Dying to be clean
Toxic Free Canada
It seemed like just another day for Janice*, a cleaner who worked full-time at one of B.C.’s health care facilities.
As usual, the strong fumes from the numerous products she used to clean and disinfect the bathtubs were bothering her lungs. But like every other time before, Janice continued to spray and scrub through her discomfort. She had been more or less told to stop complaining, and there was never an offer to change the products she used.
On this day, however, Janice left at the end of her shift and never returned to work. She collapsed at home that night, and later died.
A Worker’s Compensation Board investigation determined that Janice had been exposed to excessive levels of ammonium chloride, and that this toxic level of exposure was likely the cause of her death.
Toxic chemicals are a part of our lives. Thousands of them exist and are found in the products we use every day. Products that kill germs on contact, laundry detergents that make our whites whiter, floor cleaners that help us quickly remove dirt and grease. While these products are intended to make our lives cleaner and healthier, they are also making some people sick.
Those who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of industrial chemicals are workers exposed every day through their jobs. Some cleaning products used by janitorial workers, for example, contain toxins such as 2-Butoxyethanol, Styrene or Hydroflourosilicic acid: ingredients that have been linked to tumors, tissue damage and respiratory disorders.
Today there are hundreds of regulations and procedures to protect the health and safety of workers: employers must ensure workers are not exposed to noise levels above certain limits; protective gear must be worn on construction sites; and healthcare workers have rules they must follow to protect against the spread of infectious disease.
However, little attention has been paid to protecting employees who use cleaning products that have been linked to serious health risks. Employees like the janitor who cleans your child’s classroom each evening, or the housekeeper who disinfects your hotel room, or the night cleaners who wash the floors and bathrooms of our office buildings.
According to Canada’s Workplace Hazardous Material Information System, employees have the right to know if the products they use contain hazardous chemicals and have the right to seek substitutions. However, it’s estimated that less than five per cent of employees understand these rights or are able to assert them.
That’s where the non-profit organization Toxic Free Canada comes in. Since 1998, it has worked to promote healthy workplaces, homes, communities and environment. The group brings together environmentalists and health activists, unions and green businesses, parents and teachers, scientists and cancer prevention advocates to eliminate health and environmental toxins and reduce our carbon footprint.
Through their “Community Right to Know” program, Toxic Free Canada is giving employees the information and tools they need to protect themselves. Funded with a $120,000 grant from Vancouver Foundation donors, Toxic Free Canada educates employees on ways to eliminate toxic products from their workplace.
Mae Burrows is the Executive Director of Toxic Free Canada, a position that perfectly matches her experience and passions. She boasts a list of awards that include being named “Environmentalist of the Year” by the Canadian Labour Congress, and “Eugene Rogers Activist of the Year Award”. And for her work in reducing toxins in schools, she was honoured with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment “Pollution Prevention Award.”
The energetic Burrows can offer compelling reasons for reducing toxins in the workplace. And it’s no doubt that after attending one of her “Community Right To Know” sessions even the most hardened skeptics race back and purge their homes of common products that are potentially hazardous.
“Disorders from chemicals are like silent pandemics,” Burrow asserts. “So the key is education. Once somebody becomes aware of harmful products, they will take steps to eliminate them.”
After leading more than 100 occupational health and safety and cancer-prevention workshops, Burrows is pleased to see that slowly, but surely, changes in product usage are occurring.
“These changes mean fewer exposures to harmful chemicals and a decline in the destruction of our environment,” she proudly notes.
Vancouver Foundation first supported the work of Toxic Free Canada back in 2001 when it offered the organization a $17,000 start-up grant. It was at a time when most funders shied away from non-profits that claimed day-to-day products could cause serious health problems.
Since then, Vancouver Foundation donors have supported projects such as the group’s “Cancer Smart” program and its “Toxin-Free Aboriginal Communities” initiative.
“With Vancouver Foundation’s support early on, we were able to forge partnerships that still benefit us today,” says Burrows.
Although she is delivering a frightening message, Burrows is optimistic about the results of her group’s work.
“This is the liberating message,” she adds. “We are not powerless.”
For more information, or to participate in a Community Right to Know workshop, visit www.toxicfreecanada.ca
(* not her real name)
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