Personal Care Products

1. Highly Fluorinated -This is a man made chemical. Highly fluorinated chemicals can enter water ways get into our drinking water and our food. We are exposed through a variety of settings both at work and home. It is incredible to learn, that 98% of people have it in our bodies. should be avoided unless function essential. 2.Antimicrobials - This chemical is used to inhibit the growth of organisms or kill them all together. There is no perceived benefit as it does not replace hand washing with soap and water and can cause more harm. Tricolsan is a common antimicrobial used in products. However learning more about throughout the articles and this video, it is best to avoid antibacterial, antimicrobials, and anti-odor because of the effect on aquatic life, human health, and agriculture. 3.Flame Retardants - I understand the importance of flame retardants in fire fighters line of work- to slow or stop fires. However, learning that it does not always function as it should and is

The first thought I had when watching this video of Lauren Singer's transition to a Zero Waste lifestyle was, " Wow, is this lifestyle really possible?!" I was in awe and inspired by how she aligned her values with her daily lifestyle in such an incredible way. This young woman fit all her trash from 3 years in a medium sized MASON JAR. I loved this ted talk because I started considering how much plastic I use in my daily life, similar to many Americans, it is a lot. We use an average of 4.4 pounds of trash per person per day.  Although, it hurts to say that I am still doing my share of sending plastic to landfill because I buy most personal products. However, I am more conscientious of reducing the plastic I use since watching the video.  Second, I started considering what I could make that I could try out. I definitely do not see myself using baking soda as toothpaste but, I do see myself bringing my own reusable bags everywhere, bringing my own produce bags, and m

  The are several serious health risks associated with mid-grade unleaded gasoline,  fuel used by Chevron Refinery and Texaco. The first of which, is that it is extremely flammable. It may be fatal if swallowed or enters airways, may cause cancer, and may even cause genetic defects in pregnant women. It can also causes damage to different organs through prolong and repeated exposure. Lastly, the mild health hazards include dizziness, skin and eye irritation. Unleaded gasoline contains benzene and napthlalene and is a Group 2B carcinogen. The personal protective equipment includes eye/face protection like safety glasses or chemical googles and a face shield. For skin protection, boots, apron, and gloves are recommended.  The special precautions that should be taken when working with fuel is to determine if airborne concentrations are below the recommended occupational exposure limits for use. If they are higher then its imperative to wear an air purifying respirator due to the low

Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) recently released update guidelines that can be applied to small or medium sized work settings. My work place is the type where OSHA guidelines could be applicable. The goal of the guidelines is to reduce work related injuries and or death, reduce workers' compensation issues, and overall improve the workplace environment for employee and employers. The core elements are management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification and assessment, hazard prevention and control, education and training, program evaluation and improvement, and lastly, communication and coordination for host employers, contractors, and staffing agencies. For example, for hazard prevention and control, the benefit for workers is that workers identify what they would consider a type of hazard. Worker's input is highly regarded and seen as essential. This is important, although at my work, we have occupational therapist check our work space to

Blog  on your thoughts about these articles In, An environmental health response to a severe outbreak of childhood lead poisoning in NigeriaCasey Bartrem , more than 400 children lost their lives due to lead poisoning caused by power and greed. The emergency health response of MSF and other agencies to prevent further child deaths was admirable. It just seems like we act in reaction to a catastrophic event, instead of thinking of the effects and consequences beforehand. 2010 is not very long ago, by then we as a global community are aware of the implications but perhaps developing countries had other reasons why contamination of the agricultural area was an afterthought. Even then, it is inexcusable. One too many lives were lost due to poor safety design, planning and surveillance,.According to the CDC, more than 5 micrograms per deciliter of lead in the bloodstream is a point of reference and when public health intervention should be initiated. The children in Nigeria had blood leve

Our world, especially, the Pacific Ocean area known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" would  look a lot differently if the 12 principles of green chemistry were applied when plastic was invented. For example, instead of plastic disintegrating into smaller and smaller components and remaining a polymer, it could have been made biodegradable ( P rinciple 10- Design chemicals and products to degrade after use )  so that it does not end up accumulating in the environment. Also, if green chemistry was considered and applied before the bottle was designed and produced, aquatic wildlife would not ingest toxic derivatives of plastic such as PCB and BPA ( Principle 8 Avoid chemical derivatives, Principle 4-Design safer chemicals and products, Principle 3-Design less hazardous chemical syntheses, Principle 2-Maximize atom econom y). The polymer, the smallest unit of plastic is so toxic and harmful to the food chain, that even people that consume fish intoxicated by plastic residues