Tuesday 8 June 2010

It's All About Health

There's a new workplace danger in town.
A HEALTH expert has issued a new warning over the link between cleaning sprays and asthma.

Chlorine, bleach, disinfectants and other cleaning agents are fuelling a rise in asthma at home and work, he said.

Inhaling bleach, ammonia, decalcifiers, acids, solvents and stain removers more than once a week was linked to a 20 per cent rise in asthma or wheezing, Dr Zock said.
20 per cent? That sounds familiar. So much so that this risk should be treated in exactly the same manner as any other 'danger' which epidemiologists have linked to a 20 per cent higher risk for workers.

We need signs. Lots of 'em.

No workplace should be exempt. Churches, tyre fitters, supermarkets, libraries, offices, taxis ... oh, especially taxis, all should be required to carry this sign by law.

Oh yeah, and there should be crippling financial penalties for anyone who fails to display one.

An overreaction? A fucking silly idea? Of course it is. But then, public health have done this before, so why not some consistency, eh?

pic courtesy of Lawson


11 comments:

AntiCitizenOne said...

What about the dangers of passive disinfection?

Captain Haddock said...

I wonder, in which particular subject the good Doctor gained his qualifications ?

Stating the bleedin' obvious, perhaps ?

Of course inhaling Chlorine isn't going to do you any good .. as veterans of WWI could have told us .. and if something is designed to dissolve piss-stains from your porcelain, it's not going to do your lungs much good ..

Someone, anyone, please spare us from the ramblings of these educated idiots ..

bayard said...

Now that it's been officially confirmed that cleaning is bad for you, I will stop doing it forthwith.

Unknown said...

You may scoff DP but it's true, I've been telling the wife about this for years as I sit on my fat arse watching her doing wimmin's work. It's a great scam, it's a wonder men never caught on to it years ago like I did.

Captain Ranty said...

Still, as long as they keep it out of our swimming pools where all those developing younglings go every weekend, we'll be fine.

Oh, wait.....

CR.

J Bonington Jagworth said...

At last - an opportunity to mention a maddening TV ad I saw recently, for a hand soap dispenser (Dettol, I think) that operates electronically, so you don't have to press a germ-infested button first. This is highlighted in the ad, with little wriggly black things reinforcing the message, but ignoring the inevitable and bleedingly obvious next step, which is that you will be WASHING YOUR HANDS!

Give me strength...

AntiCitizenOne said...

You not seen the electronically activated taps?

Bucko said...

So if you do as the adverts suggest and follow your bin lids around all day with a spray bottle, you will prevent them getting the flu but give them asthma instead?
Its always baffled me why they suggest constantly wiping surfaces as a way to combat an airbourne virus.

AntiCitizenOne said...

Actually silver coatings kill both bacteria and inactivate viruses.

Much more room for growth in the silver price than gold.

Christopher Snowdon said...

On this one, it's possible the epidemiologists are onto something, albeit indirectly. It's not the chemicals themselves that lead to asthma, but the excessive cleanliness that comes from using them too much. A number of decent studies have found a link between sterile homes and asthma (and allergies).

Not enough bacteria to create immunity, you see, as I think you've said on this blog before.

J Bonington Jagworth said...

"electronically activated taps"

Must be fun when there's a power cut!

I can see some merit in the taps (apart from looking swanky) as you have to handle ordinary ones after you've washed, but the soap dispenser seems bonkers to me, as well as raising the general state of alarm about cleanliness.

As Snowdon says, a bit of dirt is not a bad thing. The world needs to be more Darwinian!