Reading Labels: A Reality Check
Reading Labels: A Reality Check |
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| by Monona Rossol | |||
As labeling laws strengthen and as people become increasingly health-conscious, more and more words are appearing on product labels -- words like: "water-based," "nontoxic," "biodegradable," and "natural." Unfortunately, we are often misled by these words because we tend to assume they mean what we wish they meant. It might be useful to redefine a few of these words more realistically.
Disposal of products bearing the "biodegradable" label is easy. Liquids may go down the drain. Solids may go out with the trash. However, do not assume that what is safer for the environment is necessarily safer for you. For example, the new freons and CFCs used for refrigerants, spray can propellants and solvents are safer for the ozone layer, but most are more toxic to people.
And remember the old phosphate detergents? They were not very toxic and they were readily taken up by plants as fertilizer. It was because we poured too much detergent "fertilizer" into lakes and streams that they were banned.
We replaced the phosphates with the new biodegradable detergents and enzyme cleaners. These cause serious allergies and health effects in some people. They do not break down into simple substances that are used as fertilizer by plants. But they do break down into something! Currently, scientists are investigating the possibility that degradation products from certain detergents are causing deformity in the sex organs of fish and aquatic life in some wetlands.
As if this weren't enough, the environmental fate of many of the chemicals we use is utterly unknown. This includes a majority of the hundreds of non-metal-containing organic pigments and dyes used in our materials. Since no one knows what happens to them in the waste stream, they cannot be regulated and may be labeled "biodegradable." EPA and the National Toxicology Program suspect that many dyes and pigments have long term adverse effects on people and perhaps on the environment. Studies are underway.
You won't get into trouble if you flush or trash the product, but there are no guarantees related to your health while you use it. And it may not be safe for the environment in the long run either.
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| Substance | Air Quality Limit |
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| ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol) | 1,000 ppm OSHA PEL-TWA |
| odorless paint thinner, VM&P naphtha | 300 ppm OSHA PEL-TWA |
| turpentine, xylene, coal tar naphtha | 100 ppm OSHA PEL-TWA |
| n-hexane, toluene, styrene | 50 ppm OSHA PEL-TWA |
| d-limonene | 30 ppm AIHA WEEL-TWA |
When water-based silk screen inks were first introduced, I thought this meant that the products were "safe". Then I got the material safety data sheets from the manufacturers. I found many of the inks contained up to 20 percent glycol ether solvents.
Glycol ethers are highly toxic solvents that are absorbed through your skin, can penetrate several types of heavy chemical gloves without changing the glove's appearance, can cause reproductive problems in humans, and cause birth defects and atrophy of the testicles in experimental animals. Glycol ethers and other toxic solvents still can be found in many water-based latex wall paints, paint strippers, felt-tip markers, and household spray cleaners.
The amount of water in "water-based products also varies greatly. I have seen some "water-based" products that contain more solvents than water and others that contain almost no water at all. These are called "water-based" only because water can be used to clean them up.
Water is probably an ingredient, but the product also may contain solvents and other toxic ingredients. You need the Material Safety Data Sheet for further information.
Use of the term "GRAS" on a product's label or in its literature can mislead you into thinking the product is safe enough to eat. GRAS is an FDA term that is very specific. Some GRAS substances are allowed in food is specified amounts, some are restricted to use in food packaging, food sanitizing soaps and chemicals, medicines, and similar uses. For example, highly hazardous substances can be GRAS for use in food packaging if there is proof they do not migrate from the package into food.
Even substances that are allowed in food in very small amounts may not be safe by other routes of entry into the body. For example, fumed silica and kaolin are allowed in some foods, but they are hazardous to inhale. Another example is cassia oil used as a cinnamon flavor. Its safety profile from Richard Lewis' Food Additives Handbook reads: Poison by skin contact. Moderately toxic by ingestion ... A human skin irritant. Mutagenic data.
In small amounts as a flavor, it can be used safely. But it would be unwise to spill a cup of the oil on your skin.
Some substances are classified as GRAS simply because they have been used for years and no one has bothered to test them. An example was seen in the news recently. Phenolphthalein, used in over-the-counter laxatives for generations, was finally tested. It was found to cause cancer in test animals.
Either an ingredient has been used for years without testing or the FDA has approved it for some very limited use related to food, food packaging, etc. It may not be safe to ingest and it certainly is no guarantee of safety by inhalation.
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Many people think ventilation means a window or door should be kept open while using the product. It actually indicates that the product contains a toxic substance which becomes airborne during the product's use. The ventilation required must be sufficient to keep the airborne substance below levels considered acceptable for industrial air quality. Sufficient ventilation could vary from a simple exhaust fan to a specially designed local exhaust system depending on the amount of the material and how it is used.
In order to plan such ventilation, you must know exactly what substance the product gives off and at what rate. Ironically, this is often precisely the information the manufacturer excludes from the label. In order to plan ventilation, first get the material safety data sheet from the manufacturer. If you use a lot of the material or you use it in your business, get advice from an industrial hygienist or ventilation engineer.
Something toxic gets airborne during use. You need to know what it is, how toxic it is, and how much ventilation you will need for the amount of the substance you use. You need the material safety data sheet and possibly some professional advice.
Under the provisions of the United States Federal Hazardous Substances Act and the Canadian Federal Hazardous Products Act, toxic warnings are required on products capable of causing acute (sudden onset) hazards. Products which can cause long-term hazards such as cancer, birth defects, allergies, chronic illnesses and cumulative poisoning do not trigger the labeling provisions of this law.
To illustrate how grossly inadequate this labeling is, powdered asbestos could legally be labeled "nontoxic" under these laws. This is because products requiring warning labels are identified by short-term tests which expose animals to a single dose through skin and eye contact, inhalation and ingestion. Two weeks after exposure, the animals are examined for harm. Since asbestos causes only long term damage (cancer, asbestosis), all the animals will be unharmed after two weeks.
In the past, asbestos-containing products such as instant paper machés and clays were routinely labeled "nontoxic." This should not happen today. One reason is that the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA) requires that known chronically hazardous substances be labeled. Then in 1990, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission declared that the provision in this law requiring warnings on known chronically hazardous materials now applies to all consumer products.
This sounds like the problem is solved, but it's not. This law is deficient because substances requiring labeling must be known to possess chronic hazards. Unfortunately, the majority of the organic pigments and many other substances used in art and craft materials have never been tested for chronic hazards. These chemicals can still be labeled "nontoxic" even when they are closely related to known toxic chemicals.
For example, despite the fact that five anthraquinone chemicals have been tested and found to cause cancer, all the other closely related, untested anthraquinone pigments and dyes commonly used in art materials and commercial dyes can be labeled "non-toxic"!
Citrus oil and its major component, d-limonene, are derived from the rinds of citrus fruit. We like to buy products containing these ingredients because their advertising implies that these "natural" and "biodegradable" substances are safe. Examples of products containing citrus ingredients include Citra-Solv, Lithotine, Citrus Clean, Grumtine, Citrus Turps, Fast Orange Hand Cleaner, and many paint, solvents, strippers and cleaning agents. Advertisements for these products often emphasize that the FDA allows small amounts in food as an additive. The ads fail to mention that d-limonene is one of Mother Nature's own pesticides. She put it in the rinds to protect her fruit from insects. It kills flies efficiently enough to be registered with EPA as both an "active ingredient" and an "inert ingredient" in commercial pesticides. d-limonene and citrus oil also can be contaminated with other pesticides from the spraying of the fruit in the orchards. EPA is currently proposing to revoke the use of citrus oil in food because it usually is contaminated with a cancer-causing pesticide called imazalil. Pesticide contamination also is a good reason to use organically grown citrus fruits when recipes call for grated rind to flavor food. TESTS ON d-LIMONENE: The required tests to determine immediate (acute) hazards show that d-limonene is right on the borderline of being acutely toxic. This borderline status allows manufacturers to label it "nontoxic." A long-term (chronic) animal test by the National Toxicology Program found that it is not a carcinogen, but that it caused reduced survival rates and liver damage in the animals. D-limonene can be expected to be chronically toxic to humans. WORKPLACE LIMITS: The manufacturer's Material Safety Data Sheets also may state that d-limonene is not regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This is not an endorsement by OSHA. There are many toxic substances for which OSHA has not set limits. However, another important professional organization, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), set a Workplace Environmental Exposure Level (WEEL) guide for d-limonene at 30 parts per million (ppm). WEELs are similar to OSHA permissible exposure limits (PELs). The AIHA's limit for d-limonene is even lower (more restrictive) than the PELs set by OSHA for turpentine and other very toxic solvents. OTHER HAZARDS: d-limonene can be absorbed into the body by skin contact. Skin irritation and allergies also have been noted, especially in people previously sensitized to other "natural" solvents like turpentine and anise oil. It oxidizes on exposure to air like linseed oil, so rags containing d-limonene can spontaneously catch fire. It should be kept out of the reach of children because its fruity odor has caused children to drink it. |
In another instance, several of phthalate plasticizers have been tested and found to cause cancer. Yet polymer clays containing as much as 15 percent of very similar untested phthalate plasticizers can be labeled "non-toxic."
Another problem with the laws is how it is determined that the amount of a known toxic substance in an art material is significant. In some cases, substances in amounts that would legally have to be listed on a material safety data sheet do not have to be listed on a nontoxic art material label. My advice is to get material safety data sheets on nontoxic materials, too.
Material safety data sheets also are needed if you use a material in any other way than directed. For example, using "non-toxic" crayons for candle making, for batik resist, or for any other process that involves heat can release highly toxic gases and fumes from the wax and from some of the pigments. The crayon's material safety data sheet should describe these hazards in the Hazardous Decomposition Products section.
There probably are no significant amounts of any known chronically hazardous ingredients in this art material. Untested ingredients may be in products labeled "non-toxic" even though they are closely related chemically to known toxic substances. Use other than directed at your own risk.
There is nothing inherently safe in substances derived from nature. This is obvious if we just think for a moment about turpentine, wood dust, molds, poison ivy, cocaine, jimpson weed, curare, hemlock, tobacco, and so on. In fact, natural toxins like ricin from the castor bean plant or botulism toxins are thousands of times more toxic than man-made chemicals like sodium cyanide or the methyl isocyanate that killed over 2,000 people in Bhopal, India!
Just because a product is labeled "natural," doesn't mean it's automatically safe to use or consume. Ask for more information about the product. Judge natural products just as you would synthetic ones.
Don't prejudge the product on the basis of its origins. Highly toxic products are manufactured by both God and Goodyear.
For example, take a cold, hard look at just one natural product, citrus oil (see boxed example on this page).
Just as we have learned that we can't give up responsibility for our health by simply trusting a single doctor, we also can't trust our health to a few words on a label. Product labels represent only a first opinion. The second opinion should be your own based on the product's material safety data sheet, reference books, expert advice, and other sources.
Another important source of information is your own common sense.
Monona Rossol is director of Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety (ACTS), a New York City-based advocacy group for artists and craftspeople.
Sample Substances & Air Quality Limits