Cleaning Products Causing an Increase in Disease?

Many household cleaning products have already been found to contain various chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system and its proper functioning. Now, a detailed review of recent scientific research has begun to show that these chemicals or EDCs can actually be responsible for the rising rate of diabetes, male infertility, prostate cancer and breast cancer in The United States and other countries. This literature review, commissioned by the EEA, found that these EDCs might also be linked to an increasing number of neurological development problems in both humans and animals.

It is possible that exposure to EDCs from an early age can cause an earlier onset of puberty in girls
Endocrine disrupting substances like DDT, TBT and PCBs have been linked to the significant declines in mollusk, seal and bird populations in various parts of the world as reproduction has dropped.

Increase exposure in a widespread use of products that contain these harmful chemicals seems to be connected to the aforementioned health issues, some of which end up being fatal. These EDCs are not only found in household cleaning product, but also in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and even food products.

Over the last 15 years, much research has been done to find out if exposure to these EDCs can cause serious problems. The research, which has now been evaluated does show that EDC exposure does cause endocrine disruption and other serious effects on wildlife. The effect EDCs have on humans still requires a bit more research and evaluation of that research to determine effects. The reason for this is that it is much more difficult to demonstrate these harmful effects in humans due to the fact that it takes much longer to complete studies and analysis which leads to higher cost and various methodological difficulties than studies on wildlife and lab simulated experiments. The results of the last 15 years of research on EDCs was completed by Brunel University and released in a document called The Weybridge +15 which covers research done between the years of 1996 and 2011.

The Weybridge report evaluated all of the research and were able to find evidence of  harmful negative effects in wildlife species caused by EDCs. Other laboratory studies that used rodent models also resulted in harmful health effects.  While much more analysis and research needs to be done to determine what danger EDCs put humans in, the results found in wildlife and animal studies can serve as a warning for humans. One reason for this is that it can take years of exposure to EDCs for the signs of any effect the EDCs might have had on the endocrine system, the immune system, metabolic system, reproductive system or the brain. It can also take years or decades after the exposure to these signs to become apparent, even if no further exposure has occurred.

While avoiding the purchase and use of products that contain EDCs is a great way to reduce the risk of the myriad of problems they can cause, using them is not the only way you can be exposed to them. Humans and animals can both be exposed through the environment in which they live. These chemicals often end up in the water supply or food chain, allowing the chemicals to build up and spread. Much work needs to be done in the area of awareness about the potentially fatal, negative effects these EDCs can cause.

Photo Credit: Some Rights Reserved by Steve Allen The Environmental Blog

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