Source: OSHA http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=13369
A wide variety of substances are emitted by building construction materials
and interior
furnishings, appliances, office equipment, and supplies, human activities,
and
biological agents.
For example, formaldehyde is emitted from various wood products, including
particle
board, plywood, pressed-wood, paneling, some carpeting and backing,
some furniture and
dyed materials, urea-formaldehyde insulating foam, some cleaners and
deodorizers, and from
press textiles. Volatile organic compounds, including alkanes, aromatic
hydrocarbons, esters,
alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones are emitted from solvents and cleaning
compounds,
paints, glues, caulks, and resins, spray propellants, fabric softeners
and deodorizers, unvented
combustion sources, dry-cleaning fluids, arts and crafts, some fabrics
and furnishings,
stored gasoline, cooking, building and roofing materials, waxes and
polishing compounds,
pens and markers, binders and plasticizers. Pesticides also contain
a variety of toxic organic
compounds.
Building materials are point sources of emissions that include a variety
of VOCs (Table
III-1).
Some of these materials have been linked to indoor air quality problems.
The
probability of a source emitting contaminants is related to the age
of the material. The newer the
material, the higher the potential for emitting contaminants. These
materials include adhesives,
carpeting, caulks, glazing compounds, and paints [Ex. 4-33]. These
materials, as well as
furnishings can act as a sponge or sink in which VOCs are absorbed
and then re-emitted later.
Appliances, office equipment, and supplies can emit VOCs and also particulates
[Ex.
4-33]. Table III-2 lists the many contaminants that can be emitted
from these point sources.
There is an indirect relationship between the age of the point source
and the potential rate of
contaminant emission [Ex. 4-33].
Table III-1. - Emissions From Building Materials
or Interior Furnishings
Material Typical Pollutants Emitted
________________________________________________________________________
_
Adhesives................. Alcohols.
Amines.
Benzene.
Decane.
Dimethylbenzene.
Formaldehyde.
Terpenes.
Toluene.
Xylenes.
Caulking Compounds........ Alcohols.
Alkanes.
Amines.
Benzene.
Diethylbenzene.
Formaldehyde.
Methylethylketone.
Xylenes.
Carpeting................. Alcohols.
Formaldehyde.
4-Methylethyl-benzene.
4-Phenylcyclohexene.
Styrene.
Ceiling Tiles............. Formaldehyde.
Clipboard/Particle Board.. Alcohols.
Alkanes.
Amines.
Benzene.
3-Carene.
Formaldehyde.
Terpenes.
Toluene.
Floor and Wall Coverings.. Acetates.
Alcohols.
Alkanes.
Amines.
Benzenes.
Formaldehyde.
Methyl styrene.
Xylenes.
Paints, Stains & Varnishes Acetates.
Acrylates.
Alcohols.
Alkanes.
Amines.
Benzenes.
Formaldehyde.
Limonene.
Polyurethane.
Toluene.
Table
III-2. - Emissions From Appliances, Office
Equipment and Supplies(1)
Appliances...................... Carbon Monoxide.
Nitrogen Dioxide.
Sulfur Dioxide.
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
Carbonless Copy Paper .
Chlorobiphenyl.
Cyclohexane.
Dibutylphthalate.
Formaldehyde.
Computers/Video Display Terminals n-Butanol.
2-Butanole.
2-Butoxyethanol.
Butyl-2-Methylpropyl phthalate.
Computer/Video Display Terminals Caprolactam.
Cresol.
Diisooctyl phthalate.
Dodecamethyl cyclosiloxane.
2-Ethoxyethyl acetate.
Ethylbenzene.
Hexanedioic acid.
3-Methylene-2-pentanone.
Ozone.
Phenol.
Phosphoric Acid.
Toluene.
Xylene.
Duplicating Machines
Ethanol.
Methanol.
1,1,1-Trichloroethane.
Trichloroethylene.
Electrophotographic Printers,
Ammonia.
Photocopiers & Related Supplies. Benzaldehyde.
Benzene.
Butyl methacrylate.
Carbon black.
Cyclotrisiloxane.
Ethylbenzene.
Isopropanol.
Methylmethacrylate.
Nonanal.
Ozone.
Styrene.
Terpene.
Toluene.
1,1,1-Trichloroethane.
Trichloroethylene.
Xylenes.
Zinc stearate combustion Products.
Microfiche Developers/Blueprint Ammonia.
Machines
Preprinted Paper Forms.
Acetaldehyde.
Acetic Acid.
Acetone.
Acrolein.
Benzaldehyde.
Butanal.
1,5-Dimethylcyclopentene.
2-Ethyl furan.
Heptane.
Hexamethyl cyclosiloxane.
Hexanal.
4-Hydroxy-4-methyl pentanone.
Isopropanol.
Paper dust.
Propionaldehyde.
1,1,1-Trichloroethane.
Typewriter Corrections Fluid.
Acetone.
1,1,1-Trichloroethane.
__________
Footnote(1) Source [Ex. 4-33]
Emissions from equipment, such as computers, will decrease over time
compared to
emissions from equipment that continually use chemicals. Emissions
from such equipment (e.g.,
laser printers) that use chemicals continually, will obtain a steady
state concentration
dependent upon the chemicals used and frequency of equipment use.
A cup of coffee is filled with chemicals.
They've identified a thousand chemicals in a cup of coffee. But we
only found 22
that have been tested in animal cancer tests out of this thousand.
And of
those, 17 are carcinogens. There are 10 milligrams of known carcinogens
in
a cup of coffee and that's more carcinogens than you're likely to get
from
pesticide residues for a year!
http://reason.com/amesint.html
Well, not really. At least, not yet. But the nannies will have you believing it's possible if and when they decide to tell you so. In the meantime, have a look at other illnesses/connections they have linked to smoking besides lung cancer and heart disease:
Aneurysms
Cerebral Hemorrhage
Early Menopause
Hearing Loss
Cataracts
Seat Belt Use
Bladder Cancer
Pancreatic
Cancer
Severe Low Back Pain
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Colorectal Cancer
Wrinkling
Impotence
*Sterility
in Women
Complications with Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Multiple
Sclerosis
Lupus
Allergies to a wide variety of materials, including metal found in
earrings and in the buttons of blue jeans
SOURCE: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
2003;111:980-984
*See the International Council on
Infertility Information Dissemination
article attacking this claim.
This is but a tiny list of associations.
Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their
health but may not know that indoor air pollution can also have
significant effects. EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants
indicate that indoor air levels of many pollutants may be 2-5 times,
and occasionally, more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels.
These levels of indoor air pollutants are of particular concern because
it
is estimated that most people spend as much as 90% of their time
indoors.
Over the past several decades, our exposure to indoor air
pollutants is believed to have increased due to a variety of
factors, including the construction of more tightly
sealed buildings, reduced ventilation rates to save energy,
the use of synthetic building materials and furnishings, and
the use of chemically formulated personal care products,
pesticides, and household cleaners.
In recent years, comparative risk studies performed by EPA and its
Science Advisory Board (SAB) have consistently ranked indoor air
pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health.
EPA, in close cooperation with other Federal agencies and the private
sector, is actively involved in a concerted effort to better understand
indoor air pollution and to reduce people's exposure to air pollutants
in
offices, homes, schools and other indoor environments where people
live, work, and play.
Okay, so you don't smoke or you've quit smoking or you avoid cigarette smoke like the plague.
That means you either made a conscious choice not to ever smoke (Good
for you! It's about the right of choice!),
practically guaranteeing yourself at least a 50% shot of never contracting
a serious illness.
OR
You gave up something you enjoyed because:
a) You didn't enjoy it anymore (good for you! It's because you wanted to. Not because you thought you "should."), practically guaranteeing yourself at least a 50% shot of never contracting a serious illness.
OR
You think that by avoiding Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) you're practically guaranteeing yourself at least a 50% shot of never contracting a serious illness.
While you are fooling yourself into actually believing you're practically guaranteeing yourself at least a 50% shot of never contracting a serious illness by doing any of the above let me burst your bubble. Then consider this: The greatest risk is not taking one. In other words, if you enjoy something, that benefit outweighs the risk because there are no guarantees in this life.
The following lists contain REPORTED Cancer & Heart Disease Risks. It's very important you understand the word "REPORTED." It means that there have been news and medical journal articles that have "reported" there is or may be a link between these items and either cancer or heart disease. Either they still stand or they have been debunked. But once something has been "reported" it's a hard press to convince the public they have no reason to act in a "better safe than sorry" manner when in contact with these items... such as the case of ETS. Either way, what makes you think that avoiding smoking or ETS will keep you more safe when there are all these other reported risks you come in contact with during everyday living:
Reported Cancer Risks
1. Air
2. Alar
3. Appliances, Motorized Household
4. Asbestos
5. Birth, not giving/Having children late in life
6. Bras, underwire/Wearing Bras to Bed - breast cancer risk
7. Breast Feed, failure to
8. bST (Bovine Somatotropin) - hormone that stimulates milk production
9. Burnt food - breast cancer (4/4/00 Iowa Woman's Health Study)
10. Butter
11. Cellular Phones
12. "Celtic Mutation" - A human cell defect leading to strands of breast
and ovarian cancer has been traced to Scotland, with claims that it
originated from an unknown person living in the southwest of Scotland
about 300 years ago and was passed on to hundreds of descendants
(published in The Guardian, 3/27/00; Brian Cohen, a researcher at St.
Andrews University)
13. Charcoal Grilled Food
14. Chimney Sweeping - Sir Percival Pott, Eminent Surgeon, 1775.
15. Chlamydia - certain forms increase a woman's risk of developing
cervical cancer (American Medical Association - 1/3/01)
16. Coal Dust
17. Coffee
18. Computer Monitors
19. Constipation - affects the bowels, breeding bacteria,
potentially leading to cancer.
20. Cyclamates - sweetener substitute
21. Dairy - colorectal cancer (4/5/00)
22. DDT
23. DES - synthetic form of estrogen
24. Driving Occupations, Long Distance - prostate cancer
25. EDB - additive in leaded gasoline and agricultural fumigant
26. Eggs
27. Electric Blankets
28. Electromagnetic Fields
29. Estrogen - breast cancer risk
30. Factory emissions
31. Food Irradiation
32. Fungus
33. Hair Dye
34. Height, Tall - particularly prostate and blood cancers. Source:
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
35. Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-1) - protein hormone
36. Jet Fuel (Airliners dump fuel before landing)
37. Jogging - 1980s scare that nipples of joggers were prone to
cancer, leading to huge sales in training bras
to limit breast
movement.
38. Lead
39. Meats, Animal, Ingestion of - Animals fed drugs prior to slaughter
40. Microwaves
41. Moles
42. Motor vehicle exhaust
43. MSG
44. MTBE
45. Nationality
46. Nitrites
47. Nuclear power plants
48. PCBs
49. Perchloroethylene - dry cleaning solvent
50. Pesticides
51. Phthalates - used to make hard plastic soft & used in baby
toys.
52. Pinching
53. Prescription drugs which make the skin more sensitive to
sunlight
could be linked to a rise in skin cancer (published in The Guardian,
March 27, 2000; according to James Ferguson, of Dundee University).
54. Pylon, living near
55. Radar Guns
56. Radiation
57. Red Dye #2
58. Selenium, lack of - breast cancer
59. Sex (widowers who have lost their mate to cervical cancer have
a higher rate of losing the next spouse to the same
disease)
60. Silver Fillings - Amalgam
61. Slaughterhouse Work - animal viruses (E.S. Johnson, H.R.
Fischman, G. M. Matanoski, E. Diamond. 'Cancer mortality
among
white males in the meat industry', J Occup Med Jan
1986, 28 (1),
pp23-32
62. Smog
63. Smoking
64. Spicy foods (stomach cancer)
65. Sun/Sunburn - skin cancer
66. Talc
67. Teflon
68. Toluene - used in paint products, stain removers, dyes, nail
polish and cosmetics
69. Tris - flame retardant
70. VDTs
71. Viruses
72. Water Flouridation
73. X-Rays
Reported Heart Disease Risks
1. Alcohol use
2. Anger
3. Bacteria
4. Cold Pills - contain phenylpropanolamine or PPA
5. Despair/depression
6. Diet Pills - contain phenylpropanolamine or PPA
7. Ephedra - herbal body building drug
8. Exercise, lack of, too much, at the wrong time
9. Fatty foods
10. Genetics (i.e., family history)
11. Gums, diseased -
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/14/science/14GUM.html
12. Heart Attack, previous, and light drinking
13. Job, high pressure
14. Marriages, bad
15. Meal, unusually heavy - high risk during 2 hrs after eating
16. Menstruation - can bring on sudden heart disease
17. Obesity
18. Poverty
19. Shock, physical; ie. jumping into cold water
20. Short British Men - more likely to be obese and twice as likely
to
smoke, leading to heart disease
21. Smoking <heh>
22. Steroids
23. Stress (physical, mental, emotional)
24. Viagra
25. Vitamin C, Excess dosage of (source: Dr. James H. Dwyer at USC,
March, 2000)
Reported in USA Weekend (Feb. 23-25, 2001) by Michele Hatty
Every day, one in four Americans grabs a fast-food meal. But far fewer give any thought to the dangers of eating it. In a new book, Fast Food Nation (Houghton Mifflin, $25), investigative journalist Eric Schlosser tells what really lurks between those sesame seed buns. It ain't good.
Mad cow scares aside, your patty likely includes meat from not one steer but dozens, slaughtered and processed hastily by low-paid workers. Result? Animal waste in your burger. Yuck. And sanitation is little better inside the eateries, largely staffed by ill-paid, unhappy, careless teenagers, Schlosser says. Among his other unappetizing findings: