M2.3 National Library of Medicine's Household Products Database

The two cleaning products I looked up in the National Library of Medicine's Household Products Database are Amway Legacy of Clean Dish Drops Dishwashing Liquid and Clorox All-Purpose Cleaning Wipes. From the site I found that the dish detergent has no toxicity score, however it has potential health risks. This product can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract, and aggravate pre-existing skin, eye, and respiratory disorders. Additionally, this product produce ethanol vapors, a carcinogen identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. These findings were surprising to me because my mom bought this product from a recommendation of a family member who said it was a safer alternative than other commercial brands. Another surprise is that the Clorox wipes are not considered hazardous with a toxicity score of 0. I thought this product would contain a few toxic chemicals because it is such a big commercial brand and widely used. Similar to the personal care products exercise, this exercise was another cue for me to make a health behavior change. From now on, I will research about cleaning products before I make the decision to buy and use the products. To reiterate from my previous blog post, I think the public have the absolute right to know about these hazards. I think companies should be transparent about the toxic chemicals in their products and that the government should hold those companies accountable.  I think a lot of consumers, including me, do not know about these risks because we expect the government to regulate these products and make sure they are safe before companies are allowed to sell them, just how they would with drugs.