School Cleaning Supplies Release Chemicals Linked to Asthma and Cancer
November 4, 2009
The Environmental Working Group just released a study on cleaning supplies used in schools and the news is not good. Tests of 21 cleaners from 13 large California school districts found that when used (as directed), the products released six chemicals known to cause asthma and 11 contaminants that are known, probable, or possible cancer-causing substances in humans.
Not only are use of these products harmful to the janitors cleaning the school, these chemicals hang out in our schools and exposure over many years may be harmful to our babies’ health.
Not only are some of these products used in schools – we use them in our homes everyday. Comet, Simple Green, Febreeze ring a bell? Yep, they are all included:
•Comet Disinfectant Powder Cleanser, which emitted 143 contaminants when used as directed, including formaldehyde, benzene, chloroform and four other chemicals identified by the state of California as causing cancer or reproductive harm.
•Simple Green, a general purpose cleaner that released 92 chemicals into the air, including two linked to cancer (2-butoxyethanol and acetaldehyde) and one linked to cancer and asthma (formaldehyde).
•Febreze Air Effects, an air freshener that gave off 88 airborne contaminants including acetaldehyde, a chemical linked to cancer.
The good news is all of these products have greener alternatives that work! I use Bon Ami in place of Comet and EcoBreeze works in place of Febreze. There are tons of eco-friendly all purpose cleaners on the market often, good old fashioned ingredients like baking powder and vinegar can work as well.
First step – get these yucky cleaners out of your house and replace them with green cleaners. You can start quickly by replacing everything with Seventh Generation products – I’m a huge fan. Once you get comfortable with those, you can work in other products that you find or make some of your own. I make our glass cleaner and use a variety of household ingredients for certain cleaning projects like cleaning grout or the oven.
Second step – find out what your children’s schools are using to clean. The EWG even has a handy guide to talking to your school, a customizable letter to send to the administration to start the conversation, and a fact sheet to educate about green cleaning.
I’ve briefly approached my daughter’s preschool in the past but didn’t get much of a response. I’m going to try, try again!
