Disinfectant Overkill

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Healthy Child

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A new report released today from Women’s Voices for the Earth outlines how our cultural obsession with germs may be negatively impacting health and development. Here’s an excerpt from the Executive Summary of “Disinfectant Overkill: How Too Clean May Be Hazardous to Our Health:”

As stories on the dangers of flu viruses, contaminated foods, and contagious illnesses proliferate in the media, advertisers increasingly try to convince consumers that antimicrobial cleaning products will protect their homes and families from infection.

Likewise, manufacturers have capitalized on consumer fears by producing more products that contain antimicrobial chemicals. However, it is unnecessary to disinfect one’s homes to the degree that advertisers and manufacturers would have consumers believe.

Antimicrobial cleaning products (also known as disinfectants) are specifically intended to both clean surfaces and kill germs such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi. But research has shown that some of the most common antimicrobial chemicals used in cleaners could have serious health consequences, especially for women, cleaning workers, and young children. Also, the overuse of antimicrobials contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which some scientists say could leave the public with fewer tools in the fight against infectious diseases.

Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) produced this report to provide an alternative perspective on antimicrobial products and to shed light on the potential harm that the use and overuse of the chemicals in these products may be causing to human health. The report discusses the potential hazards of five commonly found classes of antimicrobial chemicals: chlorine bleach, ammonia, Triclosan and Triclocarban, ammonium quaternary compounds (“quats”), and nano-silver, a newly emerging chemical. Potential health impacts from these chemicals range from simple irritation of the eyes, skin, and respiratory system to hormone disruption and adverse impacts on the immune system.

This report is intended to encourage a prudent approach to the use of antimicrobial cleaners, and a return to safer and scientifically effective methods for keeping one’s home clean and healthy on a regular basis. It also offers consumers recommended actions for reducing their exposure to these potentially hazardous chemicals, as well as information on non-toxic cleaners with antimicrobial properties.

Read it now and visit the WVE website for other great resources regarding chemicals in cleaners and safer alternatives (like this Myths and Facts quiz about disinfectants).

You can also join WVE for a phone conference and webinar on November 18 at 1:30 PST to learn about the health impacts associated with disinfectants, safer alternatives, and how you can take action.