First, my onset had an infectious trigger. Not a viral trigger. A bacterial infection.
Second, the summer before I got ill, I cleaned many commercial rafts with simple green. Gallons and gallons of the concetrated stuff. It was an 8 hours a day project for a week or two.
Assuming it was green, I did not wear much protection. I don't recall if I wore gloves or not. I don't think I did. Probably because I assumed it was safe since it was "green".
Well, it turns out simple green contains 2-butoxyethanol. What is the significance. Well, first it's toxic, and second it caused illness and the ME/CFS like illnesses in the Exxon Valdez spill and Gulf Oil spill.
We quickly found out that the concentrated simple green worked better than the commercial raft vinyl cleaner (and it was much cheaper too), so we used that. We didn't dilute it as per instructions as we needed it stronger.
I can't find the info for the info for the concentrated stuff right now. But I assume it would contain much more 2-butoxyethanol?
You'll find people trying to connect 2-butoxyethanol to ME/CFS and GWI with a google search. I tried to think of toxic exposures, and I remembered how much Simple Green I used. That's what prompted me to do a Google search on what is in it.
Needless to say, It seems that I passed the exposure limits by a long shot. I remember having some sick days where it felt like I was hungover after cleaning the boats. But this disappeared until the infectious trigger.
I'm wondering if anyone else had significant exposure to this chemical. It's in many products and many cleaning products. Think long and hard as I never imagined Simple Green wasn't so green until a little research.
Second, the summer before I got ill, I cleaned many commercial rafts with simple green. Gallons and gallons of the concetrated stuff. It was an 8 hours a day project for a week or two.
Assuming it was green, I did not wear much protection. I don't recall if I wore gloves or not. I don't think I did. Probably because I assumed it was safe since it was "green".
Well, it turns out simple green contains 2-butoxyethanol. What is the significance. Well, first it's toxic, and second it caused illness and the ME/CFS like illnesses in the Exxon Valdez spill and Gulf Oil spill.
Corexit 9527, considered by the EPA to be an acute health hazard, is stated by its manufacturer to be potentially harmful to red blood cells, the kidneys and the liver, and may irritate eyes and skin.[15][25] The chemical 2-butoxyethanol, found in Corexit 9527, was identified as having caused lasting health problems in workers involved in the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.[26] According to the Alaska Community Action on Toxics, the use of Corexit during the Exxon Valdez oil spill caused people "respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders".[17] Like 9527, 9500 can cause hemolysis (rupture of blood cells) and may also cause internal bleeding.[5]
We quickly found out that the concentrated simple green worked better than the commercial raft vinyl cleaner (and it was much cheaper too), so we used that. We didn't dilute it as per instructions as we needed it stronger.
The only ingredient of Simple Green with established exposure limits is undiluted 2-butoxyethanol (<4%)
I can't find the info for the info for the concentrated stuff right now. But I assume it would contain much more 2-butoxyethanol?
You'll find people trying to connect 2-butoxyethanol to ME/CFS and GWI with a google search. I tried to think of toxic exposures, and I remembered how much Simple Green I used. That's what prompted me to do a Google search on what is in it.
Needless to say, It seems that I passed the exposure limits by a long shot. I remember having some sick days where it felt like I was hungover after cleaning the boats. But this disappeared until the infectious trigger.
I'm wondering if anyone else had significant exposure to this chemical. It's in many products and many cleaning products. Think long and hard as I never imagined Simple Green wasn't so green until a little research.