Slow Death by Rubber Duck in more detail

In the last chapter of the book, the authors summarise each chemical again and how best to avoid it, even though it's virtually impossible to escape any of them completely since by now they are so spread around in our environment (water, air, soil) that only moving to Mars might help.

Phthalates – plastic softeners: found as perfume and fragrance in body care products, in PVC shower curtains and other PVC products, in air refresheners & toys – The EU, Japan, Korea & Mexico have banned phthalates in toys, but Canada & the US have not – www.healthytoys.org and www.momsrising.org/notoxictoys have databases for tested toys

www.stoptoxicimports.org is about a campaign to raise awareness of lead in toys and to help organise “Get the lead out parties”

Reduce your fat intake – many chemicals are stored in fat tissue and travel up the food chain that way. By consuming less fat through meat and dairy you’ll expose yourself less to phthalates, pesticides, PBDEs.

Perfluorochemicals (PFC’s, e.g. Teflon) – the non-stick stuff:

very persistant & indestructible, stick around the environment for a long time and are possibly carcinogenic; found in non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothing like Gore-Tex, Stain-repellent products like Scotchgard & Stainmaster to treat carpets, upholstered furniture and fabrics, food packaging such as fast food wrappers, pizza boxes & microwavable popcorn bags, also appears in some lipsticks, windshield wiper fluids and the like – read the labels!

No legislation in place yet to ban this group of chemicals, industry agreed to phase out PFOA (perfluorooctane sulphonate) by 2015 but that does not mean that the replacement chemicals will be any safer!      

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) – flame-retardants:

Found in clothing, furniture, mattresses electronics, PBDEs also accumulate in dust so vacuum & dust often            

Wear natural fibres like wool, hemp, (organic) cotton that are naturally fire resistant;  

Newer furniture tend to be PBDE-free, some companies changed to PBDE-free products e.g. IKEA, Greener Lifestyles, Essential; again electronic companies opted out e.g. Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Samsung – remember the 3R’s and responsibly discard of your electronics they don’t belong into the landfill!; National Geographic’s Green Guide lists companies that manufacture PBDE-free furniture, electronics & other products;

No significant legislation in place yet to stop PBDEs in consumer products  

Triclosan (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) – the anti-bacterial stuff:

Found in personal care products, cleaning solutions & tools, even in socks, sandals & underwear, toothbrushes, toys, cutting boards, knives, aprons, J Cloths – Triclosan is also marketed as Microban, nanosilver & nanoparticles has also been used as antibacterial agent but has not been proven safe  

Alcohol-based anti-bacterial products are fine, but those with Triclosan aren’t, check out the Skin Deep’s www.cosmeticdatabase.com or www.safecosmetics.org/companies/compact_with_america.cfm; clean with baking soda, borax & vinegar

Pesticides:

Found in food & lawns

Keep a chemical-free lawn, choose plants that are insect resistant, native and drought-resistant over grass, some municipalities have banned cosmetic use of pesticides on private properties, in schools & parks; Eat organic & local food, if not organic then wash your produce thoroughly and avoid the “dirty dozen”

Bisphenol A (BPA):

Lots of plastic food & drink containers, children’s products, epoxy linings of tin cans (incl. for infant formula), plastic bags, car parts, CDs, eyewear, building materials (vinyl), foam packing materials, coat hangers, electronics housing etc.     

When it comes to plastics check the recycling symbol and remember: “4 (LDPE), 5 (PP), 1 (PETE) and 2 (HDPE), all the rest are bad for you!” (3 (V, polyvinyl chloride), 6 (PS, polystyrene) and 7 (PC or other, polycarbonates) contain more harmful chemicals than just BPA) 

http://zrecs.blogspot.com created a directory of children’s products containing BPA;         

Opt for glass over plastic containers and fresh or frozen foods over canned; 

Don’t use plastic containers in microwave; BYOB (Bring your own bag);

Ban disposable water bottles even though most are made of PETE which does not contain BPA it’s best to avoid plastic altogether since most of it ends up in landfills instead of recycling

Mercury – the natural toxin:

Released majorly through industrial pollution especially coal burning in power plants and waste incineration!, it then works its way up the food chain

It’s found in fish, fluorescent lights, batteries, thermostats, contact-lens solutions, baby vaccines; Used to be used as mercury amalgam in tooth fillings, in bathroom, kitchen & hospital paints, in agricultural fungicides, in medication for tons of ailments

Mercury is found in nature e.g. rocks and soil but the right conditions will turn it from inorganic to organic and make it more absorbable by living things – but mercury in all its forms is very toxic, linked to a range of diseases and kills if exposure is high enough

Eat fewer fish & smaller fish – the bigger the fish, the more mercury it will have accumulated, especially predatory fish, avoid white albacore tuna, light skipjack tuna is better, check out www.seachoice.org or www.edf.org, if you fish yourself make sure the fish is deemed safe for consumption; return & recycle mercury-containing products to keep mercury out of landfills.

The chapter about Mercury/ Quicksilver was one of the most interesting ones in the book!