Cookie Monster If you want to fill your house with the aroma of fresh-baked cookies, you can bake some cookies, of course, or you can spritz the air with chemicals that smell like cookies.
Yep, one of the leading air freshener manufacturers now offers a line of products that will give your home the holiday scent of your choice: evergreen, spiced apple, or baking cookies.
Two questions: 1) Why would you want your house to smell like fresh-baked cookies if there were no fresh-baked cookies to eat? And 2) Don't we inhale enough chemicals every day without adding cookie-scented chemicals to the mix?
Ah…fresh xylene!
Many household products contain solvents called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). And in this case the word "organic" doesn't imply a health benefit. Far from it.
Two typical VOCs, used in many commercial air fresheners, are benzene - a carcinogen that's been linked to leukemia - and xylene - a toxic petroleum byproduct that's been associated with headaches and cognitive impairment.
In 2003, researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK reported on the effects of VOCs on mothers and infants enrolled in a large, ongoing study known as Children of the 90s. More than 10,000 mothers in this study responded to questionnaires regarding the use of products known to raise VOC levels. The questionnaires also gathered information about known symptoms of VOC exposure. In addition, 170 of the subjects agreed to have VOC levels monitored in their homes for one year.
The Bristol team reported these findings: - In homes where air fresheners were used daily, mothers averaged nearly 10 percent more frequent headaches than mothers in homes where air fresheners were used once a week or less
- In the "daily" homes, mothers had more than 25 percent higher risk of depression compared to mothers in the "once a week" homes
- In the "daily" homes, infants were 32 percent more likely to suffer from diarrhea
- Infants in the "daily" homes had significantly more earaches than infants in "once a week" homes
In their published study in the Archives of Environmental Health, the researchers noted that the daily use of air fresheners and other aerosol products created a gradual accumulation of VOCs. And while the study focused on mothers and infants, the researchers believe that VOCs may cause similar reactions for anyone who spends a significant amount of time at home, such as retirees.
Cookies or chemicals? No contest
In a press release from the University of Bristol, the lead author of the study, Dr. Alexandra Farrow, noted that until further research is done on air fresheners and aerosols it would be wise to limit the use of these products.
That's a good suggestion, especially in light of additional research I told you about in an e-Alert I sent you last summer.
In a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Services examined data on more than 950 adults. A variety of tests measured lung function and VOC levels in the blood.
Analysis showed that a widely used VOC known as 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB) was linked to reduced lung function. And although the link is described as "moderate," researchers noted that poor pulmonary function from 1,4-DCB exposure is a risk factor for heart disease and lung cancer and could present particular dangers for patients with asthma and other lung conditions. Air fresheners, toilet bowl deodorants and mothballs are the products most likely to contain 1,4-DCB.
In the conclusion to the study, researchers wrote: "This common exposure may have long-term adverse effects on respiratory health."
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