As we stretched out and prepared for another early yoga class, a student in front of me said, "the Lysol is disrupting my inner peace." And even though she was joking, the wafts of ammonia and chlorine were not particularly pleasing.
I have had similar experiences in my dorm. In South Hall, the bathrooms are small individual stalls with low ventilation. After the bathroom is scrubbed clean, I find myself walking into thick clouds of inhalants.
That is why I was inspired when I came across an article in the online environmental publication Grist Magazine that discussed the benefits of green cleaning. There are products out there that can effectively clean our dorms without the perks of being a skin or respiratory system irritant. Just as important, they have a less negative impact on the environment. Before I read this article I had been aware of environmentally-friendly household cleaning products, but I was skeptical that eco-friendly products could be used for facilities used by numerous college students.
However at the bottom of the page, there was a link that gave me some hope. It brought me to the Green Cleaning Program of Harvard University, a combined effort with the Harvard Green Campus Initiative to replace all dorm cleaning products with green cleaning products. Their main goal is "to develop an environmentally safe, employee safe, and building occupant-safe green cleaning program" for their custodial services. Little did I realize that within two miles of our campus, a revolution was already underway.
Based on this Web site, this program has been extensive. Before replacing their old cleaning products, the group performed research on the health effects of cleaning chemicals. They found that "some widely used cleaning products have serious adverse effects on the health of building occupants and janitors." Short term health effects include eye irritation and coughing, while long-term effects can include liver and kidney failure and even cancer.
I decided to look at the ingredients in the bathroom cleaning products used in my own bathroom by OneSource. The active agent in one of the surface cleaners was Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. That doesn't sound too 'eco-friendly' to me. According to Toxnet - a Toxicology Data Network Web site - when the substance is inhaled it "may cause irritation or corrosive effects to nose, throat, and respiratory tract." The liquid glass cleaner isn't any friendlier. It contains ammonium hydroxide. The Household Products Database advised to "avoid inhalation of vapors and use in [a] well ventilated area." But there are no windows in the bathrooms and I have yet to see a gas mask on a custodian.
Environmental impact is the other main consideration for green cleaning. Air and water quality are the two main problems. The primary antibiotics used in antibacterial soaps, such as triclosan, have the potential to remain active after being washed down the drain. They can affect bacterial populations within waste water treatment plants and environmental waters. In regard to air quality, the Green Cleaning Program at Harvard asserts that "the product as used must not contain substances that contribute significantly to the production of photochemical smog, tropospheric ozone and poor indoor air quality."
Ideally standards would be reinforced on all cleaning products across the country. But let's start with the whole thinking globally acting locally thing. This is an issue of community and environmental health; two popular fields of study at Tufts. Why not mirror our consciousness with our actions?
Angela Robins is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
