A new report by the US-based Centre for Health, Environment and Justice states that new PVC shower curtains may contain toxic chemicals including volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), phthalates and metals. More than 100 of these chemicals were found to be released from the curtains into the air inside homes where they contributed to indoor air pollution. Some VOC’s were still being detected in the air 28 days after one curtain was unwrapped and hung.

An article which was published recently in the Globe and Mail describes the adverse effects that toxic mould in buildings has had on the health of teachers and students in several Canadian schools. Symptoms experienced included itchy red skin rashes, hives, congestion, bloody noses, coughing attacks and respiratory problems. 

A group of leading researchers in the field of electromagnetic safety has confirmed the existence of non-thermal (non-heating) effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) on living matter. They have called for urgent work to be done to discover the mechanisms of by which EMF’s cause these effects and for exposure standards to be lowered in accordance with the Precautionary Principle.
 

According to a report in the Telegraph (UK), a study has found that teenagers who used their mobile phones frequently (making more than five calls or sending more than five text messages per day) were more likely to experience disrupted sleep, restlessness, stress and fatigue than those who used their phones less frequently.