Penyegar Udara: Wangi Tapi Mencemar

Wangi Tapi Mencemar… Siapa yang tidak suka dengan bau yang wangi. Tapi adakah kita sedar bahawa sesuatu yang wangi itu belum tentu ia selamat.

Di kediaman kita, kita sering menggunakan bahan pencuci yang wangi untuk tujuan pembersihan seperti, sabun mandi, pencuci lantai, pencuci pinggan mangkuk, dan lain-lain. Kita tertarik dengan wangian tersebut.

Namun adakah wangi itu menjamin kebersihan dan keselamatan orang yang berada di rumah.

Penyegar Udara.

Salah satu produk yang sering kita gunakan di rumah atau di dalam kereta adalah penyegar udara atau ‘air freshener’.

Ya, ia mendatangkan sesuatu perasaan yang lain ketika menghidunya. Wangian itu menyebabkan kita tertipu sehingga mengatakan ia menyegarkan udara kita.

Penyegar udara tersebut mengandungi bahan kimia yang boleh membahayakan kesihatan. Sebahagiannya merupakan penggalak kepada penyakit kanser.

Antara bahan tersebut adalah toluene, benzene, formaldehyde and phthalates.

Kredit: The Star

Penyegar udara ini banyak dijual di pasar raya yang ada di Malaysia.

Saya ingin memetik beberapa laporan kajian yang telah dipaparkan di laman sesawang seperti berikut:

The air freshener we put in our cars or at home may smell sweet but they could be doing us more harm than we realise.

Six commonly used household air freshener products found at supermarkets and shops nationwide were tested by a consumer group for four dangerous chemicals – toluene, benzene, formaldehyde and phthalates.

All were found to contain relatively high levels of at least one of these chemicals, with phthalates – which are endocrine disrupting substances (EDS) – found in four of the six products.

Long-term exposure to EDS can lead to irreversible damage to the immune system and the brain.

According to Ratna Devi Nadarajan, the CEO of the Malaysian Association of Standards Users that conducted the test, EDS could even cause males to act more feminine and vice-versa.

“It can also stunt the development of vital organs and cause miscarriages. The extent of the damage, however, depends on the individual’s health, with pregnant women and children at higher risk,” she said.

Some air fresheners, Ratna said, were found to have a mixture of several types of phthalates, which is even more dangerous.

 Two of the air fresheners were found to contain toluene, which can cause damage to the liver, kidney and brain over long-term usage.

The association also found that a locally manufactured air freshener had the highest content of harmful chemicals – it had toluene and three types of phthalates.

Ratna pointed out that many people, especially in urban areas, spent a few hours in their cars every day, inhaling the chemicals from the air fresheners.

“At the very least, these chemicals can cause headaches, nausea and depression,” she said.

When in a confined environment like in a car with very little fresh air, she said the chemicals were more harmful.

Ratna said they were still waiting for data on the limitation and regulation of air fresheners from the local regulators as well as other countries to do a comparison.

Consumers should avoid using air fresheners too often and instead opt for natural ventilation and hygiene at home, she advised.

She suggested natural alternatives such as pandan leaves, lemongrass and charcoal.

National Poison Centre consultant Dr T. Jayabalan warned that there could be a delayed onset of the harm from using air fresheners making it difficult to link it to the cause.

He said phthalates had been classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a “probable human carcinogen” which means it could cause cancer, while the US Department of Health and Human Services had classified it as a “potential carcinogen”.

Dipetik daripada THE STAR.

Beralih kepada sesuatu yang semula jadi

Kita mempunyai alternatif lain untuk menyegarkan udara di kediaman dan kereta kita.

Buka tingkap dan biarkan udara segar masuk.

Gunakan juga bahan semula jadi yang mengeluarkan aroma yang menyegarkan seperti pandan, serai dan lemon.

Moga perkongsian ini memberikan manfaat untuk kesihatan anda.

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Jika anda ingin memiliki pencuci serba guna yang bebas daripada bahan kimia dan pencuci yang mesra alam lagi selamat, klik sini.

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Hafid Sulaiman

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