Toxic waste
 

Some years ago the aluminum and fertilizer industries had developed a problem within their developing businesses; how to get rid of flouride, a highly toxic byproduct that is more toxic than lead and even in minor doses accumulates in and is damaging to brain development of children, produces abnormal behavior in animals and reduces I.Q. in humans. Rather than be compelled to pay to dispose of fluoride at toxic waste sites they lobbied local governments to make laws forcing cities to dump it in our drinking water!

Remedy: Install a reverse osmosis drinking water filter if you have flouride in your drinking water, otherwise a cheaper solid block charcol water filter will do to get chlorine and pesticides out . Carefully read the warning label on the back of any toothpaste tube that contains fluoride and consider if you really want to have your children put it in their mouth.

Indoor Air Pollution

A recent EPA study found that peak concentrations of twenty toxic compounds were 200  to 500 times higher inside some homes that outside. The reason for this is that much of the clothes, carpeting, insulation, paints, glues, furniture, flooring materials and appliances are made of toxic unstable substances which continually outgas their toxic molecules into the surrounding air.

Remedy: Purchase furniture, clothes, bedding, building materials and other products used inside the home that are made of natural materials or which do not outgas toxic byproducts. If you are building a new home or remodeling, specify that only nontoxic or low VOC (volatile organic compound) products are to be used in the building materials. There are also indoor plants which help in removing toxins and pollution from the air1,2.

Plants That Clean The Air

I think most of us are concerned about air pollution but how many of us are aware that indoor air is one of the top five threats to public health. One thing you can do to help improve the air quality indoors is stop buying all those toxic cleaning solutions, air fresheners, pesticides, rat poison and the other chemical/biological weapons that inhabit the supermarket shelves. Another air enhancement technique is to start growing some indoor house plants. Believe it or not NASA has spent years and millions of your tax dollars studying the ability of plants to clean air1,2. They found that many varieties of common indoor house plants are actually highly efficient in moving air through their air purification machinery, absorbing and breaking down toxins and pumping out oxygen and moisture. They also produce phytochemicals which suppress mold spores and airborne bacteria. Some of the following plants have been found to be very efficient at healing sick air:

LADY PALM (South China)

BAMBOO PALM (Mexico)
These palms rate the highest for ease of care, moisture production and removal of chemical vapors.

RUBBER PLANT (India and Malaya)
Removes formaldehyde

CHRYSANTHEMUM MORIFOLIUM (China and Japan)
Removes formaldehyde, benzene and ammonia

DENDROBIUM ORCHID (Australia and Asia)
removes alcohol, acetone, formaldehyde and chloroform.