Warning: Don't Drink the Bubble Bath

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 16, 2003

Byline: John Elvin, INSIGHT

Warning: Don't Drink the Bubble Bath

In conversations with friends the subject comes up at times of how little we know about the long-term effects of many modern conveniences. Most of the concoctions stored under the kitchen sink, in the bathroom medicine cabinet or even out in the garage are almost totally new when viewed from the perspective of human history. From time to time we get a rude awakening when some bug spray or food additive kills a few more people than is allowable statistically and the product is withdrawn from the market. But are there things that we might voluntarily withdraw from our shelves if we knew what they contained?

Never fear, your friendly federal government is here with a passel of answers at the "Household Products Database," maintained by the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine. You can browse and search by product or ingredient. It's all there: brake fluid, toilet-bowl cleaner, insecticides, swimming-pool products, shampoo, putty and varnish. And lots, lots more.

Suppose you have just impulsively purchased a container of a little treat for your tired old body called Village Naturals Bubble Bath, Peach Medley. Ah, sounds soothing and relaxing. But wait, what's in this stuff? You crank up the computer and point and click your mouse to http://householdproducts.nlm. nih.gov to check it out. Hmmm. Sodium laureth sulfate, tetrasodium EDTA, propylene glycol, triethanolamine, cocamidopropyl betaine, DMDM hydantoin, tocoheryl acetate, hydroxypropyl methyicellulose? This is going into your tub without dissolving the ceramics?

Well, no doubt it's all perfectly harmless stuff. It's bubble bath, for gosh sakes, not bug killer. How could they put anything in it that would cause problems? Just for kicks, though, you follow along and check out just one random ingredient. Say, triethanolamine. Here's a tip: Don't drink your bubble bath. Of course, the following is in regard to only this particular ingredient, so we're talking quite a dose: "The ingestion of several ounces can probably be tolerated by man, but unless the liquid is partly neutralized with acid, alkali burns of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus are likely." The way the scientists have it figured, you'd have to drink between a pint and a quart of the stuff to kill yourself and, at that, you'd have to weigh 150 pounds or less.

Since each bottle contains just a smidgen of triethanolamine, you'd have to ingest a few cases of Village Naturals Bubble Bath, Peach Medley to approach toxic levels. Even without benefit of scientific training, it seems a fair guess that the purging process might begin somewhere shy of that mark.

Pave Paradise? Maybe a Little

You just never know. Of all the issues discussed in this column recently, it was last issue's item on the preservation of Assateague Island that brought the most comment. Assateague, a 37-mile-long barrier island located partly in Maryland and partly in Virginia, is controlled mostly by the U.S. Park Service. The focus here was on the efforts of Jay Cherrix, a resident of adjacent Chincoteague Island and leader of sea-kayak expeditions, to keep Assateague "forever wild."

Over the years the Park Service has proposed various ways to make the island more inviting to tourists. A fancy new visitor center is among additions that have become reality. More visitors mean a bigger take at the gate. Cherrix and his group, Citizens for the Preservation of Assateague, don't want development of any sort on the island, believing that any "improvements" are a foot in the door to justify further development.

Over the years "I saw the Chincoteague natives selling their homes and moving inland ... selling their homes for big money to wealthy people in the city," writes Alice M., who believes nation in brief does not "go there [Assateague] much or talk with the vacationers." While not pro-development, she's much in favor of parking lots. Actually, nation in brief has been visiting Assateague for nearly 50 years and has seen many changes from the early days. As for talking with vacationers, how about the lady who used to camp there in the 1950s when the only access was by ferry? But Cherrix hasn't said he opposes parking lots unless they are tied to other developments.

"My family and I have hiked the trails for years and always encounter others who are taking in all that nature has to offer," writes Vickie B. "It is truly renewing for the soul. In fact, after the tragic events of 9/11, it was to Assateague that I sought refuge for peace, for quiet, for refuge from the events of the world. It needs to remain 'as is.'"

Paul H. asks that on our next visit to Assateague we "paddle out to one of the completely isolated, 'unprofitable' sites the Park Service would like to develop" and come to appreciate the unspoiled beauty there. With no development there would be no maintenance costs, he points out, and the Park Service wouldn't need a big budget. "I am one tourist who likes to see Assateague kept the way it is," he writes.