Could the use of green cleaning services remove this exposure?
Scientists found there are significant links between the cancer and women’s use of cleaning products.
General use of cleaners tripled the risk of breast cancer in women who used them the most often, experts discovered.
In contrast, insect replellents and pesticides had little impact on breast cancer risk.
The women were asked about their usage of cleaning products and pesticides, and then split into four groups from between low and high users. These results were then compared.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published report on cleaning product use and risk of breast cancer.”
Scientists believe that if women started using green cleaning products then this could remove this risk altogether.
Many were also created with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that could potentially affect the growth of oestrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells.
Not present in green cleaning products, Hormone-disruptors such as phthalates were often present in air fresheners, said the scientists. Air fresheners could also contain chemicals called terpenes which can potentially react with the ozone in the air to form cancer triggers such as styrene they added.
The scientists acknowledged that their conclusions might be swayed by “recall bias” because they depended on answers to questions. For instance, women who accused chemical pollutants for their breast cancer would be more likely to report high usage of cleaning products. Women who reported using only green cleaning products were not tested in the report.
Such high uncertainty could be avoided with a “prospective” study that followed the fate of a study group over several years.
More information about green cleaning alternatives can be found at websites such as www.puregreencleaning.com.au which offers up interesting and healthy common alternatives to cleaning with modern chemicals.
References and sources:
http://www.webspawner.com/users/will6pierce/nontoxiccleanin.html
http://knol.google.com/k/anonymous/-/egk1qpqqm4mc/2
