Weaponised Hand Sanitiser
There's a truism that I've used for a long time ... every solution becomes the next problem.
Most often it's just how we stagger through our own personal lives ... choosing options that are expedient but that blow up in our face down the track. And it's also true also that most options in life come with some kind of cost which people generally don't want to consider.
However, sometimes it's a little more nefarious than that. Like in this situation. Either planned or opportunistic devilry.
Cancer-causing chemical in these hand sanitizers poses ‘serious risk’
This preventative product may have done more damage than good.
When COVID-19 initially gripped the United States, stores ran out of groceries, toilet paper and hand sanitizer — creating a void that was then filled by lesser-known brands.
However, some of those products have been found to contain high levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene.
“These findings are alarming and reveal a serious potential risk to public health,” said David Light, the CEO of online pharmacy and product testing company Valisure, which recently analyzed 168 hand sanitizer brands.
The findings were disturbing: 17% of samples detected benzene and 8% of samples contained benzene amounts higher than the temporary limit the Food and Drug Administration set to help the market meet sanitizer demand, Bloomberg reported.
Valisure released its findings in a citizen petition to the FDA in which the company requests the agency take action regarding products with the highest levels of benzene. The majority of the problematic products were made in the US or China and were gels. A number of them were widely available, with some purchasable on Amazon and at Target stores. One of the more contaminated formulas was sold as a Baby Yoda-themed bottle. All of the worst contenders began being sold in April or May 2020.
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U.S. temporarily to allow certain impurities in hand sanitizer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration said this week it will temporarily allow some impurities in alcohol-based hand sanitizer to ensure access to the product during the coronavirus pandemic, reversing course after having tightened restrictions in April.
The move will provide clarity on impurity limits for a slew of fuel ethanol companies that had switched to producing hand sanitizer during the outbreak, after regulators discovered some of the impurities, including cancer-causing acetaldehyde, several weeks ago.
“We are specifying interim levels of certain impurities that we have determined can be tolerated for a relatively short period of time,” the Food and Drug Administration said on its website.
“We believe that our temporary guidances sets the proper level of flexibility at the current time to help protect Americans during this public health emergency.”
The FDA guidance allows up to 2 parts per million of benzene and 50 ppm of acetaldehyde, according to the website.
The ethanol industry invested millions of dollars since March to ramp up the output of corn-based alcohol sanitizer at a time when fuel demand has slumped from the pandemic.
Twenty-seven plants are currently producing ethanol for sanitizer, the Renewable Fuels Association said.
RFA President Geoff Cooper said the limits are overly restrictive.
“We do not believe the new guidance will help alleviate the hand sanitizer shortage in any meaningful way,” Cooper said, adding that benzene is not present at any level in the ethanol the industry provides for sanitizer or other purposes.
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But hand sanitiser issues have been known for quite a few years. Personally, I find it astounding that the issue, featured below, was never once raised during this time of the Princess Koronis' mischief.
Hand Sanitizer Speeds Absorption of BPA From Receipts
By now you've probably heard of bisphenol-A, commonly referred to as BPA. It's a chemical used in plastics and food containers, and is often found in the thermal paper used to make receipts, bus, plane and train tickets and other products. BPA helps make dyes bind to the paper, and make the printing more visible.
Many researchers are concerned about the health effects of BPA because it is an endocrine disruptor, interfering with proper function of hormones like estrogen. Animals studies have linked it to a number of concerning health effects, including abnormal brain function and sexual development.
Though BPA in plastics has borne the brunt of public and media attention, it may be the paper that is most worrisome: People who handle receipts have elevated levels of the chemical in their urine and blood, according to a paper published in JAMA in February. And a new study published today in the journal PLOS ONE has found that BPA is absorbed more quickly and extensively when people apply hand sanitizers before handling receipts.
That's because hand sanitizers (as well as other cosmetic products like hand lotions) contain chemicals the make the skin more permeable to various substances, including BPA, says study author and University of Missouri researcher Frederick vom Saal. The study found that hand sanitizers could increase the absorption of BPA into the body by a factor of 100 or more.
Click this link to open the study: Holding Thermal Receipt Paper and Eating Food after Using Hand Sanitizer Results in High Serum Bioactive and Urine Total Levels of Bisphenol A (BPA)
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| This graphic works similarly for all ingredients of hand sanitisers and wipes. |
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| Major commodity chemicals and polymers derived from benzene |
You can see that benzene is used abundantly in many of our daily products, and while it's true that our bodies can cope with expelling limited amounts of this chemical. The problem becomes one of system overload, where more comes in than the body can excrete.
And with hand sanitisers becoming a 'new normal' fear-based ritual, particularly when shopping AND then handling thermal receipts ... well, you can see how easily the population is encouraged to participate in its own poisoning.
The question is not ... "How dare they!"
Rather, it is "Why do go along with it?"
And with that ... there is the key to your freedom.