Human Stink Bombs Hit Bottom in Fragrant Violation of Nature
by John Laumer, Philadelphia 
on 08.12.06
OK, the use of “fragrant violation” is a bit over the top. But, the studies we’re about to introduce you to have some of the hallmarks of the stuff we heard so much about in the late 1970's. According to a research paper recently published by the American Chemical Society, and discussed with related work in Environmental Science and Technology - Onine, production of synthetic fragrance compounds has doubled since the 1990s. As noted in the research report, much of what we North Americans buy that contains synthetic fragrance goes down toilets and sinks, through sewerage systems, and into lakes and streams.
In the US Great Lakes, which have huge volumes and relatively little flow-through, compounds with low solubility, and which can’t be biodegraded easily, may well end up “partitioning” somewhere unexpected: like in animals and/or sediments. Historically, high rates of “partioning” by a synthetic chemical typically get noticed before the hazards are fully understood. Thus, it's a big attention getter when someone finds that fragrance compounds, from everyday household and personal care formulations, are accumulating in Great Lakes sediments.
From the report: “Researchers dated sediment cores from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and analyzed the concentrations of five polycyclic and two nitro musk fragrances. They found that HHCB concentrations actually declined slightly from 1979 to 1990; however, from 1990 to 2003, levels of HHCB doubled in only 8 years…”
Compounds such as the studied HHCB are found in detergents, soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics. The report from ES&T also mentions “they [fragrance compounds] have also been detected in human fat and breast milk”. One of the principal researchers stated that she has “detected fragrances in rural air at levels higher than those of the most commonly used pesticides”.
As with all synthetic substances, risk should be evaluated by matching hazard (the toxicity part) with exposure (where it ends up, and in what concentration). Exposure already seems well understood. We’ve long known who uses this stuff; and now we know about new places it ends up. Whether risk is actually increased for humans and aquatic organisms will certainly be up for more debate and discussion in coming years. Whether restriction are needed is a decision likely to be delegated to the European Union. It's the the new American regulatory regime.
Caution: Before you jump to a conclusion on risk, perhaps changing your shopping habits as a result, TreeHugger recommends you thoroughly read the linked ES&T article and its sub-linked stories. If, the science seems unclear, and you wish to work from the “personal precautionary principal” in your shopping selections, then, let these three simple rules assist.
First screen - Avoid products advertised or packaged with outrageous colors that rarely occur in nature (cheap stink often correlates with eye-catching power).
Second screen – if you must buy fragranced or odor “masked” products, select those made with mostly natural ingredients and consume as little as possible.
Third screen - when reaching for a product that lists “fragrance” as an ingredient, ask yourself “Do I need this?”
If the subjective answer is “yes”, see if you can list rationally provable reasons why. Whisper the reasons to yourself: “It will make my house smell nice, so visitors will like me more.” or “Presence of fragrance proves that bad germs are not present.” If you can convince yourself that these are good reasons to buy synthetically fragranced products, you may have already passed the toxic exposure threshold. (:->
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Eee-gads, the Fabreeze culture. If your house is a cluttered up dump, you're too lazy to actually clean it, and it stinks of cooking/dirty pets, just fill the air with toxic stink...er... I mean fresh fragrance. Heck, don't bother bathing regularly, slap that stuff on your body too.
Question: would you rather enter a recently occupied bathroom and smell
A) human excrement
B) human excrement mixed with "fresh mountain breeze"
C) your bathroom has a timer/exhaust fan or window so you don't have to make the choice.
Could be interesting to know about the health impact of frangrance used in the auto industry and shops for marketing and sales. A couple of weeks ago when I was in Paris' Lafayette shopping center I was shocked to smell that the Ralph Lauren store smelled like fried fish and the Lacoste shop smelled like fried chicken...with no restaurants in sight!!...down the street at a trendy boutique oozed a pungeant smell of beeswax- a slightly unpleasant smell. My boyfriend tells me this is a common, but highly secretive strategy for increasing sales...that even used car dealers spray synthetic formulations into old cars to give the impression and smell of "new car"...Anyone out there know how we can report this latest form of subliminal advertising and trickery...??
...a concerned TreeHugger...
Another reason why I love Method cleaners. They have air enhancers rather than air "fresheners". The spray is non-aerosol and propellant-free and the candle is made of soy wax that produces 90% less soot than petroleum based wax. I don't know much about chemicals, but Method sounds safer and cleaner to me.
open your windows.
bring your flowers inside.
in the lav, if you must-light a match.
go camping. realize you don't need to constantly cleanse yourself. then go back to your city and hopefully that feeling will carry over.
and as for cleaning products, try using vinegar, baking soda and lemon. they clean well and they're cheap!
People really need to get over natural (even if unpleasant for a moment) smells. Personally, I'd rather deal with the smell than the chemical nonsense trying to over power the smell but not actually doing so.
I wouldn't be surprised, karin, if Ralph Lauren was trying to fried-fish its way into a sale. Smells have such a direct emotional effect on people... They kind of short circuit any logic the brain might otherwise add. There's a smell to sex and to death and to food. My friend (who claims he was tracked by a jaguar while hiking in guyana) says there is a smell to human fear. You know that marketers will want to push that button. But I kind of doubt they know what they're doing. After all, smelling fried fish just makes me want to eat, not buy curtains.
As suggested on the bag of Charlie's Soap [completely unscented] Laundry Powder, "If you want flowers, go pick some."
I have to agree with Kelly. I just did a small 3 month experiment where I cut out deoderants, perfumes, and a lot of other scent based toiletries that I thought I needed. Now, I can't figure out why I really needed them in the first place. It sure helps my husband who is allergic to everything, and amazingly I do not stink.