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Cleaning chemicals health risks revealed
Common cleaning products could be making cleaners sick, new research suggests. It found air fresheners and other household sprays could damage pregnant women and new-born babies. Although the research falls short of proving that fresheners cause ill-health, scientists warn that people should use such sprays with caution. The researchers, which looked at domestic use of the products - where exposures are almost certainly lower and less frequent than for working cleaners - found that almost a third more babies suffered diarrhoea in homes where air fresheners - including sticks, sprays and aerosols - were used daily compared with households where they were used no more than once a week. Other aerosols such as polish, deodorant and hairspray were linked with a 30 per cent increase in diarrhoea and, to a lesser extent, vomiting in babies. Mothers who used air fresheners and aerosols daily were 10 per cent more likely to suffer headaches than women who used them less frequently, the study found. The scientists also discovered 16 per cent of mothers who used such fresheners daily were suffering from maternal depression, compared with 12 per cent who seldom used them. That represented an increased risk of 26 per cent, they said.
- Resources: UNISON Caring for clean staff guide [ pdf ] and GMB Health and safety for cleaners guide .
Briefing document (300 words) issued 22 Oct 2004
