Questions tagged [environmental-health]
Use this tag for questions regarding physical, chemical and biological factors that may affect human health.
227 questions
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Are air humidifiers necessary, does low humidity have negative heath effects?
Air humidifiers are broadly sold and marking points to "healthy" relative humidity levels as (accordingly to different sources) is 30-50% and during artificial heating (normally, winter) seasons we ...
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Is hand gel effective against Norovirus?
I saw the following claim in an article in The Guardian - How not to catch the norovirus
Incidentally – and you can consider this a public service announcement – forget most hand gels, the majority ...
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Is lead exposure responsible for the rise and fall of violent crime in the US?
I just found an article titled "America's Real Criminal Element: Lead" via Hacker News that made an assertion about the cause of violent crimes that I found rather surprising.
The article states that ...
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Does your body suffer one mutation for every 15 cigarettes you smoke?
England's department of health has launched a new, very graphic anti-smoking TV ad (see the BBC STORY). Aside from the graphic imagery it makes the specific claim that a smoker will suffer one ...
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Does a cell phone emit 1000 times more radiation when its battery is low?
Found this gem on G+:
The rest seems all extremely circumstantial except the very last item. The 'radiation' they're talking about, I'm assuming, is electromagnetic radiation - which would be weaker ...
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Do earthenware pots contains lead?
I have heard somewhere that the earthenware pots contain lead, which can cause brain-damage.
Is this information correct?
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Can the over-use of energy drinks cause a heart attack?
"The use of energy drinks is very dangerous as there is a very high content of caffeine in a small volume,". Dr. Khan, the health minister of Trinidad & Tobago, told the Trinidad Express ...
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Is typical indoor concentration of VOC correlated to concentration of CO₂?
A vendor of VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) sensor claims the VOC concentration correlates highly to CO₂ concentration in a typical conference room:
Figure 2 illustrates the correlation of true CO₂ ...
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Is sleeping on airbeds unhealthy?
I have often heard from people that sleeping on airbeds is not good for health, reasoning that it is filled with air and molds to the shape of our body, so cannot provide enough support for the back.
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Are cosmetic/pharmaceutical products without parabens healthier than counterparts with it?
Parabens are a class of preservative used in cosmetics and health related products.
A large number of products, especially for infants, claim to be free of parabens implying that this is somewhat ...
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Is using a standing desk for several hours healthier than sitting at a desk all day?
Is working at a standing desk more healthy than working at a regular sitting desk?
Source: Crackberry Blog
Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of buzz about the health benefits of ...
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Are laundry detergent and fabric softener fumes dangerous to human health?
One of my neighbors raised the topic of toxins in the dryer effluence from our buildings' laundry rooms. That's not particularly surprising, but she claimed there was evidence that the trace toxins ...
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Does sun screen cause cancer?
I been recently informed by my little sister who is in high risk for skin cancer and uses sun screen frequently that certain sun screens contain chemicals which are known carcinogens. I wonder if this ...
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Is aspartame dangerous? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Does the artificial sweetener aspartame cause cancer?
According to WhileScienceSleeps:
The methanol contained in the diet soda produced in many countries of
the world ...
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Is Paraffinum liquidum (mineral oil) in cosmetics dangerous?
Paraffinum liquidum can be found in a lot of cosmetic products.
Some articles say it is harmless but the other half said it causes harmful effects such as the premature aging of the skin.
Examples of ...
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Does one drop of nicotine kill a horse?
There is a popular aphorism in Russia, translated as "one drop of nicotine kills a horse":
, which is widely used on the anti-tobacco posters etc.
Can 0.05 ml of nicotine really kill a healthy 400-...
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Has 99% of the western continental Europe banned water fluoridation?
I keep seeing this claim about the unpopularity of water fluoridation parroted.
Despite dental pressure, 99% of western continental Europe has rejected, banned, or stopped fluoridation due to ...
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Can radiation from wireless phones and computers harm babies? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do mobile phones have anything to do with brain cancer?
There is some discussion about the harm of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from mobile phones and other ...
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Can a pair of rats multiply to 200 within a year?
A story on the BBC News website makes the following claim:
Brown rats are one of the planet's most serious mammalian pests, ruining crops and harbouring disease. Expert jumpers, climbers and ...
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Do office plants increase productivity?
Treehugger: Research has shown that a healthy office space with plants and open windows is more conducive to productivity.
Do plants in the office increase the productivity of employees?
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Do reusable plastic water bottles leach dangerous chemicals? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is refilling water bottles bad for you?
Several articles claim that the 'chemical leaching' from reusable clear plastic water bottles leads to toxins in the water, not even ...
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Can jet lag give you permanent memory and learning problems?
A recent article on Cracked.com, 5 Things You Won't Believe Are Making You Dumber, claims "jet lag gives you permanent memory and learning problems" and cited several studies. But when you look at the ...
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Do Himalayan Salt Lamps remove airborne contaminates?
While indirectly related to Himalayan salt caves due to their sourcing, Himalayan Salt Lamps are not quite the same. These lamps are sold for the dual purposes of mood lighting and supposed health ...
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Is it illegal to sell used mattresses?
I'm possibly selling a used mattress (plead the 5th) and to my surprise was told that it's illegal! I've never heard this before. It seems that many others are asking this question and have heard it ...
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Can excessive masturbation cause acne?
Many people believe excessive masturbation causes acne, among many other things (e.g. hair loss and erectile dysfunction - off topic for this question).
One such site that claims or supports this is ...
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Does Vitamin D created by sun exposure get washed off in the shower?
A recent article by Dr Mercola on a health advocacy web site makes a number of claims about Vitamin D production in your skin. The most surprising to me is the claim that you can wash off a ...
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Do police officers and firefighters have a shorter than average life expectancy?
I have run across several references that mention that police officers and firefighters have a much shorter life expectancy than average. Is this claim true? Are there any reputable studies that have ...
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Must one reapply physical sunscreen every two hours?
I have read from several sources online* that any suncreen, even physical sunscreen, must be reapplied at least every 2 hours (or more frequently if you've been swimming or sweating).
For chemical ...
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Is there enough tetrodotoxin in a single fugu (blowfish) to kill 30 people?
As a section about Fugu fish in the "Top 10 Most Dangerous Foods" article on the Time magazine website suggests
The toxin is so potent that a lethal dose is smaller than the head of a pin, and a ...
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Does washing your hair with a coal-tar soap prevent hair loss and accommodate hair growth?
I have heard several people, including both a former dermatologist and a hair-dresser claim that coal-tar soap can help prevent hair-loss.
The Herbs and Home Remedies site recommends it (combined ...
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Does 528 Hz "facilitate DNA repair"?
There is a somewhat common belief that playing a tone at 528Hz can help to facilitate DNA repair.
Examples:
The frequency of 528 Hz supposedly has healing effects on DNA. The
frequency seems to ...
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Do solar flares and/or geomagnetic storms affect human health?
I've read recently that magnetic storms cause: "heart failure, heart attack, strokes and insomnia". This comes from major newspaper in Lithuania (EU country), here is the link to the article (in ...
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How dangerous are rare earth processing by-products?
A rare earth processing plant's waste could contain the element Thorium, which is radioactive.
I've pored through plenty of articles and Thorium by virtue of its long half-life has a very low amount ...
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Are cheap sunglasses bad for your eyes?
Conventional wisdom and tips in magazines often state that you shouldn't buy cheap sunglasses because they don't protect well against UV rays.
There are two claims in one here, I am skeptical about:
...
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Is washing fruits/vegetables with water useful?
People tend to recommend washing (even just with water) fruits/vegetables before eating them for health reasons.
Do we have evidence that washing fruits/vegetables with water reduce potential health ...
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Is white asbestos dangerous?
In this article in The Daily Telegraph it is claimed that large amounts of money are being spent to deal with white asbestos despite this substance posing no risk to human health.
It was in the 1950s ...
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Is it possible to get a sunburn if you're behind a (glass) window?
Someone recently told me that windows act as a kind of "magnifying glass". That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Here's an example of someone with that belief (in the comments):
Can a baby get ...
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Do cacti absorb harmful radiation emitted by computers?
It is a common belief that cacti absorb radiation; consequently, a lot of people put potted cacti by their computer as a safety means.
Do cacti actually absorb radiation? Even if so, will a small ...
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Do volatile organic compounds from common household fixtures pose a threat to infants?
Volatile Organic Compounds seems to be a catch-all phrase describing a variety of organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature.
Many sources for parenting, expectant ...
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Is there a health risk from nanoparticles in sunscreens?
There have been various stories in the news in the past couple of weeks in Australia about peoples perception of nanoparticles in sunscreen.
To quote from the linked story above:
This week, the ...
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Do air ionizers have any substantial benefits or risks?
This question regarding an ionizer in an Asus laptop has a little bit of information about air ionizers (air ionisers for those using UK English), but not a lot at the time of writing.
There are ...
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Is wood smoke that bad?
Recently I've read that blog post by Sam Harris and I was quite shocked. I don't have a fireplace or any habit related to a systematic wood-burning. But is wood smoke really that bad as it is ...
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Can I run barefoot without worry about exposure to lead, or tracking it in the house?
A friend of mine sent me an article (from the AP, which has since pulled the article) claiming that walking around in the house with shoes on will expose everyone to dangerous levels of lead, ...
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Does living near a nuclear power plant cause cancer?
One man who believes that nuclear energy is bad for nature told me that living near to a nuclear power plant causes cancer.
I visited one nuclear power plant and they confirmed the words of our ...
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Is the microwave bad for heating baby food? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is food cooked in a microwave oven considered harmful for the health?
I am well aware that there are concerns about "hot spots" (small areas which are hotter than others ...
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Is water fluoridation harmful?
There’s a controversy going around whether the benefits of water fluoridation outweigh the potential harms.
What is the evidence for the harm this may cause and what evidence supports the health ...
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Do fluorescent lights cause stress?
I have heard that fluorescent lights are generally bad for you. The explanations range from the light being in the blue area of the spectrum:
The signature "glow" of fluorescent lighting is ...
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Is there a link between mercury poisoning and attention deficits in children?
From the campaign biography of Dr. Jill Stein, U.S. 2012 presidential candidate for the Green Party:
[Jill] played a key role in the effort to get the Massachusetts fish advisories updated to ...
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Do closed closet doors keep moths out?
Some sites suggest that closed doors can keep moths out. Others report that keeping the closet doors closed does not help with moth control. So, does it?
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Does organic food have less heavy metal contamination than non-organic food?
Watching CBS morning news on December 6, 2011, it was claimed a way to reduce heavy metal consumption (especially inorganic arsenic) was to buy organic food. the CBS website has the clip here, the ...
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