{"id":9213,"date":"2025-09-08T12:24:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/?p=9213"},"modified":"2025-09-08T12:24:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:24:00","slug":"26-oh-my-gawd-facts-about-your-toxic-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/26-oh-my-gawd-facts-about-your-toxic-world\/","title":{"rendered":"26 \u2018Oh My Gawd\u2019 Facts About Your Toxic World"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"26Have you ever given any real thought to your environment?I\u2019m not talking about factory smokestacks in the big city, I\u2019m talking about the lawn food and weed killer in your garage, the \u2018anti-bacterial\u2019 floor and surface cleaner in your utility closet, the drain cleaner under your sink and the toilet bowl cleaner in your bathroom.Did you know that the average household has 63 different synthetic organic chemical products, which total approximately 10 GALLONS of potentially hazardous petrochemicals? Yep, it\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n

And most are not what you would first think of: the jug of antifreeze or the old can of paint. Most hazardous chemicals in the home are found in common household cleaners.<\/p>\n

Here are 26 Facts about the Toxic World You\u2019re Living in Right Now:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported to Congress that\u00a0our indoor air contains the nation\u2019s worst pollution<\/strong>. Indoor air pollution is seen as one of the five most urgent environmental problems facing the United States.<\/li>\n
  2. In 1998, U.S. industries reported manufacturing\u00a06.5 trillion pounds of 9,000 different chemicals<\/strong>, and in 2000 major American companies \u2013 not even counting the smaller ones \u2013 dumped 7.1 billion pounds of 650 different industrial chemicals into our air and water. (Source: www.cleaningpro.com\/toxic.cfm)<\/li>\n
  3. \u201c[The United States is]\u00a0number one in hazardous waste produced<\/strong>\u00a0(by a factor of more than 20 times our nearest competitor, Germany)\u201d (Source: Michael Moore, \u201cStupid White Men\u201d)<\/li>\n
  4. According to the Toronto Indoor Air Commission (1990),\u00a0women who work at home have a 54% higher cancer rate<\/strong>\u00a0than women who work away from home.<\/li>\n
  5. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that\u00a0one-half of all the world\u2019s cancers<\/strong>\u00a0occur among people living in industrialized countries (containing only one-fifth of the world\u2019s population).\u00a0 (Source: Sandra Steingraber, \u201cLiving Downstream\u201d)<\/li>\n
  6. According to the WHO, at least\u00a080% of all cancer is attributable to environmental influences<\/strong>. (Source: Sandra Steingraber, \u201cLiving Downstream\u201d)<\/li>\n
  7. The American Cancer Society has reported that, in the U.S., men have a little less than a\u00a01 in 2 lifetime risk of developing cancer<\/strong>; for women the risk is a little more than 1 in 3. (Source: American Cancer Society)<\/li>\n
  8. According to the National Cancer Institute\u2019s SEER Program (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results),\u00a0cancer incidence increased 49.3%<\/strong>\u00a0between 1950 and 1992 in the United States. Childhood cancers have risen by one-third since 1950. (Source: Sandra Steingraber, \u201cLiving Downstream\u201d)<\/li>\n
  9. Examples of occupations with\u00a0higher than average cancer rates<\/strong>\u00a0in industrialized countries: farmers and migrant farm workers, painters, welders, asbestos workers, plastics manufacturers, dye and fabric makers, firefighters, miners, printers, radiation workers, chemists, chemical engineers, dentists and dental assistants, and chemotherapy workers. (Source: Sandra Steingraber, \u201cLiving Downstream\u201d)<\/li>\n
  10. Breast cancer rates are\u00a030 times higher in the United States<\/strong>\u00a0than in parts of Africa. (Source: Sandra Steingraber, \u201cLiving Downstream\u201d)<\/li>\n
  11. A National Research Council study found that complete health-hazard evaluations were available for\u00a0only 10% of pesticides and 18% of drugs<\/strong>\u00a0used in the U.S.<\/li>\n
  12. The EPA estimates\u00a0pesticides contaminate the groundwater in 38 states<\/strong>, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country\u2019s population.<\/li>\n
  13. A study by the Environmental Defense Fund found widespread pesticide\u00a0contamination of human breast milk<\/strong>\u00a0among 1,400 women in 46 states. The levels of contamination were twice as high among the meat-and-dairy-eating women as among vegetarians. (Source: Natural Health, July\/Aug. 1994, \u201cDon\u2019t Drink Your Milk\u201d)<\/li>\n
  14. The Natural Resources Defense Council reported that a\u00a0wide variety of toxic chemicals<\/strong>\u00a0have been detected in human breast milk. (Source:NRDC)<\/li>\n
  15. Every year,\u00a05-10 million household poisonings<\/strong>\u00a0are reported as the result of accidental exposure to toxic products in the home. (Source: Debra Lynn Dadd, \u201cHome Safe Home\u201d)<\/li>\n
  16. \u201cPoisoning is the\u00a0third most common form of unintentional death<\/strong>\u00a0in the United States. Poisoning accounts for 285,000 hospitalizations, 1.2 million days of acute hospital care, and 13,000 fatalities yearly.\u201d (Source: Dr. Richard S. Weisman, Testimony on 10\/12\/99 for Subcommittee on Health & Environment)<\/li>\n
  17. \u201cThe World Health Organization estimates that every year\u00a03 million people suffer from severe pesticide poisoning<\/strong>, matched by a greater number of unreported, mild cases that result in acute conditions such as skin irritation,\u00a0nausea<\/a>, diarrhea and breathing problems. These poisonings result in as many as 20,000 unintentional deaths\u2026\u201d (Source: Worldwatch Institute, \u201cState of the World 2002\u2033)<\/li>\n
  18. The March of Dimes estimates that\u00a0200,000 live infants are born with birth defects<\/strong>\u00a0each year as a result of parental chemical exposure.\u201d (Source: Center for Disease Control, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, \u201cDisorders of Reproduction\u201d)<\/li>\n
  19. Young children under 10 years of age have a\u00a0four- to seven-fold increased risk of getting leukemia<\/strong>\u00a0when they live in a home where pesticides are frequently used \u2013 whether in the home or garden. Childhood brain cancer is also associated with herbicides, flea collars, pesticides that target termites, and indoor pesticide \u2018bombs\u2019. (Source: Karyn Siegel-Maier, \u201cThe Naturally Clean Home\u201d)<\/li>\n
  20. There are 4 million chemical mixtures in commercial use\u00a0that have never been tested<\/strong>\u00a0for their reproductive effects.\u201d (Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, \u201cThe Effects of Wordplace Hazards on Male Reproductive Health\u201d)<\/li>\n
  21. \u201cOf chemicals commonly found in homes,\u00a0hundreds have been linked<\/strong>\u00a0to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological abnormalities.\u201d (Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission)<\/li>\n
  22. Several European studies conducted in the early 1990s found that the sperm count of the human male\u00a0has dropped by half since 1938.<\/strong>\u00a0The Los Angeles Times, in December 1984, reported that \u201cadverse effects from [household] chemicals include reduced male sperm count, testicle atrophy and infertility.\u201d (Source: Karyn Siegel-Maier, \u201cThe Naturally Clean Home\u201d)<\/li>\n
  23. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that around\u00a015% of the U.S. population suffers<\/strong>\u00a0from some degree of \u2018increased sensitivity to chemicals.\u2019 (Source: Debra Lynn Dadd, \u201cHome Safe Home\u201d)<\/li>\n
  24. \u201cAt present, not much is known about what health effects occur from the levels of organics (chemicals) usually found in homes. Many organic compounds are\u00a0known to cause cancer<\/strong>\u00a0in animals; some are suspected of causing, or are known to cause, cancer in humans.\u201d (Source: EPA)<\/li>\n
  25. \u201c[Dispose at a hazardous waste facility] partially full containers of old or unneeded chemicals\u2026Because gases can leak even from closed containers, this single step could\u00a0help lower concentrations of organic chemicals<\/strong>\u00a0in your home.\u201d (Source: EPA)<\/li>\n
  26. As of 1990, the EPA had identified\u00a032,465 sites with past chemical waste dumping<\/strong>\u00a0that needed to be cleaned up. (Source: Sandra Steingraber, \u201cLiving Downstream\u201d)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Pretty sobering isn\u2019t it? In our article\u00a0How to Reduce Exposure in Your Home<\/a>\u00a0we go into various ways you can help lower your home\u2019s toxicity.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/center> <\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Have you ever given any real thought to your environment?I\u2019m not talking about factory smokestacks in the big city, I\u2019m talking about the lawn food and weed killer in your garage, the \u2018anti-bacterial\u2019 floor and surface cleaner in your utility closet, the drain cleaner under your sink and the toilet bowl cleaner in your bathroom.Did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diy-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}