Risky business
Book assesses hazards of household toxins
AMANDA CUDA acuda@ctpost.com
Article Launched: 12/21/2006 04:43:56 AM EST


Click photo to enlarge
Gary Ginsberg co-Author of "What's Toxic, What's Not" «12»If there's anything Gary Ginsberg and Brian Toal have learned from their years in the public health field, it's this: People are increasingly concerned about toxic materials in their environment. However, these same people have a tenuous grasp on what constitutes a "toxic material."
Ginsberg is a senior toxicologist at the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and Toal supervises the department's Environmental and Occupational Health Assessment Program.

As such, they frequently hear from homeowners concerned about mold, cancer clusters and the like, and felt themselves dishing out the same answers again and again.

"There wasn't one place where these people could go and get answers to all these questions at once," Toal said.

So

the men joined to forces to write a guidebook homeowners could use to help determine which substances they needed to be concerned about, and which were most likely harmless.
The result is "What's Toxic, What's Not" (Berkley Trade Paperback Original, $15), published earlier this month. The book provides information on everything from radon and asbestos to water and air pollutants, along with helpful guides intended to aid readers in determining, well, what's toxic and what's not. These include a chart at the end of every chapter that assigns a risk level of the toxin discussed in that chapter, based on the substance's overall toxicity, how likely exposure is, and the severity of the health risks it causes.

Americans are more alert to


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the potential dangers of today's highly industrialized world, Ginsberg said. They just don't know exactly what those dangers are.
"There's myths out there that people [accept as fact], and there are hidden risks that people don't know about," he said.

For instance, both he and Toal receive frequent calls from homeowners concerned about mold. Most people who discover mold in their homes jump to the conclusion that it's toxic, and that their home is contaminated.

"I think mold's become a bit of a boogey-man," Toal said. However, in the book, Toal and Ginsberg point out that "toxic mold" is a media-created term, often used to describe a particular type of mold, Stachyborys atra, once linked to infant lung hemorrhage.

Eventually, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, a nonprofit that gives science-based advice on health, medicine and biomedical science, found there wasn't conclusive evidence of an association between mold and these toxic effects.

Toal and Ginsberg said that, though mold can release toxins under the right circumstances, the level usually isn't high enough to pose a threat. "By and large, mold isn't toxic," Ginsberg said. "If you're allergic to it, it can cause upper respiratory symptoms that feel like a bad sinus cold."

Another frequent source of alarm among the callers Toal and Ginsberg speak to is cancer clusters. Toal said many people panic when they hear there are multiple cases of cancer on their street or in their neighborhood, and assume the illness has an environmental cause.

In reality, Toal said only about 5 percent of cancers are caused by pollution and, what appear to be cancer clusters are often just coincidences. Cancer is increasingly common, so it wouldn't be unheard of for multiple people in a neighborhood to have the illness.

"Unless it's multiple cases of the same cancer and there's an obvious source [of pollution] nearby, it's probably not environmental," Toal said.

Yet, there are some toxins about which Americans show too little concern, Toal and Ginsberg said. Air pollution, for instance.

Most people erroneously assume that ozone and other pollutants aren't a threat anymore. "I think people think that problem's been solved," Toal said. "Well, it's better than it used to be, but it's still out there."

In the book, he and Ginsberg suggest lobbying state and local officials to require more fuel-efficient and lower polluting cars, trucks and buses. They also advise driving less and buying cars that get better gas mileage, to decrease your role in pollution.

Overall, Toal and Ginsberg said they hope people will use their book as a way to educate themselves about potential dangers, and take an active part in keeping themselves safe. "It's almost a medical manual you can keep on your shelf," Toal said.

MANAGING MOLD
Some tips on finding, removing and preventing mold, from "What's Toxic, What's Not."

Determine if you have a moisture problem somewhere in the building. If so, find the source of the moisture.

Look for mold with your eyes and nose. If you see or smell mold, figure out where it is getting moisture.

Find and fix the moisture source, and dry affected areas and materials.

Throw out porous materials that were damp for more than 24 to 48 hours.

Clean or scrub mold off hard surfaces.

Estimate the size of the problem. A homeowner can handle small cleanups, but leave larger ones to professionals.

If you do the cleanup yourself, use a protective respirator.

In most situations, do not test for mold.

For more information on the book, and to take a home toxics test, visit Toal and Ginsberg's web site, http://www.whatstoxic.com.