Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that some ingredients in common air fresheners can
cause health problems? -- Mike Jaworski, Seattle, WA
Air fresheners are a $1.72 billion industry in the United States. An
estimated 75 percent of homes use them regularly. According to a September 2007
report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), most common
household air fresheners contain potentially noxious chemicals that degrade the
quality of indoor air and may even affect hormones and reproductive development,
particularly in babies.
As part of its Clearing the Air study, NRDC researchers tested 14 brands of
common household air fresheners and found that 12 contained chemicals known as
phthalates. Only two, Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects, contained
no detectable levels of phthalates. Products testing positive included ones
marketed as all-natural and unscented. None of the brands tested listed
phthalates on their labels.
Phthalates are hormone-disrupting chemicals that can be particularly
dangerous for young children and unborn babies. Like some other man-made
chemicals, phthalates can affect normal hormonal processesthose that control
brain, nervous and immune system development, reproduction, mental processing
and metabolismby blocking them altogether, throwing off the timing or
mimicking natural hormones and interacting with cells themselves, with very
unhealthy consequences. The State of California notes that five types of
phthalatesincluding one commonly used in air freshener productsare known to
cause birth defects or reproductive harm.
Despite these issues, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not
regulate the use of phthalates or require the labeling of phthalate content on
products. Other governments take the phthalate threat more seriously. The
European Union forbids the most harmful phthalates in cosmetics or toys, and
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to soon sign similar
legislation for his state.
NRDC bemoans the fact that the U.S. government does not test air fresheners
for safety or require manufacturers to meet specific health standards. More
than anything, our research highlights cracks in our safety system, says Dr.
Gina Solomon, a senior NRCD scientist. Consumers have a right to know what is
put into air fresheners and other everyday products they bring into their
homes, she says, adding that the government should keep a watchful eye on
potentially dangerous products.
In conjunction with the study, NRDCalong with the Sierra Club, the Alliance
for Healthy Homes and the National Center for Healthy Housingis petitioning
federal agencies to start assessing the risk air fresheners pose to consumers by
testing all products now on the market. And NRDC has already begun working
directly with some manufacturers to find ways to eliminate phthalates from these
products.
NRDC recommends that consumers be selective and purchase only air fresheners
that have the least amount of phthalates. Better yet, the group suggests
consumers first try to reduce household odors by tending to their root causes or
improving ventilation rather than masking them. The best way to avoid the
problem is to simply open a window instead of reaching for one of these cans,
concludes Solomon.
CONTACTS: Natural Resources Defense Council,
www.nrdc.org/health/home/airfresheners.asp.
Dear EarthTalk: Are there any efforts underway to lessen the environmental
impactwhich must be considerableof all the 18 wheelers and other large
vehicles that are numerous on our highways? -- Sadie Strauss, Madison, WI
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, although large trucks account
for just six percent of total highway miles driven in the U.S., they are
responsible for a host of environmental threats. These include over half the
soot and a quarter of the smog-causing pollution generated by highway vehicles,
six percent of the nations global warming pollution, and more than a tenth of
the countrys oil consumption.
A typical diesel-powered 18-wheeler can emit as much nitrogen oxide and fine
particulateskey elements in the formation of asthma-inducing smogas about 150
passenger cars. Although strict limitations on emissions of various pollutants
from cars have been in place in the U.S. since the 1970s, trucks and other large
transport vehicles have been allowed to emit as much as five times as much
pollution per mile.
But thanks to new regulations put in place by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), new trucks coming off assembly lines in the years
immediately ahead promise to be much cleaner and greener. Known collectively as
the EPAs Heavy-Duty Highway Diesel Rules, the new regulations mandate that
trucks manufactured in 2007 or after produce 75-90 percent less nitrogen oxide
and 90 percent fewer particulates than earlier models. Of course, with most of
the trucks on the road made prior to 2007 and thus exempt from the new
regulations, air quality improvements wont happen overnight.
In the meantime, though, the federal government has also instituted new
regulations mandating that diesel fuels contain 97 percent less sulfur, another
primary component of smog, than previously required. This means that all
diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S., new or old, will be polluting less.
Regulators hope that the combination of greener trucks and cleaner fuel will
eventually bring emissions from large trucks into parity per mile driven with
cars and light trucks (SUVs, pickups and minivans).
Beyond making existing truck engines more efficient, new technologies promise
to green the trucking industry even more. Biodiesel, a form of diesel fuel
derived from renewable plant crops, is coming on strong. According to the U.S.
Department of Energy, use of the most common blend, B20 (80 percent regular
diesel and 20 percent biodiesel), cuts petroleum use by 19 percent, greenhouse
gas emissions by 16 percent and hydrocarbon emissions by 20 percent.
Also, hybrid technologies popularized by the Toyota Prius are starting to
show up in trucks. Federal Express is pioneering the use of hybrid technology in
trucks by outfitting many of its new delivery trucks accordingly. And several
U.S. cities now run hybrid diesel-electric buses. Environmental leaders hope
such fuel- and emission-saving technologies will trickle down into the private
trucking industry as well.
CONTACTS: Union of Concerned Scientists,
www.ucsusa.org; EPAs Heavy-Duty Highway Diesel Program,
www.epa.gov/otaq/highway-diesel.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental
Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at:
www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail:
earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read
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