Health & Science

Poison Gingy

The toxins lurking among your gingerbread men and other holiday ornaments.

Those of us naturally inclined to be wary of the tacky detritus of the holidays—all that packaging! Those cloying pieces of tinsel!—now have another reason to shut the door on the whole thing and go spelunking in a loin cloth. Because not even holiday ornaments are safe anymore. The case of the made-in-China toxic gingerbread man would almost be comical if it weren’t so, well, sickening.

Toxic toys aren’t new. Advocacy groups like the Ecology Center have been testing them in recent years for the standard culprits such as lead paint and BPA, the ubiquitous plastic additive in Nalgene bottles and canned food. My favorite-titled book for the holidays is Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health.

But polyresin holiday ornaments would have slipped through the cracks if it weren’t for a recent dogged investigation near Ogden, Utah. Under the federal Superfund law, scientists have been monitoring homes near Hill Air Force Base in that state for industrial chemical vapors used since the 1940s in aircraft maintenance. The vapors had generally been declining. But late last fall, there was an unexpected uptick in a nasty substance called 1,2-, DCA, or dichloroethane, inside nearly 100 homes in Ogden, fully a quarter of the residences surveyed in the area. Known sources of the chemical didn’t explain why it would be on the rise there.

“We went into the basement of the first house and tried to look for obvious things like old gun cleaners or carpet cleaners,” explains Bill Doucette, a toxicologist with Utah State University, who is preparing to publish his findings in the journal Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation. His team found high 1,2-DCA levels in the basement of resident Carol Brockman’s house. When the researchers moved a load of boxes from the basement to the garage, 1,2-DCA levels spiked there. They searched box by box until they found one containing Christmas tree decorations. Inside was the culprit: a polyresin gingerbread man, codenamed “Gingy.”

Gingy emitted levels of 1,2-DCA that were above the health standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In other houses, the team found similarly offending decorations—a snowman, a “joy” puppy, and a sunflower girl, among others—mostly purchased from Michaels or Hobby Lobby and all made in China. All were the type of hard plastic that looks a little like wood or ceramic, but is lightweight and sounds like plastic when you tap it. “At first I thought it would just be an isolated weird case,” says Kyle Gorder, an environmental engineer on the base. “But we found this coming from plastic in every home we tested that had high levels.”

Yep, that’s right. This toxic stuff is everywhere. Not found in nature, 1,2-DCA is a degreasing solvent and can be a byproduct of dry-cleaning chemicals. According to the CDC, “breathing or ingesting high levels of 1,2-dichloroethane can cause damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys, and lungs.” A probable human carcinogen, it is also known to cause breast and other cancers in lab animals with long-term exposure.

The levels found in the Utah homes were very small, the equivalent of parts per billion. To put the risk in perspective, Gorder says living with Gingy over your lifetime might increase your overall cancer risk by less than 1 percent. But that’s just one small ornament. Larger objects haven’t yet been tested.

The good news is that if you’ve had this crap in your holiday closet for years, it’s probably off-loaded all its noxious gases by now. The bad news is we seem to be bringing more toxins like Gingy into our homes all the time. 1,2-DCA is being phased out in American manufacturing of consumer goods, but there are no regulations on imports. And 1,2 DCA is just this year’s BPA. Next year there will be something else.

Tags: 1, 2 DCA, Christmas ornaments, dichlorethane, Gingy, hill air force base, toxics

Florence Williams is a contributing editor to Outside Magazine and also writes for the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, and other publications. Last year she was a Ted Scripps Fellow at the Center of Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado.

Comments

I really wanted to send a smal

By: jakeblake | Wed, 02/08/2012 - 23:10

I really wanted to send a small word to say thanks to you for the fantastic points you are writing on this site. Articles On Photography artistic fashion photography

Hi! Thanks for the great

By: alpha15995 | Thu, 01/19/2012 - 01:55

Hi! Thanks for the great information you have provided! You have touched on crucuial points! i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later.
wedding dresses online store,cheap wedding dresses,UGG Boots On Sale,cheap ugg boots,Down coats and jackets,Down coats,Down jackets,Classic And Fashion Boots,Fashion boots,Classic Boots,

abercrombe

By: xuntong01 | Wed, 12/28/2011 - 21:39

Dressed in abercrombe below, to spread leg, leaning against a all kinds of rose petals herbaceous peony with jade clip yarn new pillow, and fang officer two HuaQuan first. When the hot mouth fang shouted, dressed only in a abercrombi girded with a under, also to spread trouser leg. Head forehead with a circle (eyebrow plait, goal to centers, "a root ELuan degree of finish total plait, allsaints dragging in brain. The right ear plug in the eye with the size of a rice only a small jade lid, the single left ear with a abercrombie & fitch 8 , the show's face as the full moon of the white, eye such as autumn pay off.

This YouSanJie walking arm in arm with loose hair, abercrombie & fitch cheap half attack by surprise half open, revealing the light green wiping a bosom, a mark Snow White meat. Underneath , a pair of lotus or become warped or and, no moment sven. Two is like a swing in general, the light under, the more the LiuMei cage cui fog, wingceltis mouth DanSha point. This is a pair of autumn eye,

The qing-wen wear only abercrombie & fitch clothing, red XiaoYi red sleep shoes, be covered with hair, riding in the male on slavery. Musk month is , dressed in a suit , where the catch neither rib limb. Male slaves back on the kang, but, dressed in abercrombie & fitch coupon , red pants green socks, two feet disorderly deng and the smile of breath

See wonderful jade head wearing a abercrombie & fitch outlet cover a water TianQing satin edge long vest, tied chou-heung color silk sash, waist of a pale MoHua of white silk skirt, follow a shi son, waving the drag drag comes along.

UGG UK

By: UGGUKSale | Mon, 12/26/2011 - 20:33

UGG Bailey Button is sure to be one of the top selling UGG Boots this season. It takes the appearance of a classic ugg boot, but with funky new additions like a wooden side button, a side split and top cuff that can be folded over to give them a unique and stylish look that all of your friends and family will be the envy of. With a full range of colours like chestnut, chocolate, black and grey, there is bound to be a colour that you fall in love with!


UGG Kensington boast double buckles to make them look like funky motorcycle boots and come in rich, luxurious colours like black and toast. As they are fully lined with sumptuous sheepskin you can rest assured that they will keep your feet warm and cosy throughout the cold months.


UGG Bailey Button Triplet can make every woman become fashion whenever in winter or other time. Among all UGG Classic Mini boots, women's Ugg boots have become a necessary commodity in fashion and in comfort. In any type of weather UGG Retro Cargo boots are very popular because of their versatility. In the cold, the true UGG Plumdale boots will keep your feet warm or insulated, and in the heat, your feet will stay cool and comfortable.


While UGG's iconic boots like the UGG Classic Cardy and the UGG Classic Tall are more widely recognized as women's styles, UGG also has footwear for men and children. On the men's side, UGG makes a good variety of boots, shoes, sandals and slippers. For boots, men have their version of the UGG Classic Short boots. Made of twin-faced sheepskin, the Men's Classic has the same features as the women's style.


UGG UK has popularized sheepskin boots, slippers, and shoes. The most common Ugg boots are the short Boots, though there are now of models. These include UGG Kenly Boots, Crochet Boots, Sandra Boots, Ultra Boots, Kensington Boots, UGG Roslynn Boots, Wilshire Boots and many , many more, all in a selection of colours. Ugg Australia now also cater for kids and men, with many different sheepskin slippers, shoes and boots available. Each year, new exciting styles are released.


UGG Delaine boots drive me crazy is that it can makes me look, sexy and fashionable. That can be found no matter the shape, colors of this boots. The shape of UGG Montclair boots looks like a ship leading you to beautiful and fashionable continent. The boots is short, it is perfect for girls who don't like the tall UGG Amberlee boots decreasing their long legs. Meanwhile, UGG Tularosa boots enjoys various colors which can make customer choose feely. What is more, it is easy for wearers to match UGG classic short boots, a tight jeans and any kind of clothes is enough to make you look good enough.


You can buy UGG boots from different stores as well as online retailers. There are lots of attractive boots available for both men and women, such as, Sunburst, UGG Knightsbridge, Kensington Toast, Brooks Tall, UGG Fox Fur, Maxene, Kenly Black and more. These boots are lightweight and are available in different standard sizes. Apart from boots, shoes and slippers are also available under the UGG brand.

all saints

By: xuntong01 | Mon, 12/26/2011 - 03:39

Purple porch ourtenant looked to me, as if all the others like transparent general, today she wore a abercrombie fitch discount , cherubim of finely plum blossom into a peach blossom color brocade brought, wearing a abercrombie fitch online store below his waist and a root , the hair loose rolled up, between hair tilted in a root TuCui peacock hanging a sapphire blue earth, abercrombie online shop her as she steps, gently swaying, as if picture painted a fairy, ying ying smiling.

Still fine gauze masked, I dressed in a abercrombie us, skirt both sides have band loosely in the chest a knot, the remaining at dreadful lop, beat and dance. My hair is wan line into three turn the small dish whiskers, slightly to the right, it really buy abercrombie, head, two more under the act the rose, the head, two ray like you send out lop, discount abercrombie bao ruchan ala as thin as.

all saints

By: xuntong01 | Fri, 12/23/2011 - 04:13

The man dressed up and all the different girl, has brilliant, pass god bestowed the fairy: head wearing & fitch clothing , Wan the chaoyang , on a wearing 7 abercrombie , skirt hem , double value halibut rose peja, was dressed in , outer garment of , abacrombie 60% off A pair of DanFeng triangle eyes, two curved eyebrows hanging sought the willow, stature slim, physical coquettish, powder surface has not shows with spring, Dan lip not up laughing first smell

Two curved like the cu smoke frowning eyebrow, and a pair of like xi xi consist of eye. State of two ь born worry, charming of a disease attacks. all saints A tears spot, breathed heavily slightly. Silence as good as when water flowers, like weak willows in action is. Over an opening more heart dry, disease such as west-three points.

See the room and out of a few fairy, abacrombie and fitch onlineshop Hollywood is either PianXian, blowing clothes, if the top flowers in spring, mei such as designed.

prada

By: 1xuntong | Thu, 12/22/2011 - 03:14

Head is a dressed in prada mens bags , the waist is hand wan the wind Huan fog whiskers, hair don't the prada bags on sale. Eyes look unripe brightness, hold the colourful color hearts and beauty.

Just go to the flowers there is a side in prada bags on sale , white clouds scattered with flower skirt, BinFa such as the mist, inclined fork prada vela messenger bag , delicate and charming face like the palace outfit and eyebrow woman.

prada

By: 1xuntong | Thu, 12/22/2011 - 02:23

Head is a dressed in prada mens bags , the waist is hand wan the wind Huan fog whiskers, hair don't the prada bags on sale. Eyes look unripe brightness, hold the colourful color hearts and beauty.

Just go to the flowers there is a side in prada bags on sale , white clouds scattered with flower skirt, BinFa such as the mist, inclined fork prada vela messenger bag , delicate and charming face like the palace outfit and eyebrow woman.

all saints

By: xuntong01 | Wed, 12/21/2011 - 02:50

The man dressed up and all the different girl, has brilliant, pass god bestowed the fairy: head wearing & fitch clothing , Wan the chaoyang , on a wearing 7 abercrombie , skirt hem , double value halibut rose peja, was dressed in , outer garment of , abacrombie 60% off A pair of DanFeng triangle eyes, two curved eyebrows hanging sought the willow, stature slim, physical coquettish, powder surface has not shows with spring, Dan lip not up laughing first smell

Two curved like the cu smoke frowning eyebrow, and a pair of like xi xi consist of eye. State of two ь born worry, charming of a disease attacks. all saints A tears spot, breathed heavily slightly. Silence as good as when water flowers, like weak willows in action is. Over an opening more heart dry, disease such as west-three points.

See the room and out of a few fairy, abacrombie and fitch onlineshop Hollywood is either PianXian, blowing clothes, if the top flowers in spring, mei such as designed.

prada bag

By: 1xuntong | Sun, 12/18/2011 - 20:47

Head is a dressed in prada mens bags , the waist is hand wan the wind Huan fog whiskers, hair don't the prada bags on sale. Eyes look unripe brightness, hold the colourful color hearts and beauty.

Just go to the flowers there is a side in prada bags on sale , white clouds scattered with flower skirt, BinFa such as the mist, inclined fork prada vela messenger bag , delicate and charming face like the palace outfit and eyebrow woman.

Golden cherubim prada tote bag 2012 the border of yellow, green hand wan xia ROM peony mist the yarn. Cloud bun I I, wearing , face like month namby-pamby, eyes look unripe brightness, hot heart. Is a natural and graceful and temperament with a expensive gas and fragile woman.