Smells great, can cause cancer. Awesome!
How safe is that fabric freshener, or that lovely shampoo that smells nice, or even the laundry detergent that adds a bit of zing to your towels and clothes? Possibly not very safe at all:
“U.S. researchers analyzed 25 commonly used scented products, and found that they emit an average of 17 chemicals each. Of the 133 chemicals detected in all the products, nearly one-quarter are classified as toxic or hazardous under at least one federal law.
More than one-third of the products emitted at least one chemical classified as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.But only one of the 133 chemicals emitted by these items was listed on a product label, and only two of the chemicals were publicly disclosed elsewhere.”
How nice. That cinnamon vanilla sunrise you have been deeply inhaling because it smells so darn fresh could contain carcinogenic ingredients.
“Federal law doesn’t require companies to disclose ingredients used in fragrances, even though a single fragrance can be a mixture of several hundred ingredients, according to lead author Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and of public affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle.”
And, of course, if you are not aware of how companies ‘green-wash’ their products:
“We analyzed best-selling products, and about half of them made some claim about being green, organic or natural,” Steinemann said in a university news release. “Surprisingly, the green products’ emissions of hazardous chemicals were not significantly different from the other products.”
As usual, the profit motive comes far ahead of any human safety concerns. But hey, if you do not like it, do not buy it right?
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
3 comments
November 3, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Vern R. Kaine
Great article! Everybody knows there’s tons of chemicals in those things. If we’re stupid enough to believe they’re safe over the long term, we deserve the disease and sterility we’ll all likely end up with.
People’s “blissful ignorance” motive is what Western consumerism was built on, and it overtakes the profit motive every time.
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November 3, 2010 at 11:36 pm
The Arbourist
Thanks Vern, if one person stops and inhales a little less deeply after spraying these things around to “clean the air” I think we can call it a win. :>
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November 4, 2010 at 9:32 am
Vern R. Kaine
Perhaps all these chemically-laced air fresheners are part of a massive conspiracy by the government and corporations (being all corporation-y) to keep us all stoned? After all, prop 19 was shot down. Damn those tricky people, making our air smell all natural and fresh-like! haha
It is a good article. People don’t link the amount of chemicals in our environment to the amount of diseases that we suffer from? Hmmmm. More awareness is a good thing.
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