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TOXINS ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Modern life puts us in contact with many forms of toxins. According to Botkin and Keller (2010), “The term toxin refers to substances (pollutants) that are poisonous to living things” (p. 188). But to determine if a substance is poisonous, it is necessary to determine the dose that may cause harm to live beings. At a high dose some substances can cause intoxication or even death, but the lack of small doses of this same substance can cause harm to health, as well. This is the case with zinc, with has a recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 15 mg Zn/day, but as pointed out in a study by Fosmire (1990), at amounts of 100-300 mg Zn /day, “evidence of induced copper deficiency with attendant symptoms of anemia and neutropenia (...) have been reported” (p. 225). In the U.S., institutions such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are responsible for developing Risk Assessment Processes to determine the “nature and probability of adverse health effects in humans who may be exposed to chemicals in contaminated environmental media, now or in the future” (EPA, 2012b, pp.1). The Risk Assessment Process is the study of chemicals in order to: measure the effects they can have on humans and on the environment; determine the harmful dose; and identify the risk of exposure. According to EPA the Risk Assessment Process has four steps: a) Hazard Identification, b) Dose-Response Assessment, c) Exposure Assessment, d) Risk Characterization (EPA, 2012c, pp.2). The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is a “human health assessment program that evaluates risk information on health effects that may result from exposure to environmental contaminants” (EPA, 2012d, pp.1). This program provides information and support to EPA regulatory activities. IRIS has evaluated and has a database of more than 540 chemical substances and has an annual list of new substances to evaluate. According to EPA, these 2 2

chemical substances can be divided into two groups according to the Human Health effect or the Environmental Toxicity and Fate. Inside people’s houses, individuals are exposed to many of these chemical substances; they can be found in places or objects where only an expert or a laboratory test could detect their presence. For example, objects such as the polyurethane foam in toys can have chlorinated or brominated flame retardants; these substances can be mutagenic, can increase the incidence of tumor and can be a neurotoxicant (Stapleton et al., 2011). Another difficult place to identify toxins can be the household dust. A project conducted by the Clean Production Action evaluated the household dust of seventy homes in seven states to test six classes of chemicals and identified that all samples have some kind of contamination (Costner, Thorpe & McPherson, 2005, p.5). This paper evaluated the chemical substances present in a 130 m 2 apartment in São Paulo city on the ninth floor of a building of 26 floors. In the apartment live four inhabitants and one dog, the inhabitants are two, six, forty and forty-one years old and the animal is a small dog of the Yorkshire breed. Some suggestions to eliminate or reduce the exposition to toxins are presented at the conclusion of this paper. Common Toxins in Houses and Their Health/Environmental Impacts To investigate the apartment for possible toxic materials and substances it was necessary to have a list of most common hazardous chemical. Then it was necessary to evaluate the impacts that they have on the humans and on the environment. The “Chemicals for Priority Action” of the Convention for the Protection of the marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention), was used as a guiding list to execute the chemical assessment at the apartment. This list encompasses forty-two elements, and 3 3

six are of most concern and used as a guide on the assessment: Phthalates, alkylphenols, pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organotins, perfluorinated surfactants (OSPAR, 2013). The EPA’s Design for the Environment Program (DfE), helps companies, consumers and partners to choose products that are safer for the humans and for the environment. To do that the DfE Program developed a tool called Alternatives Assessment Criteria for Hazard Evaluation to “evaluate chemicals based on their human health and environmental hazards” (EPA, 2011, p.4). According to this tool the human health effects are: acute mammalian toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity/genotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity (including developmental neurotoxicity), neurotoxicity, repeated dose toxicity, respiratory and skin sensitization, eye and skin irritation/corrosivity, endocrine activity; and the environmental toxicity and fate are: aquatic toxicity, environmental persistence, bioaccumulation. Chemical Substances Assessment Two children, two adults and a small dog lived in the apartment analyzed. The apartment is 130 m 2 , has three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a living room, an office room, a balcony, a kitchen and a laundry room. The building has two swimming pools, one basketball court and gardens around the construction. The children use to play at these places, where they can have contact with toxic substances. The dog sleeps, feeds, urinates and evacuates at the laundry room. It goes outside to urinate three times a day. The dog is not allowed inside the bedrooms or the living room, but some times it escapes and urinates in the living room. To clean the dog’s area it is used hypochlorite. 4 4

The family had to do adapt the house to the boy who has bronchitis and used to have severe crises. The bronchitis is related to an allergy to dust mites or Dermatophagoides , present at house dust. To control the dust, every day the floor and the furniture is cleaned with a humid mop and to avoid the contact with other substances that may trigger the crises, the cleaner products do not have perfume. At the bathrooms was not found any toxic substance. The family uses a regular soap with no kind of antimicrobial. The small child uses Fluor-free toothpaste and the other one uses low Fluor toothpaste, indicated to children. At the living room there was no sign of toxins. The most probable chemical to find in a living room are the Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), they “are used as flame-retardant primarily in plastics, especially polyurethane foam and high impact polystyrene, but also in paints, textiles and electronics” (Costner, Thorpe & McPherson, 2005, p.8). But the furniture industry, in Brazil, usually do not use any kind of flame-retardant (Kalantzi, Brown, Caleffi, Goth-Goldstein, & Petreas, 2009). Most of the children toys are made of plastic and wood with no sign or label that may indicate some kind of toxin, but they also may have some kind of flame-retardant. PBDEs are environmental persistent, endocrine disruptor and carcinogenic (Sjödin, Patterson, & Bergman, 2003), but, probably, the dose present at the house is below the toxic level. The kitchen uses regular detergents and the dish machine uses a standard soap. These products have no label indicating the presence of toxins. The children glasses and baby bottles are Bisphenol-A (BPA) free. The BPA is an endocrine disruptor and is banned in many countries (Li et al., 2011). 5 5

The fruits, vegetables, meats and groceries in general are not organic. They can carry contamination due to pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. Some appliances at the kitchen have Teflon, with may have trace of Perfluorinated surfactants. “Perfluorooctanyl sulfate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are used in floor polishes, photographic film, denture cleaners, shampoos, herbicides, insecticides, and adhesives in a wide range of products, as well as for surface treatment of clothing and carpets and cookware. PFOA is the best-known of the PFCs because it is used to make Teflon, Gore-Tex, and other oil-, water- and stain-resistant materials used in many common items including nonstick frying pans, utensils, stove hoods, stain proofed carpets, furniture, and clothes” (Costner, Thorpe & McPherson, 2005, p.8). The PFOS and PFOA are emerging contaminants and they may impose a threat to the environment and to human health. “They have potential to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in wildlife; and toxicological studies on animals indicate potential developmental, reproductive and systematic effects.” (EPA, 2012a, p.1) The laundry room is the place where usually are most of the toxins. To clean the house (bathrooms, balcony, kitchen and places where the dog pee) it is used hypochlorite products. This is probably the most hazardous toxin present at the house. At the balcony was found some kind of fertilizer that may cause intoxication, but it is not in use anymore. It is a mineral fertilizer with Nitrogen–Phosphor-Potassium (N-P-K) indicated to use in plants with flowers. The construction has PVC tubes and probably these tubes have phthalates, which are the common name of chemical substances contain diesters of 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, and they have different industrial application. “Phthalates are used primarily as plasticizers in flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic (commonly known as vinyl). Phthalates are also used in nail 6 6

polishes, hair sprays, and as solvents and perfume fixatives in various other products, as well as in the enteric coatings of some medications” (Costner, Thorpe & McPherson, 2005, p.8). Hauser and Calafat (2005) studied the effects of phthalates on human health and pointed out that the exposition to these elements can affect the human reproductive health and has a minor relationship with allergic and airway symptoms. PVC tubes can have another chemical compound, called organotins. According to Costner, Thorpe and McPherson (2005) organotins “are used as additives for polyvinyl chloride (PVC); as stabilizers in PVC pips, as catalysts in the production of rigid polyurethanes and silicones; as fungicides and miticides in agriculture; and as preservatives/antifoulants on wood surfaces, in closed-circuit cooling towers and in marine paints” (p. 8). A study of Graceli et al. (2013), pointed out that the exposure to organotins substances can affect the immunological, reproductive and metabolic functions. The apartment has a big exposition to dust, due to the number of buildings in construction at the surroundings and the proximity to have traffic avenues. A study conducted by Rudel, Camann, Spengler, Korn and Brody (2003) identified that alkylphenols was the most common toxin presented in home dust. Alkylphenols are mainly used to make “alkylphenol ethoxylates found in household and industrial cleaners, paints, textile and leather treatments, pulp and paper processing, and agricultural chemicals” (Costner, Thorpe & McPherson, 2005, p.8). They are an endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) and can alter the sexual development and disrupt the immune system. The building gets the water tanks cleaned and pesticide sprayed in common areas once a year, but it was not possible to identify what kind of products they use. Pesticides are used indoor to get rid of insects and at gardens to kill weeds and molds. As described by Costner, Thorpe and 7 7

McPherson (2005), pesticides can be used as an additive to soaps and household cleaning products, paints or wallpapers and at big stores it is common to use them at carpets, textiles, and other products prior to sale. The pesticides can have bioaccumulation and impact the environment. Bioaccumulation is the net result of a competing process, between chemical uptake into the organism and chemical elimination from the organism, including respiratory exchange, fecal egestion, and metabolic biotransformation of the parent compound. The most common impact of pesticides indoors are allergic and airway conditions, such as asthma and bronchitis. In high doses they can be lethal to human beings. But they can have an environmental persistence, and have a long time in the environment before being destroyed or transformed by natural processes. To summarize, the kind of toxins and chemical compound found at the apartment do not impose sever risk to the inhabitants and to the neighbors. The most concerning chemicals are the pesticide that is used in the common areas, the excessive use of hypochlorite to clean the dog area and some contamination on foods due to hormones and antibiotics. How can the use of these toxic chemicals be reduced or eliminated? To reduce the exposition to toxins it is necessary to know where they are and what they are. But, if the exposition is below the toxic level, the reduction may demand too much effort, compared to the outcome. The management of toxins exposition must have a balance between the reduction of exposition and the risk of exposition. In Brazil, to identify the presence of toxins such as toys, furniture or appliance can be a challenge, because many products do not need to disclaim the presence of toxins our hazard 8 8

chemicals. The legislation also needs to be improved, to ban or to identify alternatives to the use of hazardous chemicals. In U.S. some initiatives to use less hazardous chemicals are in progress. Programs such as the DfE from EPA or the “Chemicals for Priority Action” of OSPAR Convention are examples of initiatives that could be implemented in Brazil. Since the house dust is transport to chemical substances, it is important to have some procedures to avoid or reduce its presence. The standard procedure is cleaning the house with humid mop is effective and recommended in houses with asthmatic people. Some initiatives may help, such as reduce the use cleansers and look for less toxic detergents, may help. But at this specific apartment the use of these products are restrict. It is recommended to reduce the use of hypochlorite and use more soap and water. The use of organic food may help to reduce de impact of hormones and antibiotics in the house diet. Since in Brazil these products are much more expensive, it is recommended to change part of the groceries to organic products, such as poultry and fruits. 9 9

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Stapleton, H. M., Klosterhaus, S., Keller, A., Ferguson, P. L., Bergen, S., Cooper, E.,. . . Blum, A. (2011). Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foam Collected from Baby Products. Environmental Science & Technology, 45 (12), 5323-5331.