Sustancia química prioritaria

• Hard polycarbonate plastic in a variety of items, such as:
  • Some kitchenware, like plates, mugs, and storage bottles.
  • Eyeglass lenses, and screens for cell phones and laptop computers.
  • Safety equipment, like helmets and protective visors.
  • Parts for cars, light fixtures, and medical devices.
• Some protective coatings inside food cans; on household appliances; inside metal drinking water pipes; and on laminate flooring and concrete.
• Some clothing, including baby socks, blankets, and onesies.
• Some dental sealants.
• Some receipts printed on smooth shiny paper, such as from cash registers or gas pumps.
• Building materials, like sealants, adhesives, and grout.

• May harm the reproductive system in women.
• May interfere with the body’s natural hormones.
• May affect the fetus and infant, including possible changes in development and behavior.
• Might increase cancer risk.

• Eat more fresh food and less canned food.
• Use glass or stainless steel containers for food and drinks.
• Request an electronic receipt, or no receipt, when possible. If you work as a cashier or otherwise frequently handle receipts, wear nitrile gloves.
• Because BPA can come out of products and collect in dust:
  • Wash your and your child’s hands often, especially before preparing or eating food.
  • Clean your floors regularly, using a wet mop or HEPA vacuum if possible, and use a damp cloth to dust.

• Products made from flexible vinyl plastics, sometimes called “PVC” or labeled with the recycling symbol “3”, including:
  • • Shower curtains, flooring, and coverings on wires and cables.
    • School lunchboxes, binders, backpacks, modeling clay, and some soft plastic and inflatable toys.
    • Some plastic food packaging and some plastic containers.
    • Tubing and gloves used in food processing and medical care.
• Fragrances in some candles, air fresheners, and personal care products like lotions, perfumes, hair products, and deodorants.
• Some nail polish, paint, floor finishes, caulk, and adhesives.
• Some medications and dietary supplements.

• Can interfere with the body’s natural hormones.
• Can affect development in the fetus, infants, and children.
• Can decrease fertility.
• May contribute to allergies and asthma.

• Choose non-plastic alternatives when possible.  Otherwise, avoid flexible vinyl plastics, sometimes called “PVC” or labeled with a “3”.
• Eat more fresh food and less processed and packaged food.
• Choose products that do not list “fragrance” on the ingredient label.
• Because phthalates come out of products and collect in dust, wash your hands often, especially before eating or preparing food, clean your floors regularly, and use a damp cloth to dust.

• Polyurethane foam in furniture, pillows, motor vehicle seats, and baby products, like car seats and changing table pads, especially if manufactured before 2006.
• Some hard plastic casings for electronics, such as TVs and computers; some mattresses, upholstery fabric, draperies, wires, and cables, especially if manufactured before 2013.
• Some carpet padding made from recycled or scrap polyurethane foam.
• Dust in homes, offices, and cars that contain products made with PBDEs.
• Some high-fat foods, like sausages, high-fat cheeses, butter, and fatty fish. 

• May interfere with the body’s natural hormones.
• May harm the developing fetus and infant, possibly affecting later learning and behavior.
• May decrease fertility.

Reducing exposure to PBDEs is difficult because they have been extensively used in furniture and other products.  Actions that may help reduce exposure are listed below.

• Because PBDEs come out of products and collect in dust:
  • • Wash your hands often, especially before eating or preparing food.
    • Wash your children’s hands often.  Infants and toddlers get a lot of dust on their hands when they play or crawl on the floor.
    • Clean your floors regularly and use a damp cloth to dust.
• Replace upholstered furniture that is torn or has crumbling foam.
• Avoid using carpet padding made from recycled or scrap polyurethane foam.
• Include plenty of variety in your diet.

• Cigarette and other tobacco smoke.
• Some cheap metal jewelry, including some charms.
• Rechargeable batteries labeled NiCd or NiCad.
• Metal plating and solder.
• Some red, yellow, and orange decorative paints, which may be used on glassware and pottery.

• May harm the developing infant and child.
• May harm the reproductive system in men.
• Can damage the lungs and kidneys.
• Can increase cancer risk.
• Can weaken bones.

• Do not smoke or allow others to smoke in your home or car, or around your child.
• Do not let children wear or play with cheap metal jewelry or charms.
• Do not let children handle rechargeable batteries labeled NiCd or NiCad.
• Properly recycle batteries (see below).
• If you do any welding or metalworking, or work with cadmium in other ways:
  • Be sure that your work area is well ventilated, and use proper protective equipment.
  • Follow other safe work practices, including washing hands frequently, keeping work dust out of your home, and washing work clothes separately.
  • Keep children away from welding fumes and other metal vapors and dusts.
• Because cadmium can collect in dust:
  • Wash your and your child’s hands often, especially before preparing or eating food.
  • Clean your floors regularly, using a wet mop or HEPA vacuum if possible, and use a damp cloth to dust.
• Include plenty of variety in your and your child’s diet. Eat a well-balanced diet with enough iron, which can help reduce the amount of cadmium that your body absorbs. 

• Some flea and tick collars, shampoos, sprays, and powders for dogs and cats.
• Some garden pest control products and no-pest strips.
• Some fruits and vegetables.  Small amounts of organophosphate pesticides found in these foods come from agricultural pesticide use. 
• Air and dust in areas where organophosphate pesticides are used, such as some farms or home gardens.
• Some treatments for head lice.

• May affect the nervous system.
• May harm the developing fetus, possibly affecting later learning and behavior.

• Use pesticide-free methods for pest prevention in your home and garden.  If you choose to use pesticides, consider baits and traps instead of sprays.  Always follow directions for use, storage, and disposal.
• To help control fleas without pesticides, comb pets with a flea comb, regularly bathe pets with pesticide-free shampoo, and wash pet bedding.
• If a pesticide is needed for flea control, consider safer spot-on treatments or oral medications for your pet.  Ask your veterinarian about the safest choices.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them.
• Consider choosing organic or pesticide-free fruits and vegetables.
• Because pesticides can be in dust, wash your hands often, especially before eating or preparing food, clean your floors regularly, and use a damp cloth to dust.

• Tobacco and marijuana smoke, including from cigarettes, cigars, and pipes; and chewing tobacco.
• Exhaust from cars, trucks, and buses, as well as road dust.
• Wood smoke, such as from fireplaces, wood stoves, campfires, and wildfires.
• Exhaust from gas burners, unvented gas fireplaces, and kerosene heaters.
• Smoke from grilling or burning cooking oil or food.
• Food that has been grilled, barbecued, smoked, fried, or roasted, and some teas.
• Liquid smoke seasonings and flavorings.

• May contribute to asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems.
• May affect the developing fetus, including effects on growth.
• May reduce fertility and interfere with the body’s natural hormones.
• Can increase cancer risk.

• Take steps to improve indoor air quality:
  • Do not smoke or allow others to smoke in your home or car, or around your child.
  • Always use an exhaust fan or open windows when cooking indoors, especially when cooking with oils heated at high temperatures, or whenever using a gas stove.
  • Do not use a gas oven or gas burners to heat your home.
  • If you cook with barbecues and grills, use them outdoors only.
  • Do not idle cars inside garages, especially garages attached to your home.
  • Avoid burning wood, especially for home heating.
• Limit how much you eat grilled, barbecued, smoked, fried, or roasted food. Try steaming, boiling, stewing, or poaching your food more often. Avoid burned food.
• Because PAHs can collect in dust:
  • Wash your and your child’s hands often, especially before preparing or eating food.
  • Clean your floors regularly, using a wet mop or HEPA vacuum if possible, and use a damp cloth to dust.

• Some fatty fish like salmon and canned sardines. (Fatty fish are still good to eat. These fish are an excellent source of healthy fats [like "omega-3" fatty acids] and protein.)
• Some high-fat animal products like hamburger meat and ice cream.
• Some products and building materials produced before 1980, such as:
  • Caulk in older buildings, including schools.
  • Some old fluorescent light fixtures.
  • Some paint, wood floor finishes, plastics, and foam or fiberglass insulation.

• Can harm the developing fetus and infant, possibly affecting growth and learning.
• Can interfere with the body’s natural hormones and affect the immune system.
• May decrease fertility.
• May increase cancer risk.

PCBs have been decreasing in the environment and food because they are no longer manufactured.  You might further reduce your exposure by:

• Including plenty of variety in your diet.
• Trimming off skin from fish and fat from meat and cooking it on a rack to let fat drain off.
• Washing your hands often, especially before eating or preparing food, cleaning your floors regularly, and dusting with a damp cloth.  This is because PCBs may be in dust and soil.

• Some high‐fat dairy products, such as butter and high‐fat cheeses like cream cheese and American cheese.
• Some high‐fat meats, such as some ground beef.
• Some fatty fish, such as salmon and canned sardines. Fish are still good for you to eat. Fatty fish are an excellent source of healthy fats (like “omega‐3” fatty acids) and protein.

• May affect the developing fetus, possibly leading to later changes in learning and behavior.
• May interfere with the body’s natural hormones.
• May have effects on reproduction, such as decreased fertility.
• May increase cancer risk.

Organochlorine pesticides have been decreasing in the environment and food because they are no longer used in the U.S. You might further reduce your exposure by:

• Including plenty of variety in your diet.
• Trimming off skin from fish and fat from meat and cooking on a rack to let fat drain off.
• Washing your hands often, especially before eating or preparing food, cleaning your floors regularly, and dusting with a damp cloth. This is because organochlorine pesticides may be in dust and soil from past use.

• Certain types of fish and seafood. This is the most common source of exposure to mercury.
• Some imported face creams used for skin lightening, anti-aging, or acne.
• Some herbal medicines and other traditional remedies, especially from China and India.
• Silver-colored dental fillings.
• Glass thermometers, older barometers, and blood pressure gauges.
• Fluorescent lights, including compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

• Can affect brain development and cause learning and behavior problems in infants and children who were exposed in the womb.
• Can harm the nervous system and kidneys.
• May affect the heart.
• May increase cancer risk.

• Choose fish that are lower in mercury, such as salmon, tilapia, trout, canned light tuna, sardines, anchovies, and oysters.
• Avoid fish that are high in mercury, such as shark, swordfish, orange roughy, bluefin and bigeye tuna, tilefish, king mackerel, and marlin.
• Do not use imported face creams for skin lightening, anti-aging, or acne unless you are certain that they do not contain mercury.
• Properly recycle CFL bulbs (see below).
• Properly clean up broken thermometers, CFL bulbs, and other items containing mercury (see below). Do not let children play with silver liquid from items like mercury thermometers.