CHEMICAL
and where found
|
TOXICITY IN HUMANS
including chronic and acute effects
(lab animal effects in brackets)
|
1,3-butadiene
rugs, rug underpaddings, rubber tires, rubber consumer products,
nylon, gasoline, auto exhaust, groundwater |
leukemia, lymph cancer, blood cell cancer; tumors of breast, bronchial
tubes, stomach, large intestine, liver, heart, thyroid (in mice:
testicular tumors, leukemia) |
Acetaldehyde
body metabolism of alcohol; woodstoves, incinerators, smog, diesel
exhaust, byproduct of Candida Albicans fungal infections |
DNA and chromosome damage; binds to liver and other cells causing autoimmune
responses; upper respiratory irritation, metabolic
disruption, lung damage |
Acetone
adhesives |
neurologic damage, lung damage; enhances carbon tetrachloride liver damage
|
Alkylphenol resin
carbonless copy paper (“NCR” forms) |
immune responses including itching/burning skin, rash, flushing,
wheezing, cough; nausea; hormone (prostaglandin) irregularities
| Benzenes
(benzene, benzo(a)pyrene, naphthalene, others)
gasoline (auto exhaust & interiors, gas stations)
diesel exhaust,
building materials, plastics, polypropylene food containers, cooked
foods, printers, printed & copied paper, copy machines, incinerators,
tobacco smoke, woodsmoke, marihuana smoke |
bronchial,
colon, and liver damage; leukemia; DNA damage; tumors
including brain, liver, stomach, lung; cardiac abnormalities,
eye irritation, drowsiness, unconsciousness, uncoordination, heart
attack (in mice: birth defects, tumors) (1, 14-21) |
BHT (butylated hydroxy-toluene)
migration from polyethylene food packaging, additive in foods
(cereals, fats, meats, potatoes, others) |
allergic reactions, possible cancer, possible kidney damage (animals:
behavioural changes in offspring) |
Carbon disulfide
solvents, dry-cleaning, painting, spray painting, glue work, varnishes |
peripheral nerve damage, emotional instability, insomnia, lessening of libido
|
Carbon monoxide
woodsmoke, tobacco smoke, auto and diesel exhaust |
lung damage & irritation; carboxy-hemoglobin neutralizes
blood oxygen transport |
Chlorinated water
drinking water, shower vapour |
immune depression (anti-tumor macrophages) |
Chlorobenzene pesticides ( DDT, lindane, heptachlor, aldrin,
dieldrin, endrin, chlordane, mirex;
others)
food chain: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, human fat,
mother’s milk; body fat, contaminated soils, groundwater |
brain transmitter changes including neurological ‘kindling’; breast
cancer (in test bacteria: genetic mutations; in mice: developmental
learning deficits). Many are partially or completely untested
|
Chloroform, carbon tetrachloride
solvents, incinerators, groundwater |
liver- lung- & enzyme damage, cancers, kidney damage, cardiac
abnormalities, heart attack (9, |
Chlorpyrifos
food residues; widely used home and agricultural pesticide, herbicide;
active metabolite found in urine of 5.8% of U.S. population |
peripheral nerve damage, autoimmune disease, antibiotic allergy,
memory loss, multiple chemical sensitivity, headaches, nausea,
muscle cramps; effects are accelerated by other organophosphate
pesticides |
DEHP (diethylhexyl phthalate)
plasticizer, food wraps, vinyl blood bags: leaches into blood
during storage |
likely toxicity to lungs, liver, reproductive organs; possibly
carcinogenic (in animals: fetal toxicity, lung abnormalities)
|
Dioxins
contaminant in pesticides, herbicides, technical products; now
worldwide in air, water, meat, fish, human body (especially fat,
liver); formed in incineration, electrical fires, woodsmoke, chemical
reactions (possibly sewage sludge) | genetic damage, vitamin A dysregulation,
liver toxicity, altered
fat metabolism, chlorachne (skin cysts, scarring) thymus atrophy,
impaired resistance to infection, breast cancer, nerve transmission
damage (in animals: fetal damage, immune damage, enzyme changes)
|
Ethanol
glue, alcoholic beverages |
fetal damage,
developmental delay, neurologic damage, cirrhosis
of liver, zinc and selenium deficiencies; accelerates liver damage
of chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and nitrosamines; interferes
with body processing of styrene, xylene, toluene, methyl ethyl
ketone, trichloroethylene, benzene (6, 9, 31, 46) |
Formaldehyde
solvents, printing, fabrics, mattresses, tobacco smoke, woodsmoke,
foam insulation, particle board, car and diesel exhaust, smog,
groundwater |
lung damage,
impaired memory & dexterity, immediate and delayed
hypersensitivity reactions; asthma, rhinitis; irritation of eyes
and respiration |
Glycol ethers
antifreeze, paint, glue, adhesives, sealants, caulking compounds,
printed circuit boards, dyeing, inks |
reproductive poisons,
red blood cell damage, liver damage (in
animals: fetal growth retardation, skeletal defects, testicular
lesions) |
Halothane
recently the most common general anesthetic;
still in use as pediatric
anesthetic |
neurologic damage,
liver damage (in rodents: developmental brain
damage, reduced learning and exploration in offspring, neurotransmitter
changes) |
Hexachlorobenzene
cleaners, fungicide |
immune suppression,
reduced T&B cell responses (in mice: impaired
resistance to infection) |
Hexachlorophene
disinfectant, cleaning agent, soaps; used to wash hospital newborns
from 1950’s to 1973 |
nausea, vomiting,
convulsions, central and peripheral nerve damage,
kidney damage; caused brain lesions and death when used to wash
newborn premature babies |
Hydrazine
food additives, photographic supplies, herbicides, pesticides,
textiles, drugs, plastics |
autoimmune disease (lupus) |
MBT
( -mercaptobenzothiazole)
blood vial stoppers, syringes; rubber nipples & pacifiers and
other rubber products |
damage to cell walls (cell death),
allergy, rubber allergy (in
animals: cancer) |
Methanol
glue, antifreeze, paint, cement, ink, windshield-wiper solvent;
industrial uses |
neurologic damage, blindness, lung and gastro-intestinal problems;
dizziness, headache |
Methyl ethyl ketone
solvents, photochemical smog |
lung irritation and damage |
Methyl n butyl ketone
solvents, glue, varnish |
peripheral nerve damage,
loss of motor control and reflexes, tremor,
weight loss, muscle weakness (in rodents: nerve cell degeneration)
| Methylene chloride
pesticide sprays, gaseous lubricants, aerosols, degreasers, waxes,
paints, paint-removers, varnishes |
heart muscle damage,
heartbeat changes; creates carbon monoxide
(in animals: cancers) |
N-hexane
building materials, vegetable oil extraction,
gasoline, solvents, glue, roofing glue, varnish, vinyl production,
printing inks, paints, dry-cleaning, spray painting |
nerve cell
damage, peripheral limb nerve damage; headache, cramps
|
Nitrogen dioxide
incinerators, woodsmoke, smog, auto and diesel emissions; coal,
oil & gas stoves |
lung & respiratory damage, pulmonary fluid, fatty acid oxidation,
bronchitis, childhood bronchitis; forms methemoglobin in blood
(in mice: reduced resistance to infection, lung cell damage) |
Nitrosamines
consumer rubbers (tires, baby nipples and pacifiers), soaps, cosmetics,
tobacco smoke, food & food containers and packaging, marihuana
smoke, pesticides, herbicides, industrial uses |
DNA damage, cancers, cell
death (in 30 animal species tested:
cancers) |
Ozone
incinerators, photochemical smog, diesel and auto exhaust, laser
printers |
lung immune system damage (B-cells), bronchial constriction, fatty
acid oxidation, enzyme de-activation (in mice and rabbits: lung
lesions; in rats: fat metabolism damage, increased deaths) |
PBBs (polybrominated biphenyls)
flame retardants (rugs, plastics, clothing, furnishings) |
immune depression (T&B cells)
|
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls)
leakage from transformers; disposal of copy papers, paints/plasticizers,
pesticide extenders, flame retardants, adhesives, coolants, inks,
hydraulic fluids; human, fish, and animal fat; groundwater |
genetic damage causing
developmental & cognitive retardation,
vitamin A dysregulation, chlorachne, immune depression, peripheral
nerve damage, liver damage, respiratory problems, thyroid hormone
dysregulation, decreases in reaction time, spatial learning, short-term
memory; excess pigmentation (in animals: tumors, growth retardation,
behavioural changes, fetal death, increased infection) |
Pentachlorophenol
wood preservative, packaging preservative, insecticide, metabolite
of lindane & hexachlorobenzene; found in urine of 75% of U.S.
population |
possible genetic damage, suspected cancers; commonly contaminated
with dioxins (in animals: fetal death and mutations) |
Phenols
disinfectants, insecticides, fungicides (especially citrus fruit),
food additives, tobacco, marihuana, natural food occurrences,
incinerators |
nausea, vomiting, paralysis, coma (in cats, dogs: immune depression;
in mice: trace amounts cause immune dysfunction of yeast-killing
macrophages) |
Solvents (mixed)
(usually some combination of: benzene, toluene, xylene,
styrene, acetone, methanol, phenol, alkylphenol, dichloromethane)
paints, glues, degreasers, thinners, extractors, dyes,
industrial manufacturing, laboratories |
brain, skeletal, and
other birth defects; brain cell degeneration;
panic attacks, impaired memory, depression; visuospatial and perceptual
impairment |
Styrene
rubber, carpet backing, rug underpaddings, photocopiers, copy
paper, laser printers, polystyrene food containers (yogurt, others) |
genetic mutations,
chromosome aberrations; interference with liver
enzymes, dermatitis; skin, nasal & respiratory irritations, fatigue,
irritability; decreases in manual dexterity, concentration, and
reaction times (in mice: tumors and increased death rate) |
Sulphur dioxide
car and diesel exhaust, incinerators, woodsmoke, smog |
lung & respiratory damage,
bronchiospasm, airway irritation (in
mice: increased infection) |
Tetracycline
antibiotic |
fetal malformations;
chelates bone calcium |
Toluene (methyl benzene)
paint, solvents, carpets, plastic & rubber cements, white-out
fluid, glue, roofing glue, photocopiers, print shops, dry-cleaning,
spray painting, varnishes, building materials, incinerators, smog,
gasoline, groundwater (drinking, skin absorption), printed paper |
damages: menstruation,
respiratory system, brain, reproductive
system, verbal memory, short-term memory, reaction speed; increases
emotional reactivity and awake periods; induces asthma, blood
vessel dilation, hearing loss |
Toluene-diisocyanate
typing correction fluid, polyurethane foams and elastomers (insulation,
cushions), industrial uses |
immediate (type 1)
immune reactions, other immune-system changes;
damage to mucous membranes; cough, wheeze; irritation of eyes,
lungs
|
Trichloroethylene
dry-cleaning, painting, spray painting, glue work, dewaxing and
degreasing agents, insecticides, drain cleaners, printing inks,
solvents, varnishes; incinerators |
damage to cranial and trigeminal
(nasal) nerves, liver; brain fatty acid changes; narcotic symptoms: dizziness, nausea, numbness,
alcohol intolerance; disruptions in memory and understanding;
cardiac abnormalities, heart attack (in mice: cancers) |
Vinyl chloride
plastic wraps (‘Saran Wrap’), PVC plastics, pipes and connectors;
packing materials, wire and cable coatings, footwear, spray-propellant
gas, hard flooring, vinyl records, groundwater |
liver, brain & lung cancers;
trigeminal nerve damage, ‘vinyl chloride
disease’ (loss of bone calcium, auto-immune complexes, peripheral
nerve damage, Raynaud’s symptoms, immune complex disorder); skin
damage, T-cell depression, kidney damage; sexual and sleep disorders
| Xylene
paints, thinners, solvents, gasoline, polystyrene cups, adhesives,
roofing glue, building materials, varnish, cleaners, paper, photochemical, smog, groundwater |
lung enzyme damage, upper
respiratory irritation, fatigue, headache,
nausea; impaired balance and reaction times |
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