chemicals

What’s all the Buzz about My Plastic Bottle?

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Author
EUREKA RECYCLING
Recently there has been much discussion about the safety of drinking water. Concerns about tap water, bottled water, and reusable plastic bottles can be overwhelming. The main issue concerning plastic bottles is the leaching of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) which is used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate, the hard clear plastic that is characteristic of many water bottles. It is used to make household goods because of its characteristics: it is very durable, moldable, and has good temperature resistance. Almost all

Safe Hair Color Options

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Author
KASSIE KUEHL
Kasia Beautiful Health Salon
FACTS TO CONSIDER:

The average salon customer is in contact with hair color ammonia about every 4-7 weeks while hair stylists have daily contact with ammonia.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ammonia is listed as a hazardous substance that has related negative health effects including headaches, loss of appetite, and fatigue due to the ammoniated smells.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Resource:

Skin Deep Database
cosmeticsdatabase.com

Minimize Your Risk of Lead Exposure

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Author
SARA GROCHOWSKI
Do It Green! Minnesota
Inside and outside our homes, we are exposed to toxins and contaminants. It is impossible to prevent all exposures, but poisoning from lead based paint and dust can be prevented. Adults, children, and pets are at risk, but especially children with their nature of putting everything in their mouth. When I first started reading about possible exposure to lead, my son was just starting to become mobile. Our 100 year old home was starting to lose what I thought was character and instead became a potential hazard.

Footnotes/Endnotes
Act Locally!

Minnesota Department of Health,
health.state.mn.us

Center for Disease Control, cdc.gov

Sustainable Resources,
src-mn.org/SRC_ld_leadtest.htm

Hennepin County,
hennepin.us, search for “Lead Hazard Control Grant”

Live Non-Toxic in Your Home

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Author
SARA GROCHOWSKI
Do It Green! Minnesota
Health is more than just the absence of disease; rather, it is a state of physical, mental and social well-being. We use the term health to describe anything from the physical state of our body to that of our soil. More and more studies and stories appear in the media, on the internet, and in research journals about the negative effects of chemicals on our body and our health-from chemicals in plastic water bottles and food storage containers to certain children's toys, or toxins in our own backyard soil. 

Rather than ignore the information and pretend to live

Top Houseplants for Improving Indoor Air Quality

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Author
CLEANAIRGARDENING.COM
popular website
In the late 1980s, a study by NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) was conducted to find ways to purify the air for extended stays in orbiting space stations.
Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Foliage Plants for Removing Indoor Air Pollutants, ntrs.nasa.gov (search for "foliage indoor air")

Foliage Plants for Indoor Removal of Primary Combustion Gases,
ntrs.nasa.gov (search for "foliage combustion")

NASA Publications on the Vascular Aquatic Plant Program,
ssc.nasa.gov (search for "aquatic plants")

Organic Pest Control

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Author
THERESA ROONEY
Hennepin County Master Gardener
Mother Nature has a mind of her own...as do the insects and animals, especially when it comes to our own backyard. In general, using a more natural option to control pests lasts longer and only affects the targeted insect or animal. Using stronger chemicals can often kill more than the "bad" bugs and the insect pest population will rebound more quickly than the insect predator population, which can cause a worse problem later on.
Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Gardeners Supply Company,
gardeners.com

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply,
groworganic.com

Extremely Green Gardening Company,
extremelygreen.com

Planet Natural,
planetnatural.com

Read Up!

Herb Companion magazine,
Ogden Publications, Inc.

Organic Gardening magazine, Rodale, Inc.

Act Locally!

Contact the University of Minnesota Extension Services to locate Master Gardeners in your area and call the hotline,
extension.umn.edu, 612-596-2110

Myths & Truths

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Author
EUREKA RECYCLING

Doesn't the symbol on the bottom of my plastic mean it's recyclable?

Non-Toxic Cleaning Recipes

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Author
Do It Green! Minnesota

Feel like you are killing yourself trying to keep your house clean? You may laugh, but you may be closer to the truth than you think if you are using expensive, commercial cleaners. There are many chemicals in commercial cleaning products that are not adequately tested or regulated. An estimated 2–5 million exposures to household poisons occur every year. So what is the solution?

PMS: White Washing the Truth

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Author
Joolie Geldner

As corporations are mesmerizing menstruating women with images of "summer rain" and "no unsightly accidents" they also white wash the truth behind the health and environmental costs of being able to ride that white horse in your new white chinos. For instance, conventional pads and tampons are loaded with toxic chemicals and are bleached with chlorine compounds. There is accumulating evidence that industrial uses of chlorine, including pulp and paper bleaching, releases toxic dioxins which bioaccumulate in the environment causing serious harm to wildlife, not to mention your own body.

Footnotes/Endnotes

The Blood Sisters Project

Terra Femme Tampons

DivaCup Menstrual Solution

Eco-Logique

Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health

 


Hot Pantz - Women's Herbal Remedies Booklet, Send $4 to: CP 871, Succ. C, Montreal, QE, Canada, H2L 4L6

Cancer and Women: Some Little Known Facts

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Author
Betty Beier and Carol Johnson
Women's Cancer Resource Center
In June of 2001, the American Cancer Society and others reported that almost all cancer rates declined in the 1990s, a reversal of a trend of U.S. cancer rates that had grown for decades. The biggest factor responsible for the decline was said to be decreased tobacco use. For women, there was good news: a decline in new lung cancer cases of 0.2%. But despite all of the comfort we might take from this report, there is a catch: New cases of breast cancer are increasing.
Footnotes/Endnotes

Beyond Pesticides

University of Minnesota - Cancer Center


Life's Delicate Balance: The Causes and Prevention of Breast Cancer, Tayolor and Francis, 2000

Cancer Therapy: The Independent Consumer's Guide to Non-Toxic Treatment and Prevention, Ralph W. Moss, PhD, Equinox Press, Brooklyn, 1997

2001 Holistic Health Directory, Women's Cancer Resource Center, Free to those living with cancer; others $25. Call 612-822-4846 or 1-877-892-6742


The Women's Cancer Resource Cancer
4604 Chicago Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 612-822-4846
Email
Website

Sierra Club Minnesota Air Toxics Campaign
1961 Selby Ave.
St. Paul, MN 651-646-8890
Website
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