The home is supposed to a relaxing place to chill out after a long day. But environmental consultants and health experts suggest that private spaces need a little help to achieve sanctuary status.
Our homes can be a source of exposure to chemicals that impact health. Environmental Defence, (www.environmentaldefence.org), an environmental watchdog group, says that a variety of toxic chemicals are present in low levels in most Canadians.
The group's Polluted Children, Toxic Nation report of June 2006 reported finding 46 of the 68 chemicals that the 13 participants were tested for. Some of these chemicals disrupt hormones, are carcinogenic, or are toxic to the nervous system, the respiratory system, and/or the reproductive system.
The good news is, awareness is a step to reducing exposure, says Julie Hardy of JMH Home Environmental Solutions (
http://www.jmhsolutions.ca/).
"People are starting to realize the consequences of conventional building materials and modern, tight energy-efficient buildings," she says.
In some residences, for example, she finds unhealthy air levels of formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen, allergy-trigger and respiratory toxin that's in wrinkle-resistant cloth, glues, adhesives, some paints and coating products and wood products.
Because formaldehyde and some other chemicals "off-gas", Hardy says that one of the simplest things people can do is increase air circulation.
"Open the windows. Turn on the bathroom fan and get the air flowing. Without proper ventilation, building materials can play havoc with indoor air quality."
Hardy also says some carpentry and flooring can be coated with a non-toxic sealant to reduce off-gas.
Also switch from wrinkle-resistant sheets and clothes to those of 100 percent cotton, hemp, linen or wool, and ideally organic and unbleached.
Another common source of home toxicity is a group of environmental chemicals called polybromenated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) used on sofas, furniture foam, mattresses and in plastic parts around electronic items such as computer casings, TVs and hair dryers.
Although these chemicals are useful as flame retardants, Glenys Webster, Director of UBC's ongoing Chemicals, Health and Pregnancy study notes that they leach out and accumulate in people.
"Virtually 100 percent of us have low levels in the blood," she says, adding that North American levels are 10 to 40 percent higher than in Europe and parts of Asia and Australia.
Webster's research (www.cher.ubc.ca/chirp) looks at how PBDEs and also PFCs (perfluorinated compounds) that act as stain, water and grease repellants mimic or interfere with how thyroid hormones work in the body.
"Thyroid is really important during pregnancy for proper fetal development," she says. In animal studies, exposure to higher levels of PBDEs and PFCs resulted in developmental problems in offspring.
To more fully study their effect in humans, the UBC study needs more Vancouver-area women who are less than 15 weeks pregnant to participate.
Webster says to wash hands before you eat and after you dust, as both PBDEs and PFCs are found at high levels in indoor dust.
These chemicals accumulate up the food chain, so by eating lower on the food chain – plants and fish before meat – you'd logically ingest fewer.
Avoid microwave popcorn bags and fast food packages; they've probably been treated with grease-repelling PFCs. Also consider replacing old foam mattresses and pillows, which might be highly dosed with flame-retardant PBDEs.
"A good thing is some of the chemicals in these groups are being banned around the world," Webster says.
In Canada, Environmental Defence and other groups are urging the government to strengthen Canadian national toxic chemical law, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
To help turn your home into a true healthful harbor, take the Toxic Nation Challenge at www.environmentaldefence.org.
Health Action Network Society (HANS) is a national, non-profit, membership-based charity based in Burnaby, BC. HANS researches, monitors and reports on health and environmental issues that are important to Canadians. Annual membership starts at $35. Visit www.hans.org or call 604-435-0512.