Household pollutants can have a major impact on your pet's health. Environmental health experts learned in the 1980s that house dust can be a significant source of exposure to hazardous pollutants such as lead and pesticides, especially for dogs, cats and toddlers.
Recent research is indicating that these pollutants may be behind an epidemic of diseases among pets.
These relatively new toxic synthetic compounds are widely used in consumer products. Among them, flame-retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, and stain, water and grease repellants called perfluorochemicals, or PFCs (also known as Teflon and Gore-Tex). They have been used in fabrics, on furniture, shoes, you name it. They could all be adding to the dangerous pollutants in and around your house.
Earlier this year, toxicologists at the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.– based nonprofit, collected blood samples from 20 pet dogs and 37 pet cats. The researchers pooled found high levels of PBDEs and PFCs in both species.
Environmental health and veterinary experts believe that chronic exposure to synthetic industrial pollutants in house dust may be at least partially responsible for skyrocketing cancer rates in dogs these days, and, They may also be responsible for the extraordinary rise in feline hyperthyroidism in the last 30 years. “The cat sits on that nice warm TV or sits on the sofa and grooms, grooms, grooms,” says Linda Birnbaum, of the EPA’s Experimental Toxicology Division.
Thirty years after they first went into use, PBDEs are finally receiving scrutiny. The European Union has phased out the use of two of the three commercial mixtures of PBDEs in new products, and limited use of the third formulation. Manufacturers in the U.S. have voluntarily stopped producing those two and use is being phased out nationwide as stocks are used up. Unfortunately, manufacture and use of a third PBDE mixture is still completely unregulated in all states except Washington and Maine. And because sofas and televisions aren’t something one replaces frequently, products containing PBDEs will be sitting around in our houses for many years to come.
There’s a lot you can do to reduce your household’s burden of indoor pollutants. As you replace furniture and rugs, choose new ones made of wool, hemp, cotton and other naturally more flame-resistant materials, and check manufacturers’ websites to find out whether these products have been made or treated with flame retardants and stain repellents. Frankly, this won’t always be easy, but it should become increasingly more so as the market for such products develops.
Ditto electronic equipment: Some manufacturers’ websites claim their products don’t use PBDEs; consider these when shopping for electronics.
Here are a few more tips.
- Don’t use pans with non-stick coatings. There’s still a lot of controversy about this, but old-fashioned cast iron is looking better and better.
- Grease-proof linings on dog food bags may be a significant dietary source of PFCs. Look for dog food bagged with untreated aluminum foil liners, if possible.
- Toss those plastic dog dishes, especially the water dish, and replace them with stainless steel.
- Don’t use pesticides, fungicides or herbicides, or use them only sparingly and after all else has failed.
- Use nontoxic household cleansers and polishes.
- Look up the Maine and Washington state bills phasing out PBDEs and consider working to get similar legislation passed in your state.
- And here’s the depressing finale: vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. While you’re at it, experts recommend, dust once a week with a damp cloth. Less dust equals lower exposure for all household members, no matter how you cut it.
The information in this article comes from an excellent - much longer! - two-part article By Susan McGrath, The Bark.Please read the articles: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/household-pollutants-and-pets.html
Because, as Susan says, this isn’t just about our dogs and cats–it’s about all of us.
