Everyday, without realizing it, millions of people are exposed to various chemicals that can affect their health, the health of the planet, and our quality of life.  We often purchase cleaners and chemicals off the shelf that we assume are safe, because after all, why would stores sell them if they weren't safe, right?  When we dispose of products like paint thinner, metal polish, raid, etc., we don't think about the product's life after leaving our trashcan, yet these products leach out of landfills and pollute our drinking water.  Our old refrigerators release Chloro-fluoro-Carbons (CFC's) from their cooling systems that help destroy our ozone layer.  When we dry clean our clothing, many of us would never suspect that the chemicals used can cause cancer, not only in the person wearing the clothes, but also in the people living and working iwthin close proximity of the cleaning plant.  Sadly, our local water-ways and air are polluted by industrial processes, illegal dumping and pesticide application.  Runoff of pesticides and herbicides from our gardens can travel through the watershed system to pollute our bay, poison the fish we eat and make it unsafe for us to swim.

Top 3 of 10

1.  Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste at a hazardous waste facility or round-up event. Do NOT put hazardous waste in the trash, down the sinks or drains, and do NOT put anything into street gutters.

2.  Reduce the number of chemicals you buy and replace toxics with less toxic alternatives. Consider shopping at stores that carry safer products - Co-Ops, Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods.

3.  Avoid body care products that are harmful to your health. "Your skin is the largest organ of your body and it absorbs what you put on it.  The personal and skin care products you use every day may actually have harmful petroleum derivatives, vinyl's, and plastics that can have effects greater than just damaging the skin and making it older and less healthy... they can actually cause illness.  Most off-the-shelf personal care products contain harmful ingredients that strip, coat, suffocate, and leave your skin vulnerable." (www.healthybiz2000.com)

www.healthybiz2000.com - This site is a plethora of information on health, nutrition and skin care. Offers products, resources, articles, supplies and equipment.

www.scorecard.org - "Get an in-depth pollution report for your county, covering air, water, chemicals, and more." (www.scorecard.org)

Environmental Home Center - A national distributor of green building supplies and household products.

Not Too Pretty - An organization dedicated to revealing chemicals used in cosmetics and fragrances that are harmful to our children, the environment and us.