Articles in Reference Books

This article explores some of the chemicals used in cleaning and laundry products and the kinds of effects this can have on the biological systems of human beings, and why they are considered hazardous to use as substances. It helps to bridge the link between what we use on our bodies and in our cleaning products and how these can in turn affect us in a way that is not only unhealthy to our systems, but can also be fatal to a human's system as well at certain levels of toxicity.

Toxicology explores the chemicals we use on a daily basis for different purposes and functions, for cleaning and other household tasks, and how this can be endangering our health as a result, explaining the correlations between chemicals that are toxic to our systems and what hazard they may pose at certain levels and dosages of consistent exposure to such chemicals. This could in turn affect the unborn fetus via way of the mother and father, through their exposure to toxic chemicals over a certain length of time.

BOOKS

This contains not only solutions but also some of the major problems found in household or industrial products used. So it tackles two parts at once- the toxic indoor pollution and the solutions to it. This book is written by a former sufferer of multiple chemical sensitivity, spending years studying natural remedies and solutions to use in place of toxic chemicals in our everyday products. Bond is a periodical writer and eitor and has written other books on the subject of alternatives to using toxic chemicals in the home. The book is full of recipes, tips and formulas on just about anything for the home from laundry product alternatives to window, glass, tub and toilet bowl cleaners. It has a plethora of information on using common ingredients in place of the commercial chemicals we are accustomed to and are causing our environments to become more toxic as a result. I found this book while searching and actually checked it out at the local library as well, the title itself seemed to pertain directly to my topic, and I used the keywords toxic and home in this particular search and it yielded this result, also the LC subject headings helped with this particular search, which I was browsing through in search of finding books that pertained to indoor air pollution from household chemicals and solutions to the epidemic.

This is a short book written by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D., which is a regulary published guide book written by leading physicians and other health practioners, researchers and expert reporters. The book is meant to help not only to identify but to also prevent and detoxify our homes, our environments and our bodies from toxic pollutants we are surrounded with on a daily basis. Dr. Rogers is board-certified by the American Academy of Family Practice and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, as well as a teacher on environmental medicine to physicians, as well as a former column editor in Internal Medicine World Report, an environmental medicine publication for physicians. She has also written an extensive collection of other books, making her very well-educated in the topics of the environment and toxicology. The book also has a whole section on genetic and DNA changes due to exposure to toxic chemicals. These are some of the main reasons this book appealed to me, because it is written by someone who is an expert in her field, and has much experience in the subject of chemical toxicology, as well as the section that pertained to these chemicals known effects on the unborn baby as well. I was browsing through the same section as the first book I found, and came up with this book in the LC subject headings list I was searching within. I also checked this book out myself and perused its' contents before selecting it for my pathfinder source.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

This article briefly describes some of the toxic chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis and how they contribute to an excaberation of health issues, while also offering solutions on how to begin to prevent these effects through natural means that are less toxic or are not harmful to the environment or physical systems of humans. It includes a few actual solutions and recipes to replace or lessen the usage of these chemicals stated in the article, using natural alternatives. It also briefly notes that the use of household chemicals for cleaning can lead to sexual development complications as well.

This article gives a very realistic look at the effects of chemicals on DNA and genetics, as well as on the environment locally as well as globally. It relates a culmination of research from around the world, from frogs who were discovered growing three back legs instead of two where chemicals came in contact with them, alligators and otters with underdevloped penises and abnormal ovaries, children with deformities such as missing limbs and low sperm count in men as a result of exposure to toxins lingering in the environment and bodies of humans and animals. Ms. Mitchell is a staff researcher for the Worldwatch Institute, so the article is filled with statistical and scientific facts based on years of study and research on the environment and toxicology and also explores the implications globally of these toxic chemicals on the world at large if not regulated.

This is a published study of Japanese umbilical cords and how scientists are finding multiple chemicals within the umbilical cords and fetuses of unborn children, and how these studies have the potential to trace the effects of such chemicals on the DNA structures of children who are exposed to chemical compounds before being born. This would lead to findings on how chemicals affect DNA through either the mother or father being exposed to multiple types of chemicals while in the womb, or even through the testes before being conceived, and how the risks of such chemicals can effect the physical and reproductive systems of humans.

INTERNET SOURCES

This is an article written by Tracee Cornforth, a mother, freelance writer on health and women's issues who has experienced firsthand many of the health effects which the article links to the use of some 70,000 synthetic chemicals used commercially in our homes on an everyday basis. It further states some of those specific chemicals as well as their effects on the body, such as endometriosis, fertility issues, cancer, fatigue and other minor illnesses. It also gives some practical tips and advice on how to avoid or limit the use of chemicals in the home so as to limit exposure to their toxins.It gives practical information on some of the basic chemicals and causes for fertility issues and defects in the fetus, as well as some simple solutions to overcoming these issues. Her perspective is one of someone who has been through these things herself, and the audience is geared toward women specifically, who are concerned with their health as well as the health of their children.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a well-known and broad source on a wealth of different topics that pertain to the environment, toxicology, chemicals and safety regualations and standards in the workplace and quality of the air and water we ingest. This particular web site also has information on Indoor air quality as well as outdoor air quality, and is useful to those who want to learn more about the effects on the personal environment that chemicals and pollutants have on the air we breathe and the health of our systems in general. They are a reputable site that gives the researcher a broad span of information on chemicals, toxicology and the environment, as well as guidelines that are specified and set by the EPA. This is a government-run website.

NON-PRINT

On the WHO (World Health Organization) site, which is an agency that specilaizing in global health issues, I found statistics from 1999 on the top causes of death to babies born in america, with a list of diseases and causes that were commonly noted as effects due to noxious chemical exposure in the home in the numerous other sources I have read, such as diseases of the nervous system (438 cases total), respiratory disease (687 total), congenital anomalies (5473 total, as well as anomalies specifically of the heart were 1818), as well as certain conditions that have originated in the perinatal period specifically (a large total of 14,084 cases of death).

REVIEW of my Research Process

For my search stategies, I typically used the terms "household chemicals" first because it is specific enough to locate information on my topic without being so broad that I ended up with all kinds of chemicals, like biological chemicals or chemical warfare or chemical compounds in science. I tried a whole host of different search combinations, but this always yielded the best results for my topic. If the results were too broad, I would add either "unborn" or "reproductive" or DNA" and usually would come up with more specific results, especially when using google's monster-sized search engine! When browsing with the LC headings, I typically found the most results under the sciences and general subject headings, which is where I found my books on toxicology and household chemicals. These were actually quite useful because often within that same subject area, I could locate almost any book I needed on that particular subject, because they tend to be interrelated under their subject heading. There were other headings that yielded a few results from just browsing, but the most consistent ones I used yielded the most relevant materials to my particular subject.

When I first started, I was quite scared that I wasn't going to find anything at all on my subject, and that it was going to get so into chemistry and biology that I would be swamped in the process of trying to find relevant materials. As I began to search, I found that refining my topic was actually quite easy and came naturally through the different search stategies we used. I began to see a multitude of relevant sources on DNA and toxicology and genetics, often finding references to the fetus and effects of chemicals on the unborn right in the text of the articles I was reading. This made it a lot easier for me to begin paring down my subject from a large global environmental topic to a more specific topic on how chemicals we use daily can effect and even harm the unborn fetus.

When I was searching especially through the periodical information, I began to find relevant information to my subject, as well as a good quality web source that pertained directly to protecting the unborn from harmful chemicals used in homes and commercially, I was surprised at the breadth of resources that are available on this subject and it took some time deciding and selecting which were the best sources to use for my topic. When I had first stated, I was looking more from an environmetnal perspective, but as I began to view the information availlable on chemicals used in the home, I began to pull up alot of references to the biological effects of chemicals on animals and children all around the world who have been exposed to such chemicals. Frogs with three back legs, children with deformed spines, missing limbs, abnormal reproductive organs in men and women, and a whole host of other documented studies shocked me, and piqued my interest to pursue this aspect of household chemicals on the unborn. I even found a recent case study from Japan on the direct link between the umbilical cord and the transmission of chemicals from the womb and even from the sperm of the father that can affect the growth and development of the fetus in the womb, causing birth defects and abnormalities in the growing baby.

I found much more specific information on the internet with my topic, and much more timely and up-to-date information than I did when I was looking at reference and other books sources. The books were helpful for the chemical studies aspects, though, having more time to document and record case studies and facts that were compiled into one source of reference. But for the unborn effects aspect, the internet was better because it is still a relatively new topic for researchers in general, and hard to find information on in a book at this point. However, books were very helpful for finding alternatives to the chemicals suspected to cause such defects in the systems of people, so in that regard, books are more helpful than web sources in actually finding solutions and alternatives to help prevent or reduce the harmful effects of these chemicals in the home. Overall, most of my results were found in health or science-related fields, regardless if they were by book or by internet resources, medical and health journals yielded some very consistent and useful materials and articles on my topic as a whole. I was quite happy and pleasantly surprised with the information I was able to find on my subject once I began to "dig" through the various sources we looked within.