Question from chemistry

Discuss the preparation of bakelite when phenol reacts with formaldehyde?

Debra’s Answer

I am not a chemist, but here is my layperson understanding.

Phenol and formaldehyde are two toxic chemicals, but when they react together, they form a nontoxic material called “bakelite”. This is similar to lye and fat having a chemical reaction to make soap. Lye can burn right through your skin, but when mixed with fat, it becomes soap that is very gentle to skin.

It’s created by an “elimination reaction” in which atoms in a molecule are eliminated and replaced with different atoms to make a new material.

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Question from gb

Bought a set of wamsutta non organic egyptian cotton 750 count sateen sheets, color is chamise which is a light taupe, do u think this product would have formaldehyde or other harmful dyes? The organic set i purchased in the past is no longer available. Thanks

Debra’s Answer

Formaldehyde is generally on bed sheets because of a no-iron or permanent-press finish. The description of this product does not state that it has any such finish, so I would assume there is no formaldehyde.

My rule of thumb regarding dyes is that if the dye is color-fast and does not bleed out of the fabric during washing, it’s OK.

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Question from curious

We are contemplating purchasing a home and I just found out that the next street over used to be old coal mines a hundred years ago. I believe they refer to them as culm banks. People have been living in the area for hundreds of years, but I was curious if living so close to one of these culm banks would be dangerous to our health, especially our children. The house we are purchasing was NOT built on this, but it was previously just wooded ground. Thanks

Debra’s Answer

I didn’t know what a culm bank was, so I looked it up. It’s a bank of fine-grained anthracite coal produced as a waste byproduct in the mining process. So it’s not a coal mine, it’s a pile of very fine coal. It may have plants growing on it, and look like a natural hill, but it’s a pile of coal underneath.

Now, is it harmful to health to live near one?

Researching the answer to that question, I came across an interesting passage from a book called Environmental Justice by Peter S. Wenz.

He says:

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Question from Stacey

I went to check out Ikea because of the low prices I see advertised. However, I realized some of the prices are low because a lot of the furniture is made with particleboard. I will purchase some curtains, though, which are made of 100% cotton or linen and are a great price. I also need blinds for windows, and Ikea has cheap ones. Some are “solid wood” with a clear lacquer. A lot of products (baskets, furniture, blinds) have this clear lacquer finish. Is this okay? What about aluminum blinds? are those okay? (Blinds To Go has a lot). I also saw some wood hangers at Ikea with an “acrylic lacquer” or “acrylic paint” and am wondering if these finishes are okay too, since the price is so much cheaper than other wood hangers I have seen. Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

Ikea is one of my favorite stores because the prices are low and the style is simple. But you have to be very careful. Fortunately they are one of the best at disclosing materials used, so you can avoid the plastics and particleboard in favor of the solid woods and natural fibers.

I haven’t checked the ingredients of their clear lacquer finish, but I have never had a problem with anything I have purchased there that had that finish.

I have my eye on those very wooden blinds, but I don’t have…oh! I just figured out the perfect place to put them! My desk is up against an east-facing window and the sun often gets in my eyes in the morning. I have a shade that I pull up and down but those wooden blinds would be easier to open and close. I’m not concerned about their finish.

What I like most about Ikea is the cotton curtains and the many pieces of unfinished solid wood furniture. Just read the material list carefully and you can get some good nontoxic bargains there.

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Question from Donna

Hi Debra,

It seems like I can’t buy anything without worrying about it. I’m trying to do a sports themed kid’s room and found a light fixture made out of bonded marble. Is bonded marble toxic and would it be more so when the light is on and heating it up? I also wanted to use a baseball pennant for a wall hanging, but the pennant is made of a wool blend felt. Do you know if wool blends would contain formaldehyde? Again, thank you fo all that you do.

Donna

Debra’s Answer

I understand the feeling. The solution is to just keep learning what’s toxic and what’s not and over time you will gain confidence in choosing materials.

Bonded marble is made from powdered marble (a naturally occuring stone) mixed with powdered resin. Now resin occurs in plants (pine sap is a resin, for example) but is also made from petroleum. One article I read said, “For the most part…”resins” are actually made with synthetics, which as cheaper and easier to refine. Synthetic varieties are much more stable, predictable, and uniform than natural ones as well, since they are made under controlled conditions without the possibility of the introduction of impurities. They are made by combining chemicals in a laboratory to stimulate a reaction which results in the formulation of a resinous compound.” That’s why they do it, with no thought of whether it is toxic or not.

Using bonded marble allows a manufacturer to make a product that looks and feels like marble by using a mold instead of carving the marble by hand as an artist would. Resins are often made from polyester or urethane. So in a lampshade, heat from a lightbulb would tend to cause a release of these plastics. I wouldn’t use this lamp.

When I was a child, my mother loved modern design. I remember once she bought for my bedroom a very cool lamp with a heavy cylinder base and a big round plastic shade, like a half sphere dome. I remember the smell of that plastic even typing here right now. Of course I didn’t know it was plastic and I didn’t know it was toxic, but now I look back on that childhood memory and see I was being poisoned night after night. We didn’t know then, but we know now and can make choices.

Wool blend felt is wool mixed with another fiber, often polyester. I don’t know for a fact that they don’t contain formaldehyde, but to the best of my knowledge I have no reason to believe that it does. Formaldehyde is used to make permanent press finishes, which are not found in wool felt.

As for the pennant, smell it. Plastic inks are used to print the name of the team on the felt.

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Question from Coolmax

Hey debra, what do you think about coolmax material they put on mattresses?

Debra’s Answer

According to their website, it’s polyester, made from petroleum. Their whole point is about breathability. Natural fibers breathe naturally. It’s synthetic fibers that get clammy because air doesn’t pass through them. So now they’ve made a synthetic polyester fabric that breathes. It’s still polyester.

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Question from natalie

Hi Debra,

Do pillows, comforters and quilts also have fire retardants in them? I used to think only matresses and mattress pad need to have these flammability requirements. But what is the real life scenario, is it a common practice in USA that bedclothes are also FR treated? Thanks a lot for youe help.

Debra’s Answer

There are definitely toxic fire retardants in sleeping pillows. In one study, a portable x-ray analyzer found sleeping pillows and vehicle seat cushions at the top of the list for key sources of flame retardants (see Environmental Health News: Pillow, vehicle seats key sources of flame retardants). This doesn’t mean all sleeping pillows contain flame retardants, but a polyurethane foam pillow certainly would because polyurethane foam is extremely flammable. Natural fiber pillows generally do not have chemical flame retardants. The study found a wide variation of PBDE flame retardants in pillows made of different materials:

* pillows made of polyurethane foam (3,646 parts per million)
* pillows made of polyester fibers (107 parts per million)
* pillows made of feathers (6 parts per million).

As for comforters and quilts, these aren’t generally made from flammable materials and haven’t been found to be the source of fires like sleepwear and mattresses. I was unable to find a regulation about them. Still, one should always ask about flame retardants and choose natural materials over synthetics if you want to avoid toxic flame retardants.

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Question from Stacey

I would like to replace our livingroom furniture which is a leather set from Bernhardt Furniture. I know it contains flame retardents, and hate to see my kids playing on it; however, I can’t afford a new couch made without the chemicals right now. The leather set is about 6 years old. Does furniture get less toxic with time? Is leather better than a synthetic upholstery? Also, I have a couch in my basement about 8 years old that had been coated with Scotchguard. Does this get less toxic with time? Just wondering what really needs to go… Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

Yes, furniture gets less toxic over time, but something like a fire retardant or Scotchguard is designed to last for years. If you buy a piece of furniture and expect it to be flameproof or stain resistant, you would want it to continue to have that protection for the life of the piece of furniture.

So you are asking about

Personally, I think both need to go.

My personal decision has been and continues to be “if I know something is toxic, remove it NOW, and then figure out how to replace it with something less toxic.” Years ago I had an empty house when I couldn’t afford to buy new nontoxic replacements, or I didn’t know what to buy that would be safe.

For me, it’s more important to not expose myself (and especially not children) to toxic chemicals than it is to have anything in my house that is toxic.

But that is my decision. Everyone gets to decide for themselves how much toxic exposure they want to have.

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Question from natalie

How safe is the Nuwave2 cooktop I’m concerned about emissions from this appliance. Thank you

Debra’s Answer

Has anyone used one of these? It looks great! Haven’t seen one yet. But just want to mention, for all of you who want a lead-free slow cooker, it looks like you can put your own pot on this cooktop and program it like a slow cooker.

I need to go take a look at this…

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The Wall Street Journal recently ran two articles about organic food: Would Americans Be Better Off Eating a Mostly Organic Diet? followed by A Gap in Organic Food Chain

Their coverage about the health benefits of eating organic food was, of course, “balanced,” leaving the reader to decide which interpretation of the facts is true.

But those of us who want to continue to eat organic food should be aware of the problems regarding its continued availability. Read the article. It redoubled my commitment to utilizing my property to grow as much organic food as I can to share with others (I can grow more than I can eat in my yard) and supporting local organic farms. Of course, agribusiness is trying to grow organic, but we don’t have to accept their shortage. We CAN grow our own food locally, individually and together. More and more it looks like that’s the direction we need to go.

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