Products that are as toxic as car fumes

CHEMICALS in household cleaning products are as harmful to air pollution as cars and lorries, scientists said yesterday.

Cleaning products, as well as items such as perfume and deodorant, now contribute up to 50 per cent of outdoor air pollution in cities, their research reveals.

Tens of thousands of deaths every year are blamed on the toxic output of cars and lorries in the UK alone. But now chemicals from products such as air fresheners, oven cleaner, paint and shampoo are becoming equally as harmful.

The researchers, whose study was published in the journal Science, say we should use smaller amounts of perfumed cleaning products because the fumes leak into the atmosphere. Presenting their work at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference in Austin, Texas, the scientists also called for products to be made with less harmful chemicals.

Co-author Jessica Gilman said: ‘A consumer can make choices. Using the smallest amount possible to get the job done or using fragrance-free products are easy ways to reduce emissions.’

Research published in the Lancet last year put air pollution in a top-five list of global mortality threats. And spikes in air pollution can more than double the risk of heart attack in just 24 hours, according to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.