M4.5 Think about it/Group Exercise

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It was really nice to be able to collaborate with my group members on the topic of policy around chemical exposures. Our group as a whole had similar thoughts on what policies might be better to address the body burdens that chemical and fragrances put on us. Marisa brought up the idea that the ideal policy would be to get rid of fragrances to significantly decrease our exposures to the negative health effects from them. However it would pose a great challenge. She then was able to identify vulnerable industries, such as hospitals, that should have fragrance free policies. Daisy was able to bring a personal component to the conversation by explaining how as someone who works at Kaiser, fragrance free policies would help those who have sensitivity to smells. She also indicated that if companies could use organic plants instead of synthetic oils, the exposure to toxic chemicals would decrease. Carmen also works in a clinical setting and suggested not stopping at a fragrance free policy, but actually taking steps to only use environmentally safe cleaning products in the the entire office. I made the point that too many companies refuse to disclose the exact ingredient of the chemicals that they use for these fragrances, utilizing the protections under "proprietary information". This is largely unregulated and the health effects are largely unknown due to this.  Health officials are only able to say that these chemicals may cause irritation and allergies due to the ingredient "Fragrance", but the further health risks are a mystery due to the "trade secrets" protections.

Through this group collaboration, we were able to identify potential policies that could improve the lives of hospital visitors, patients, and employees.


Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2018 at 2:53 PM

    Hi Kera,

    I enjoyed everyone's contributions to this group assignment. To get rid of fragrances would be challenging, but to come up with a list of ingredients that would work as environmentally-safe replacements might be our best bet. Thanks for sharing!

    Carmen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daisy AlbarranSeptember 24, 2018 at 9:18 PM

    Hello Kera,
    Thank you for your insights! The highlight of "proprietary information" was one factor I did not think about. I think if there were also rules about competing products, there would be less inclination to create several fragrances for the same product. Overall, transparency is key to ensure the well-being and health of consumers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 25, 2018 at 8:50 AM

    Hi Kera,
    I also enjoyed working together as a group and sharing our ideas. It is important to discuss these issues and brainstorm how we can make a change. I like that we all had similar ideas but we all brought something new to the group and were able to elaborate on how we would address implementing a fragrance free policy.

    ReplyDelete

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