Dust

Please note that this section contains my personal notes from my readings on this topic.

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Chemicals for Pest Control Can Become Part of Dust

Chemicals used for household pest control can become a component of carpet dust, posing a risk to children when they play on the floor.

– Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now (2008 – 2009) by the President’s Cancer Panel; page iv

Phthalates in Dust

Libby McDonald, the author of The Toxic Sandbox, took a look at the Clean Production Action’s (CPA) study of dust samples.  In 2004, CPA — an environmental group that works with companies to replace toxic chemicals in their products with safer alternatives — gathered dust from vacuum bags in seventy homes nationwide.  They then analyzed the dust samples for chemicals that are known to be harmful to the immune system and reproductive organs in animal tests.  They discovered that phthalates made up 89% of the total concentration of chemicals found, and that DEHP alone comprised 69% of the 44 toxins.

– The Toxic Sandbox (2007) by Libby McDonald; page 84