Careful where you p

You know those white mothball-smelling deodorizers they put in urinals and public toilets?

You guessed it: They cause cancer. The chemical p-dichlorobenzene is used in low-cost toilet deodorizers and moth repellents, sometimes at 100 percent strength. The chemical is designed to disperse and stay put, making it particularly dangerous.

Products featuring p-dichlorobenzene seem to be sold aggressively in Hispanic neighborhoods, and a new study found frighteningly elevated cancer risks among Hispanics.

Inside Houston homes with the highest levels of the chemical, 16 out of every 1,000 Hispanic residents were at risk of cancer…[I]n Los Angeles, four out of every 1,000 [were at risk].

Experts say such a high cancer danger from a single source is highly unusual. Federal guidelines usually consider ten cancers per million people an “acceptable” risk; in some of the Hispanic households, the cancer risk is about 1,000-fold higher.

Although the study was relatively small, the results were so striking that the authors say p-dichlorobenzene should be banned.

But—you guessed it again—that’s easier said than done. Air fresheners are regulated by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. But moth repellants, which are considered pesticides, are controlled by the EPA. That agency regulates industrial emissions of p-dichlorobenzene, but not household use.

Takeaway: Don’t wait for regulations. Get rid of these items in any home or work spaces you use regularly. Use cedar instead of mothballs and use citrus oil air freshener (or nothing) in the bathroom.

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