To the horror of some of the people at work, we have to do COSHH assessments - COSHH being "control of Substances Hazardous to Health" - and this means reading product labels and sending off for product information.
To use bleach safely, it turns out that you should wear goggles and a mask as well as gloves and ensuring that the area is well ventilated...which basically means "don't use this product".
The product information for Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner (translated) reads "DON'T. JUST DON'T. IT BURNS. IT KILLS. IF SADDAM HAD IT WE'D HAVE INVADED THE WANKER DECADES AGO - DON'T...NO...I SAID - FUCKING - PUT - IT - DOWN - AND - STEP - AWAY - FROM - THE - CANNISTER - NOW!...AND KEEP YOuR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM AT ALL TIMES...". It's bad stuff.
Anyway, there's stuff the product information doesn't tell you, but alternet do...here's an extract, it's all about spring cleaning:
"So step one for spring cleaners is: Open a window and let those pollutants out! Yet even in this season, when a vase of daffodils can fill a room with a lovely natural scent, many consumers stubbornly keep using synthetic room fresheners and fragranced cleaning products that are full of VOCs and other toxic chemicals. These can make our indoor air unhealthy, provoke skin, eye, and respiratory reactions, and harm the natural environment.
Take those so-called air fresheners. According to a study published in New Scientist in 1999, in homes where aerosol sprays and air fresheners were used frequently, mothers experienced 25 percent more headaches and were 19 percent more likely to suffer from depression, and infants under six months of age had 30 percent more ear infections and 22 percent higher incidence of diarrhea. The fragrances in detergents and fabric softeners can contain phthalates, chemicals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive-system harm in animal lab tests. Fragrances may also trigger asthma and allergic reactions, with symptoms including skin and respiratory irritation, headaches, and watery eyes. Although phosphates, which choke waterways, are no longer used in most dish and laundry soaps, they can be found in dishwasher detergents. Phosphates are highly caustic and can be fatal if swallowed.
Dish Detergents, Laundry Detergents, and All-Purpose Cleaners :
The fragrances in detergents and fabric softeners can contain phthalates, chemicals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive-system harm in animal lab tests. Fragrances may also trigger asthma and allergic reactions, with symptoms including skin and respiratory irritation, headaches, and watery eyes. Although phosphates, which choke waterways, are no longer used in most dish and laundry soaps, they can be found in dishwasher detergents. Phosphates are highly caustic and can be fatal if swallowed
Other ingredients turn dangerous when combined: Diethanolamine and triethanolamine can react with nitrites (an often undisclosed preservative) to form carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Drain, Oven, and Toilet-Bowl Cleaners:
Problems
The corrosive ingredients in these products can severely irritate eyes, skin, and the respiratory tract, and can be fatal if swallowed. Chemical drain cleaners are among the most dangerous of all cleaning products, containing sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite (bleach) that can permanently burn eyes and skin. In oven cleaners, lye and sodium hydroxide can burn skin, eyes, and the respiratory tract...."
That is an extract - for more (and potential solutions), get thee to alternet now.
