For those of you who have either recently built a new home, or re-carpeted your home, or begun working in a new office building, you recognize the fact that there are certain odors, scents and fumes given off by these building products that can cause adverse or allergic reactions in your body.

I recently read an article regarding a sale of products in the United States that are so dangerous they are banned for sale in European countries and in Japan. According to this article, “billions of dollars worth of wood manufactured in China and destined for American kitchens and floors, emit chemicals so hazardous that China won’t even allow the products to be sold in their own country. This is quite alarming, in light of the fact of all the current construction going on in our country. The fact is that products may be imported and used in the U.S. home construction industries which are cheaper to purchase for contractors and emit chemicals which are extremely harmful to our bodies.

American manufacturers around the world are selling products ranging from toys to pesticides and cosmetics that contain ingredients such as formaldehyde which has been linked to certain forms of cancer and which has been banned in other nations.

According to Alastair Iles, an international chemical policy expert, “the dumping problem is concentrated in a few product sectors, but these sectors happen to be really ubiquitous in the very lives of Americans. Chemical risks are being spread all over the country in ways that are invisible to consumers.”

According to this article, China sent over a half billion dollars worth of plywood to the United States in 2005, emitting high amounts of formaldehyde, while sending plywood with lower formaldehyde levels to Japan and Europe. A sample which was tested from a Home Depot in Oregon gave off 100 times the amount of formaldehyde vapors legal in Japan and 30 times more than that allowed in Europe or in China itself. Formaldehyde has been linked to the risk of throat and neck cancer. It has also been linked to causing asthma, headaches, hormone changes, as well as neurological or reproductive problems.

Many manufacturers are willing to voluntarily meet higher standards and comply with products produced in the European Union. These companies include Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Matel, and Revlon. Unfortunately, there are no government standards here in the United States, therefore it is difficult for consumers to recognize which products may be low in formaldehyde and which may be high. The one standard we do have in the United States relative to formaldehyde vapors is that used in the construction of low cost, subsidized housing.

Once again, it is necessary as a consumer to be aware of some of these health hazards and risks and be able to take steps to change our lack of regulations on these products. Many of which can be and will continue to be significant health hazards to us in the future. Thank you for your readership. For more information on previous articles log onto my website at www.upchiropractic.com. If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter e-mail us at upchirocenter1@verizon.net