The effects from chemicals , detergents and soaps have been linked to breast cancer. The chemicals used in everyday cleaning products have been linked to breast cancer, fertility problems, hormone disruption, asthma and other serious health problems. Many of these products are made with dangerous chemicals that have the potential to disrupt the endocrine system, also known as the hormone system. This system is responsible for the brain, development of the nervous system, reproduction, metabolism, and blood sugar. The problem arises with chemicals called endocrine disruptors. (Moran, 2009).They mimic hormones, attach to receptors and cause cell division as well as alter gene expression and other harmful changes. These deadly chemicals enter the body by the products used and inhaled on a daily basis. The ingredients in lotions lipsticks get into the bloodstream and the skin. Environmental estrogens are the most common endocrine disruptors. Birth control pills, BPA and leaking metals from old cell phones and batteries are considered to be environmental estrogens. According to Suzanne Snedeker, associate director of Cornell University’s Program on Breast Cancer and environmental Risk Factors, states that” although levels of exposure are low as far as consumer products are concerned the cumulative and combined effects may increase the risk of breast cancer”(Moran,2009) .This statement alone should bring about awareness and attention to the environment and product consumption. A new study for WWF(World Wildlife Fund) says endocrine disruptors could be implicated in the development of breast cancers at two critical stages,(1) when a female is in the womb and (2) at puberty. Dr Kortenkamp, director of the Centr...
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...the people of the United States took a stand against these dangerous chemicals?(Thomas,2005) On the other hand ,The American Cleaning Institute refutes the study attacking cleaning product safety links to breast cancer. Formerly known as The Soap and Detergent Association is home of the $30 billion U.S. cleaning products market. They challenged recent accusations about a questionable study and its attempts to link cleaning products to breast cancer. According to Senior Vice President of Technical and International Affairs Richard Sediak, this study is based on the most cursory look at scientific literature and the recollection of breast cancer survivors as to the products they used 15 to 20 years ago. Secondly, he quotes” the safe and responsible manufacture and use of cleaning products is an absolute top priority within our industry.(Women’s Health Weekly,2010).
Did you know, the personal care products you use every day have dozens of toxic chemicals that link to cancer, asthma, learning disabilities, and more? A campaign community working to build a healthier planet called The Story of Stuff and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, created a seven minute film called Chemicals in Beauty Products: The Story of Cosmetics. The purpose of this campaign film is to inform its viewers, specifically women and moms, about the toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo, that we may not know about. It addresses the top harmful chemicals that we are putting into our bodies, the products they are most likely found in, and
Both Barnett’s claim that bottled water is not better than tap water (139-141) and Gleick’s claim that specialized water is not better than tap water (118-120) demonstrate that companies’ claims are unreasonable. Furthermore, consumers assume bottled water is better than tap water because they have the impression that tap water is dangerous because of the tap water incident in “2003 [where] 400,000 people [got] sick” from drinking tap water. One may wonder whether companies use this incident to remind consumers how dangerous tap water is with the way Gleick presents bottled water companies even after the tap water is taken care of. Because Gleick portrays the deception of advertisement from bottled water businesses, he makes it clear that Barnett hints that they are taking advantage of the case by informing consumers that their water is safer than tap water in an indirect, subtle way. However, Barnett ensures readers that tap water are safe to drink again after the incident by proving that both bottled water and tap water are equally safe to drink with a study she provides: The testing from Florida Trend (magazine brand) concludes that Publix brand bottled water and tap water both contains “0.020milligrams per liter [of] THMs (trihalomethanes)”, a “common byproduct…linked to increased risk of cancer” (139-140). Although other bottled water brands may not have
Look out your apartment/house window, a car window and what do you see? You see components of our planet, i.e., clouds, paved streets, buildings, patches of grass, rows of corn or soy beans, and business districts as well as temperate forests. And while what you do see is material and simultaneously simple and complex, it still represents a very limited picture of our planet. Unfortunately, there is strong reason to believe that what we don't see warrants our immediate and concerted attention.
When these “messages in bottles'; reach their appointed destination, the binding into the receptor site causes a cascade of reactions to occur. It is these reactions that are vital in maintaining our homeostasis. Many times the binding of the receptor site causes a direct expression of a certain gene. This is where endocrine disrupters can exert major damage. In addition to gene expression, endocrine disrupters cause havoc in many other areas of the body. What exactly are endocrine disrupting chemicals?
"Toxic Chemicals Used in Salon Products." Women's Voices For The Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. .
In 1896 the scientist Beatson reported that the removal of the ovaries resulted in the reduction of breast cancer tumours (Russo and Irma 1998). Breast cancer is a malignant, metastasizing cancer of the mammary gland. It is the leading cause of death in woman between the ages of 35 - 45. Breast cancer can also occur in males, although less frequent, around 400 men die each year from breast cancer in the united states. (Martini, F., 2004). Studies on rats have shown considerable evidence that rat oestrogens are mammary carcinogens. Oestrogens have shown to stimulate the hormone prolactin. Through studies involving the use of antioestrogens, for example, tamoxifen, "Tamoxifen alone or in combination with the retina all trans-N-(4 hydroxyphenyl)-retinamide (4-HPR) reduces the incidence of NMU-induced mammary tumours in Sprague-Dawley rats." (Jane M. Ussher Ph.D. 1996). This suggests that Oestrogens and Prolactin's can have the effect of the development of breast cancer since the pathogenesis of spontaneous breast cancer in humans is similar to that of chemical-induced rodent mammary cancer. (Jane M. Ussher
Chemical pollution into the environment can cause both genotypic and phenotypic changes in many organisms, including humans. More specifically, environmental pollutants like BPA can act as xenoestrogens (estrogen imitators), ultimately affecting hormonal activity and production in an organism. This alteration in activity and production can be termed as endocrine disruption. The endocrine system regulates a variety of processes responsible for growth and development, including gonadal formation and function, digestion, metabolism, sex differentiation, and embryonic development (reviewed by Flint et al., 2012). Chemicals that interfere with the function or structure of the endocrine system can be defined as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2007).
We all know that cosmetics existed thousands of years ago. Cleopatra used a heavy arsenal of beauty aids to help her shake the foundations of the Roman Empire. Yes, cosmetics and perfumes have a long history, but the consumer industry we live in is relatively recent, a creation of the decades 1890 through 1920. The products hawked in the 19th Century by druggists, perfumers, barbers, physicians, and a colorful assortment of other enterprising individuals were primitive by our standards. Certainly, active ingredients were used with abandon, notably arsenic, lead, and mercury. These were products that really made visible differences, and the consumer was well-advised to be wary of the majority of these mysterious concoctions.
During recent years, numerous newspaper and magazine articles have suggested that humans may be at risk because small amounts of well known environmental contaminants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, can affect hormone levels. Hormones are produced by the endocrine system as regulators of biological function in target organs. Because hormones play a critical role in early development, toxicological effects on the endocrine system often have an impact on the reproductive system. The term endocrine disruptor is used to describe chemicals that can mimic hormones and may either enhance or counteract their effects. It has been suggested that these hormone changes can, in turn, lead to a variety of health problems including cancer, decreased fertility, and abnormalities in newborns.
While women are pregnant, do they consider they might be taking risks while using any cleaning products at home? When do women ever consider house-cleaning products as teratogens? Do they ever stop and think that when they are touching and smelling a common cleaning product it might affect the fetus? Why are women so naïve about the harmful chemicals that these cleaning products contain?
If some women are not willing to give up their cosmetics during pregnancy, the ingredients in makeup can be lethal to the fetus. Nail polishes and hair sprays contain substances called phthalates, which is more commonly known as a plasticizer and can be found in the material to make rain coats and garden hoses, and its purpose is to make plastic more flexible but still strong (“Controversy Over Phthalates in Cosmetics” par 1) .When phthalates are absorbed into the skin, they could harm the fetus and, in baby boys, they could cause irregular genitals. Another ingredient, methylisothiazoline (or MIT for short), can be found in everyday shampoos and body washes such as Head and Shoulders, Suave and Pantene Hair conditioner, products a pregnant woman may very well use, and tests have shown that exposure to this ingredient could cause abnormal brain development in the fetus ("Popular shampoos contain toxic chemicals linked to nerve damage" par 2). However, these chemicals can cause health defi...
Today's waters are constantly being treated like sewage dumps or trash cans. We use them as garbage cans every day polluting the water more and more. "Pollution is often by way of rivers, drains and outflow pipes." Causing an outflow of sewage into our ocean waters. This is not only affecting the community but also the marine life and other sea creatures living in the ocean." This pollution includes human sewage and domestic waste water, factory outflows of acids and poisonous metals, engine oil from roadside drains and garages, farm chemicals washed off the land by rain, building-site rubble, nuclear waste from power plants, and oil from wells, refineries, and tankers." Stating that most of today's waste is from factory or factory ran products that shouldn't be polluting the water
It is time, at last, to speak the truth about toxic chemicals behind personal care and beauty products. The daily products of an average person consists of face wash, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, floss, toothpaste, and deodorant. Surprisingly, all of these products listed contain toxic chemicals that are harmful to our body. If we use these products to maintain our hygiene, does that mean we are not clean without these products? For example, a common shampoo many people use is Head and Shoulders. However, do we know if the shampoo is cleaning our hair from beginning to end or is it damaging our hair? How often do you read the ingredients labeled on your personal care products and wonder if they are safe to use? More importantly, if you
These are just some of the substitutes for harmful chemicals in the house. At least when you clean you house you don’t have to worry about hurting your child or yourself if you use the alternatives.
What is pollution? Pollution is a detrimental enemy to all species that walk on earth. It is a product of mankind carbon foot print on the environment. It consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. Pollution occurs when pollutants contaminate the natural surrounding; which brings about changes that affect our normal lifestyles adversely. Pollutants are the key elements of pollution which are generally waste materials of dissimilar forms. Pollution disturbs our ecosystem and the balance in the environment. With innovation and development in our lives pollution has reached its peaks; giving rise to global warming and human illness. When raw materials, water, energy and other resources