Our Toxic Homes

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Toxic home stories in the Daily Star:

DAY 1

Worst pollution risks increasingly indoors
We clean with them. We build them into our walls and cabinets. We spray them on bugs, weeds and gardens.

We drag them into the house on our shoes and we stir them up when we walk on our carpets. Read more »»

Household Dust laden with toxins
The average infant ingests 100 milligrams of dust each day, while some kids take in up to 10 grams per day, or about a third of an ounce, said Seattle environmental engineer John Roberts, in a chapter he wrote for a new book, "Exposure Analysis." Read more »»

Environmental experts rate the toxic risks at home
David Layton, Lance Wallace, William Nazaroff, Theo Colburn, Charles Weschler and Wayne Ott offer their rankings of toxic risks in the home. Read more »»

Mold a growing problem
Arizona's dry weather can't stop mold from spreading through a home once a roof leaks or an air conditioner clogs with water. Read more »»

Asthma-proofing home
Northwest Sider Brad Kingsley, who is 11, can't have more than a couple stuffed toys at once — he chooses SpongeBob SquarePants and a monkey — because they carry dust mites.

Out in Vail, Danielle Sipe had her family's new home built a year ago without carpeting, hoping to minimize the dust her 12-year-old daughter breathes. Read more »»

Ingredient in plastic prompts fierce debate
Tucson Realtor Erika O'Dowd switched from hard plastic to soft plastic bottles for her year-old daughter after reading a recent magazine article warning that chemicals in the hard plastic are dangerous. Read more »»

Answering the tough 'why?'
At age 37, Tucsonan Erica Koerber knows she probably won't get pregnant. Blame the hormones in her body - and maybe, just maybe, the chemicals in her environment. Read more »»

How the U.S. government regulates chemicals
About 82,000 chemicals exist in this country, more than 700 new ones are introduced each year, and thousands are used in the home. Here are some questions and answers about how government regulates them. Read more »»

Household cleaners are hard call for consumers
When it comes to normal amounts of bleach and other household cleaners, there is vast disagreement over the hazards among researchers, environmentalists and industry groups. Studies have linked conventional cleaners to asthma or related diseases, or suggested that their use can trigger releases of an intense enough chemical brew to violate state and federal air quality standards. Read more »»

Building a safer home
Household chemicals and Heather Kutch don't get along. Kutch, 43, was diagnosed as having multiple chemical sensitivity back in her mid-20s. So when she and her husband Mike of Sierra Vista decided to build a bigger home closer to his engineer's job at Fort Huachuca, they went green. Read more »»

Many dry cleaners rely on toxic liquid, but safer alternatives are getting attention
The search for a clean alternative to a common toxic solvent used in dry cleaning is proving elusive. Read more »»

Electronic air cleaners create new set of concerns
Indoor air cleaners claim relief for people wishing to rid their homes of smoke, dust and pollen. About 4 million sell in this country annually, says the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. But many are ineffective, if not dangerous, says the magazine Consumer Reports. Read more »»

Here are ways to minimize health risks from indoor pollution
Download a guide to minimize indoor pollution. Read more »»

Green products: how good?
How well do "green" products work on your floors, sinks, ovens and carpets? Three organizations offer different answers. Read more »»

Law bars Arizona from giving guidance
Don't ask Arizona's state environmental agency for advice on green cleaners. It legally can't give any. Read more »»

Q&A: Green Seal Inc.
If Clorox is the mother of conventional cleaners, Green Seal is the mother of "green" cleaners. Read more »»

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