M2.3 Blog Assignment: National Library of Medicine's Household Products Database

Similarly to what you did with your personal care products, post your findings on your BLOG under the heading Household Products. Tell us what products you looked up, what you found about the health risks, and how you responded to this new knowledge. If they don't have your first product choose another and keep choosing until you find one for which they have information.
In reviewing your household items: 
  • Were you surprised to find out the toxicity rating of your household products?
  • Did you decide to change any of your consumer behaviors based on your findings?
  • Should everyone know about this risks and why don’t they?

The first product I looked up was cat liter. We have a cat at home and use Tidy cats cat liter and what I found was it causes irritation to the body more so by inhalation. We take turns at home to clean Melvin's liter box and my experience with it is when changing the sand dust particles built up and build a cloud that can causes one to choke and cough; which has happened to me. According to the health ratings it stands by a N which indicates no information provided by the manufacture which I would assume is they have not provided feedback on the effects of cat litter on human lungs. I am a bit surprised because we know cat liter has chemicals found in them but to not have a number and simply labeled a N makes me the consumer a bit weary. The second household product I looked was Clorox disinfecting wipes. My mom uses them to clean counter and table tops. What I found was the wipes are not considered hazardous according to OSHA standards. Only things they found were it could cause irritation to the eyes and skin, which are common symptoms if one happens to be allergic. Overall, I have to say I am a bit skeptical because nothing is not considered safe or non-hazardous. Although it is good to read that it was rated a 0 for minimal health rating; indicating there could be some cause for concern if one is allergic to a certain chemical. In looking over the findings it did not change my consumer behavior but it helped me have more of an open mind to what is potentially in these products.I think everyone should know about the risk of household cleaners because they are the common culprits of having chemicals known to the public which might cause some concern. 

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 31, 2018 at 10:09 AM

    Hi Christina,
    I am also wary of products that have no information in these databases because we can't know that they are safe! I suppose it would be difficult for databases to review every product out there, but it would be much more comforting if they did! I have never had a cat, so I did not know that about the irritation it can cause. I've always found Clorox products to smell really strongly which makes me wary as well. It's good to know that they are not considered hazardous.
    Malena

    ReplyDelete

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