Healing Our World Commentary: Extinctions

By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

Home Sweet - Toxic - Home?

Rich men, trust not in wealth,
Gold cannot buy you health;
Physic himself must fade.
All things to end are made,
The plague full swift goes by;
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
-- Thomas Nashe, from "A Litany in Time of Plague"

One of the fundamental assumptions that we often make is that we are safe at home. We work hard to make our homes sanctuaries where we can be among those people and things that make us comfortable. We have telephone answering machines so that we can control interruptions and when we come home from work. We usually try hard to leave the office behind.

However, depending upon the industry in which you work, you may be bringing home more than you thought - a wide array of potentially life threatening toxics.

In 1995, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health released a report to Congress warning that toxics carried from the workplace to home "may pose a serious public health problem." But "USA Today" reported in their October 5, 2000 front page story that federal officials say that no national surveillance system exists to monitor this problem. No programs exist to identify who is at risk or to examine the effectiveness of workplace safety measures.

Worker spraying agricultural chemical. How much will come home on his boots? (Photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)

Known or possible contamination has occurred from at least 40 different industries, including nuclear, lead smelting, chemical manufacturing, construction, farming, medical research and automotive radiator repair.

There have been over 1,000 victims of workplace toxics in the home over the last 20 years. There have been cases of employees of the nuclear industry taking radioactive material home on their skin and clothing and spreading it to cars, homes, businesses, and their children.

In California, hundreds of children of parents who work with lead in their jobs have been found with elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Cancers, learning disabilities, impaired motor coordination, memory loss, incurable lung disease, seizures, asthma and death have been reported among family members of workers in toxic industries.

Typical cleaning methods such as vacuuming and washing may be doing more harm than good, spreading the contaminants all over the house. Toxics can enter the home on clothing, briefcases, handbags, shoes, skin and hair.

Environmental Protection Agency workers in personal protective gear excavate contaminated materials from a residential property and place them in a drum for off-site transport and disposal.(Photo courtesy EPA)

Boys and girls as young as four years old whose parents worked at an Indianapolis chemical plant where zeranol, an animal growth accelerator was used, have developed enlarged breasts. Work clothing routinely washed at worker's homes was found to contain the substance.

The list of victims goes on and on. Many family members live with lifelong guilt at having indirectly caused the deaths of beloved children, spouses, unborn children or other relatives.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that more than 32 million workers are exposed to harmful substances from more than 3.5 million workplaces. Over the last 30 years, OSHA has issued only 170 citations to employers for not having proper procedures to protect against toxic substances leaving the workplace.

Unfortunately, business with fewer than 10 employees are exempt from OSHA inspections even though it is believed that these small companies may be the source of many of the problems.

This worker distills and reuses the commonly used chemicals formalin, alcohol, xylene, and methanol. The process eliminates 2,200 kilograms of hazardous waste annually. (Photo courtesy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

This is not a new problem. People have been suffering from working in toxic industries for a long time.

Hundreds of years ago, madness spread among the mirror makers of Venice, Italy and the hat makers of London. Eventually, the disease was linked to inhaling mercury vapors. The phrase "mad as a hatter" comes from these troubled times, since mercury was used in the manufacture of the felt in hats.

In December 1971 in Iraq, 6,530 people became ill and 459 died from simply baking and eating bread. The seed grain had been treated with a fungicide containing methyl-mercury before it was shipped from Mexico. The seed was supposed to be planted, but instead it was used directly to make bread.

Carbon disulfide, a solvent used primarily in the rayon and cellophane industries, causes severe manic depression. Rates of suicide and homicide were once high among rayon workers, and when the connection was finally made, ventilation in the industry has reduced the exposure levels. But to this day, symptoms such as depression, irritability, and insomnia are common among workers in those industries.

There are many toxics that enter the home from the workplace. Here are a few:

• Asbestos, especially from construction workplaces, causes lung tissue scarring and cancer of the lining of the lung.

• Hormones from pharmaceutical workers, embalmers and farm workers can cause many health problems.

• Lead from employees of companies that engage in lead smelting, fix batteries or radiators or lead brought home by people who work at a shooting range can harm the brain, nervous system and kidneys.

• Cadmium from electroplating plants, paint pigments and solder is linked to lung and prostate cancer. Even low level exposure can be harmful.

• PCBs and other chlorinated hydrocarbons come home with firefighters, plastics workers or those who work with electrical transformers and can cause cancer.

• Pesticides from farm workers, gardeners or park maintenance workers can easily be transported into the home and can cause many fatal illnesses.

Preventing this kind of contamination is very difficult, but it must begin with workers really looking carefully at their workplaces to see if it could possibly be happening to them.

This worker recovers and recycles metals and acids from industrial waste streams. (Photo courtesy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

What sad evidence of the state of our culture when we run the risk of putting the health of our family members in danger if they welcome us home from work with a hug. How insane to be putting our hearts and souls into our jobs only to bring pain and sickness into our homes.

How dare employers minimize or ignore the risk? It is the responsibility of every employer to carefully assess the health risks of the work place and to spend money to fix the problems.

Victims of this tragic toxic contamination should not have to seek justice in the courts. Our leaders must help us return our homes to the safe place that they should be.

Of course, the problem has its roots in our consumer based culture where health is measured in terms of units sold and profit margins. Too many of the toxic substances workers come into contact with are used to make items that are not an essential part of our existence and that we would all be better off without.

Making our homes safe again may take a major shift consciousness as well as a major shift in policy. Otherwise, the phrase "home sweet home" may become an archaic saying of a greener past.

RESOURCES

1. Watch the health of your family carefully. Don't discount symptoms or illnesses that seem to come out of nowhere. During discussions with your mental or physical health care practitioner, be sure to tell that person where you work.

2. If you suspect a problem - don't worry if you can prove it or not - contact the local OSHA office in your community. You can find them in the phone book. IF YOU THINK YOU ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER, CONTACT OSHA AT 800-321-6742.

3. If you work in an industry or business that brings you into contact with toxic substances, leave soiled work clothing at work. Take your shoes off before you enter your home. And sadly, have your family resist welcoming you with a hug until you have changed your clothing.

4. Read the "USA Today" special report on workplace toxics at: http://www.usatoday.com/careers/news/usa006.htm

5. For a very comprehensive list of toxics, their sources and effects, visit: http://nccnsw.org.au/member/tec/projects/tcye/tox/bytopic_index.asp

6. For in depth information on toxic materials from a U.S. federal agency, visit the website of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/atsdrhome.asp

7. For an interesting report on workplace toxics and African American workers, visit: http://www.udayton.edu/~health/01status/98newbur.htm

8. Planning to continue working while you are pregnant? Check out issues of concern for pregnant women at: http://webmd.lycos.com/content/dmk/dmk_article_3961093

9. The American Academy of Family Physicians provides information on workplace hazards that can harm your lungs at: http://www.aafp.org/patientinfo/lungs.asp

10. For a list of problem industries with cancer risks, visit: http://www.toxictorts.com/process.htm. You will also find legal histories of court actions.

11. Find out who your Congressional representatives are and e-mail them. Tell them that the time is now to crack down on workplace safety issues. If you know your Zip code, you can find them at: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.asp or you can search by state at: http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.asp. You can also find your representatives at: http://congress.nw.dc.us/innovate/index.asp

[Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle. He can be found wondering what toxics were brought into his newly purchased home that he does not suspect are there. Please send your thoughts, comments, and visions to him at jackie@healingourworld.com and visit his web site at: http://www.healingourworld.com]