamped down to prevent harmful chemicals in cleaning supplies from contaminating children at school, many have evidently yet to do so. If concerned, look into what supplies your child's school uses, and compare it to the EWG's list--suggest 'green' labeled cleaning products. As a rule, these are healthier, though many are far from perfect as well--while much lower in asthmagens and carcinogens, they nonetheless have some testing left to be done.
Now's the time to be especially careful, with many childhood disease rates inexplicably rising. So if you can, speak up about the issue--it's high time we stopped contaminating our kids air.
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