Issues > May/June 2007 (#120) > Virtuous Cycles

Virtuous Cycles

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Environmental and health concerns aside, detergents containing NPEs are less effective than those without, according to Consumer Reports tests. Still, detergent manufacturers have yet to find a perfectly healthy replacement for LAS, NPEs and other APE surfactants. Alcohol ethoxylates derived from plant and vegetable oils have a lighter impact but are created using a process called "ethoxylation," which produces the probable human carcinogen 1,4-dioxane as a byproduct. Present in very small amounts in the final product, dioxane poses a serious cancer risk when inhaled at high levels in occupational settings.

Besides surfactants, petroleum-based synthetic dyes, fragrances and other chemicals are often added to detergents for aesthetic appeal. Synthetic fragrances may contain hormone-disrupting phthalates, which prevent the scent from dissipating but also provoke asthma and other respiratory problems (see "Body Burdened" www.thegreenguide.com/doc/109/cdc). A study published online at Environmental Health Perspectives this March suggested that phthalates also may be responsible for increased obesity in men. Optical brighteners, fluorescent chemicals used to make clothing appear cleaner, can rub off fabrics onto skin and cause rashes.

Detergents aren't the only beasts to contend with. In 2005, chlorine-based bleaches caused 19,581 poisonings in U.S. children under 6 years of age, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. After disappearing down drains, chlorine reacts with environmental organic matter, creating harmful organochlorines such as dioxin. In 2000, testing found high levels of dioxin in San Francisco Bay fed in part by bleach from residential laundry use.

Also, those seemingly innocuous floral fabric softeners emit, among other chemicals, neurotoxic toluene and trimethylbenzene, styrene (a possible carcinogen), the respiratory irritants phenol and xylene, and thymol, which can cause abdominal distress, according to a study in the May 2000 issue of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. But safer alternatives abound; see the checklist (right) for ideas.

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