WHAT? YOU EXPECT ME TO FIND A NEW JOB BECAUSE YOUR PERFUME IS KILLING ME???!!

I'm really steamed. I've come across this ridiculous sentiment enough times today to make my blood boil. I cannot believe anyone is this stupid. Please, tell me you don't think it's logical to expect a person to go find a new job because they have a serious reaction to the chemical soup in their workplace. This is just unbelievably ludicrous. I'm actually sputtering, I'm that mad.

I believe NIOSH and OSHA have something to say about toxic environments, don't they? Maybe we should give them a call. Or, how about the EPA? I've heard they have something to do with air quality. What do you think? Perhaps the Centers for Disease Control would like to put in their two cents worth.

Is it just me, or does it seem like there's a great big, gigantic, humongous gap here? On one side, we've got people who are saying that perfumes and fragranced products make them sick, from mildly uncomfortable to fully, flat-out, unable-to-function sick. Way over there are the people who don't think perfume is a problem and who think some people are just too sensitive and are making up a weird "disease" that doesn't really exist and we don't need to do anything to help them and besides, there are more important chemical problems to worry about, so those too sensitive folks should just get a different job if somebody is wearing perfume in their workplace.

Let's have a look at these notions. 1) Perfume is not a problem. Ok, it's true that real perfume, the kind that is made from purely botanical sources the old fashioned way, is not toxic. I don't know if people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) have problems with real perfume. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT THE WOMAN IN THE CUBICLE DOWN THE WAY IS WEARING! Her perfume can be smelled two floors away. You know who and what I'm talking about. But the real question is, is perfume harmful (whether you have any "sensitivity" to it or not)? There's this:

"Fragrance is a known trigger of asthma. Many of the compounds in fragrance are suspected or proven carcinogens. Phthalates in perfumes are known hormone disruptors. In 1989 the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health evaluated 2,983 fragrance chemicals for health effects. They identified 884 of them as toxic substances. The US Environmental Protection Agency found that 100% of perfumes contain toluene, which can cause liver, kidney and brain damage as well as damage to a developing fetus." (from the Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia's site Guide to Less Toxic Products)

Moving right along, we have 2) Some people are just too sensitive. Hmmm, I'll admit it may, on the surface, appear that there are "too sensitive" types. But who gets to determine what is "too sensitive" and what is the right amount of sensitivity? We're probably actually fortunate to have these "too sensitive" folks around. Maybe they're like the canaries that used to go down into the mines with the miners. I do not suffer from MCS but I am sensitive to fragrances in my vicinity. I'm very aware of them and I do not like them. I do not, however, get a strong physical reaction like people with MCS get. For some people, the presence of fragranced products triggers migraines that can last three days. And it may not take very much to get that reaction. Are these people "too sensivitive?" I don't think so. And they have a right, yes, a right, to a non-threatening, non-harmful work environment.

Next we have 3) MCS is a weird "disease" (as in, it doesn't really exist because I don't know anybody who has it). It's true there is lots of debate on this one. Is it or isn't it? Well, let's see, if people miss work because of the poor indoor air quality, does that prove there's a condition of some sort? How about if the health care costs sky-rocket because of poor indoor air quality? Here are some statistics: "In 1992, EPA conservatively estimated that poor indoor air quality costs the U.S. $1 billion annually in lost productivity. That same year, the National Academy of Sciences estimated indoor air pollution contributes $15 to $100 billion annually to health care costs." (taken from An Overview of MCS by Cynthia Wilson, Executive Director of the Chemical Injury Information Network [CIIN]). There is substantial research into the causes and existence of MCS. At the request of the US Interagency Taskforce on Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, CIIN prepared a report on MCS as a global health problem. The report, written in 1995, documented MCS health problems in 36 countries. CIIN was the only group to be asked to make a presentation to the taskforce. The Wikipedia article is also enlightening. Please inform yourself before you go jamming your foot even farther down your own throat.

Here's 4) We don't need to do anything to help them. Yeah, you're really being asked to make a huge sacrifice. The important thing here is that, if you made some changes in your life to reduce the amount of fragrances you were putting into the environment, you'd ACTUALLY BE DOING YOUR OWN SELF A BIG FAVOR. Remember that part about it's harmful whether you're sneezing or not? That's a key part of this equation. You light your "aromatherapy" candles, throw those dryer sheets around like confetti and slap a few handfuls of your favorite odour du jour on your neck and you've just inhaled and absorbed a dose of toxic chemical soup. It's not good for you. Besides, not help other people who are suffering from something you have control over?? Come on. Who thinks that way?

Now for 5) There are more important chemical problems to worry about. This one is so silly I'm not sure I can even respond to it. Yes, there are lots of nasty chemicals floating and flying around in our environment and some will do more damage than others. SO WHAT?? Who says that new carpet chemicals are more harmful than the toluene, phthalates and coal tar in perfume? How would we ever adjudicate these sorts of questions? They're completely irrelevant anyway! Our focus, our impetus, our goal, our destination should always be no more damage, no more chemical soup, no more hiding our heads in the sand, no more letting some bit get by because some other bit is larger!

And last, but not least, 6) Get another job. There actually are people who think this is a kind of solution. They don't think the perfume wearer could help out by maybe wearing a lot less, or, god forbid, none. They don't think the perfume manufacturers should be taken to task for ignoring the research implicating their ingredients in horrific damage to reproductive systems. They don't think that human beings should be aware of and considerate of other human beings who are suffering and do something to help. So the person who is choking for 8 hours a day at their job because of the toxic perfume lady, should just quit that job and go find a different one. Doesn't matter if it's a job they've had for a long time, or a job they like a lot and do well, doesn't matter that it's a bad time to be unemployed. Nope. Never mind that stuff. If the perfume bothers you, go get another job. Unbelievable.

To those of you who have to endure someone in your workplace who doesn't have the good sense to tone down the perfume, I say, stand up and say something! Look at the research, print something you can use and take it to your boss or the perfume wearer's boss. Leave anonymous notes all over the place. Quietly ask others if they're having a problem, then hand out copies of the research to them. Form a coalition. By the way, in doing your research, you may come across information about how Canada is taking this much more seriously and has banned fragrances from hospitals and government offices. Use that. The CIIN is a good place to start. Then just trust in Google to take you where you need to go. Good luck and keep us posted.