Chapter 5

Home is where the chemicals are

Home is where you are most likely to be exposed to toxic chemicals. After all, you spend 80 to 90% of your time indoors, much of that at home. This fact is important when you understand that in one five-year study, the Environmental Protection Agency found that airborne chemical levels in homes were as much as seventy times higher inside than outside.

When toxic household chemicals release vapours into the air, they have nowhere to go. During the oil shortages of the 1970s, builders began making houses as energy efficient as possible. The result has been homes that keep toxic indoor air tightly sealed inside.

Exposure to toxic indoor air may have a devastating effect on your health. One study found that women who worked at home had a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who had jobs outside the home. The study concluded that the increased death rate was due to daily exposure to the hazardous chemicals found in ordinary products. Some experts argue that 30% of all cancers stem from exposure to toxic chemicals.

Not all of the health effects are fatal, however. According to a special legislative committee of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 50% of all health problems are caused, in part, by deteriorated indoor air quality. A hangover is the side-effect of non-lethal ethanol poisoning (getting drunk). How many days do you wake feeling “hung over,” with aches and pains or nausea? Perhaps the air in your home is poisoning you. How many bottles of pain-killers have you purchased to rid yourself of headaches, possibly brought on by your fabric softener?

The good news is that by switching to safer, more natural products, you can rid yourself of these symptoms altogether. You can make your home a healthy home. Take a tour of the virtual house to find out more.

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