Toxicity in Your Dishwasher

 

Even If You Don’t Own One

The basics of life have changed dramatically over the last 100 years. For example, in 1921, the average life expectancy for men was 47 years, fuel for cars was only sold in drug stores, only 14 percent of homes had a bathtub, only 8 percent of homes had a telephone, the maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph, the tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower, the average US wage in 1919 was 22 cents per hour, the average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year, more than 95 percent of all births took place at home, ninety percent of all doctors had no traditional college education (instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in press and government as "substandard"), the population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30, crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet, there was neither a Mother's Day nor Father's Day, two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write, only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school and most women washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. We washed dished by hand with… er… soap and water.

We like to think that what transpired over those 100 years was forward-thinking progress, lives made better by scientific achievement and sophisticated engineering. Life expectancy soared by three decades, even as population of the United States has since tripled. Wars took their toll, but the nation was on an explosive growth curve. There was little or no concern about increasing pollution in our air and waterways, no talk of climate change; “better living through chemistry” was touted and accepted. We weathered the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and modernity seemed to lift all of our daily lives a huge notch upward. “Leisure time” and a 40-hour workweek were the new normal.

Forgetting about our recent struggles with political polarization and the awful reality of the COVID-19 (20, 21, 22 and ???) pandemic, too many of those “improvements” began (or were being just noticed) to create a new, aggregated toxic change to our environment. Modernity had its cost. Despite the long and seemingly off-subject beginning to this blog, today I actually want to focus one small part of that “toxicity of modernity” – chemistry. Both the manufacturing plants that create the chemicals and additives of daily life and their application at every level of our routines. Beyond fracking and mining, beyond nuclear power and coal… just the “stuff” we use every day and take for granted. Like soap and its ilk. Companies like Monsanto, DuPont, BASF, etc., etc.

Without exonerating any particular manufacturer and giving full credit to the scientific genius that created these miraculous organic chemicals, I was inspired to write this blog because of an expose in the December 20th release of ProPublica which focused on German-owned BASF. You may not know the name or the company, because it often deals only with the biggest consumer products companies in the world (like P&G), supplying them with essential chemicals which are very significantly passed on to most of us as ingredients in what we use every day. Simply, as “the world’s largest chemical maker, BASF, produces ingredients for America’s most popular products, from soaps to surface cleaners to dishwasher detergent. Emissions from their U.S. plants elevate cancer risks for an estimated 1.5 million people…

“The long, winding path from shale rock to the kitchen cabinet contributes to massive sales for BASF, the world’s largest chemical maker. But for the company’s neighbors, the journey leaves behind a trail of toxic pollution that has placed hundreds of thousands of people — [particularly nearby residents] — in harm’s way…

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency aspires to minimize the number of people exposed to emissions that increase excess cancer risk above 1 in 1 million. That risk level means that if 1 million people in an area were exposed to toxic air pollutants over a presumed lifetime of 70 years, there would likely be at least one case of cancer on top of those from risks people already face. But a ProPublica analysis found that the EPA effectively allows two dozen BASF plants nationwide to expose an estimated 1.5 million Americans to elevated cancer risks greater than 1 in 1 million. EPA rules also say that plants should never expose people to an additional lifetime cancer risk that exceeds 1 in 10,000. Yet an estimated 2,800 people who live near BASF plants around the country face risks at least that high because of the company’s emissions, according to our analysis. Our analysis is based on an EPA screening tool that uses data reported by companies such as BASF. It cannot be used to assess the cause of individual cancer cases, but can identify geographic areas of potential concern.

“BASF’s footprint of cancer-causing air pollution is larger than that of any other foreign-owned company in the U.S. and is the fourth-largest toxic footprint among all companies operating in this country, according to our analysis…

“BASF, a multibillion-dollar corporation that employs over 110,000 people worldwide, is part of a larger story about the hidden costs of our nation’s supply chains. ProPublica pieced together the supply chain — and the environmental impact — of a single BASF-produced chemical found in one common household cleaning product during the period of our analysis, which examined data from 2014 to 2018. We reviewed thousands of pages of corporate filings; obtained internal documents through nearly 100 public records requests; and interviewed dozens of workers, supply chain experts and residents living near BASF plants. Our reporting offers a rare look at how the production of a single consumer good — Cascade dishwasher detergent — contributes to elevated cancer risk for an estimated nearly 1 million people in multiple communities across the South. 

“By the time millions of consumers purchase Cascade each month, [for example,] the crucial chemicals that end up in the detergent have been crafted over the course of an 800-mile journey from a BASF facility in Port Arthur, Texas, to one in Geismar, Louisiana…  From there, a final chemical product is hauled to an assembly line at a giant plant in St. Louis, Missouri, ending up in bold green packages that line grocery store aisles nationwide. By the time [a resident near a BASF plant] pulls a container of Cascade off the shelf, [he/]she will have already paid an even higher price: chronic exposure to one of America’s most dangerous air pollutants, a sacrifice in order to manufacture the most popular dishwasher detergent in the nation. ProPublica. Just read the warning label on the package to appreciate the toxicity. 

And that’s just one of hundreds of products containing BASF chemicals, so many with toxic footprints. Toxicity in the manufacture. Toxicity in the products that contain those chemicals that touch us every day. Toxicity in the runoff as chemical remnants seep into our environment. As I said, this isn’t just about BASF, even though it is the largest in its class; it’s about moving forward before we actually know the consequences of our “inventions,” leaving others, alive and in future generations, to pay a very heavy personal price. Are economic growth and progress the metrics of our “success” as a people, or is there another way to look at the world other than through a GDP lens?

I’m Peter Dekom, and as the United States (maybe the world) begins to unravel from environment excess, it just may be time to reevaluate how we really look at and interact with the planet… and each other.