Hydrogen Peroxide Uses | Home Uses of Hydrogen Peroxide | Hydrogen Peroxide Garden Uses

An article in Nature Magazine earlier this year reveals new medical advances at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are helping scientists understand the complex role of hydrogen peroxide and regulating proteins in healthy cells.

Hydrogen peroxide is produced in the body to combat bacteria and keep cells healthy. But figuring out how the cells keep the H2O2 in check so that it doesn’t get carried away and damage the cell’s own tissues and DNA has been something of a puzzle.

New research coming from Wake Forest University is helping solve the puzzle and shedding new light on the complex and intricate relationships between various proteins and components working together to maintain healthy cells in the body.

W. Todd Lowther, Ph.D., leads the team which developed a three-dimensional snapshot of how two proteins produced by cells interact to regulate the levels of hydrogen peroxide.

Turns out, a molecule known as peroxiredoxin (Prx) helps control levels of hydrogen peroxide produced by cells in response to immune system activation. The Prx takes on the role of regulating the levels of hydrogen peroxide to protect the cells from over exposure to hydrogen peroxide; and even “switches” roles to send signals to alert the cell if the levels get too high and it cannot adequately handle the job.

Prx is busy regulating the levels of H2O2 in the cell, unless and until levels get dangerously high - at which point the Prx needs help. When that happens,
Prx stops converting hydrogen peroxide and instead changes roles to become an alarm system - signalling the cell to begin producing and activating other proteins to assist it in the reductiona nd removal dangerously higher levels of hydrogen peroxide.

According to Thomas J. Jonsson, Ph.D., “It basically acts as a sensor and warns the cell that levels are too high and that the cell needs to respond. Once that threat is gone, Prx needs to go back to its normal state.” Dr. Johnson is the lead author on the project and a post-doctoral fellow at Wake Forest.

But once Prx has given up its role as the regulator of H2O2, how does it revert back to that role?

In 2003, scientists reported that a protein known as sulfiredoxin (Srx) was involved in the process. The goal of Lowther’s team was to use X-ray crystallography to learn exactly what happens.

“This technology gives us a three-dimensional snapshot of how the proteins interact,” said Lowther. “We wanted to know how Prx changes its structure to be repaired.”

While the scientists knew the repair of Prx involved Srx, they didn’t know how the job was accomplished, and they didn’t know how the Prx would change, as they knew it would have to, to allow that repair to take place.

As it turns out, the answer is not only remarkable, but provides even more intimate understanding of the relationships of cell components and their interactions:

“We found that the protein unfolded, flipped around and attached to the back side of Srx, known as an ‘embrace,’” said Lowther. “It basically put its arm around its buddy, which helps hold the repair protein in place.”

Jönsson said the binding of Srx causes a chemical reaction that repairs Prx. “The change in structure is dramatic and we found that it is critical for the repair to take place,” he said.

Understanding this protective mechanism that keeps cells healthy may one day help scientists identify how and when these processes go wrong resulting in disease. The research will continue to study Prx and how its changes in form and processing affects its interactions with other proteins.

————

The study was supported by the American Heart Association and National Institutes of Health. Lynnette C. Johnson, B.S., with Wake Forest, was a co-researcher.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranks Wake Forest University School of Medicine 18th in family medicine, 20th in geriatrics, 25th in primary care and 41st in research among the nation’s medical schools. It ranks 35th in research funding by the National Institutes of Health. Almost 150 members of the medical school faculty are listed in Best Doctors in America.

Source: Shannon Koontz
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

In a report out of Winston Salem, MA,
scientists say claim to have figured out
how hydrogen peroxide is produced in the
human body to assist in keeping cells
healthy when bacteria levels elevate.

“The report by a team of researchers at
Wake Forest University School of Medicine,
published in the journal Nature, said large
amounts of hydrogen peroxide are produced
when the immune system is activated in
response to bacteria.

The team used X-ray crystallography to
create a three-dimensional snapshot of
how the proteins interact.

Scientists said a molecule known as
peroxiredoxin (Prx) helps control levels
of hydrogen peroxide. If levels of hydrogen
peroxide become too high, the cell’s DNA
and other proteins can be damaged.

“It basically acts as a sensor and warns the
cell that levels are too high and that the cell
needs to respond,” lead author Thomas J.
Jonsson said in a news release. “Once that
threat is gone, Prx needs to go back to its
normal state.”

Prx becomes active again by binding with a
protein known as sulfiredoxin, the report said.”

Remarkably,these complex processes in our
own bodies can produce, balance and even
perfectly control the levels of H2O2 in our own
cells to maintain a healthy internal environment.

If only we were as clever as our own cells when
it comes to healthy external environments! Surely
we are beginning to see how all natural processes
work together to maintain balance. The more we
learn, the better able we will be at extending these
lessons outward into the world of our human
activities and processes.

We’ve noted for some time that professional cleaning products and
companies are way ahead of the pack when it comes to using safer
and healthier products. When it comes to the business of cleaning,
workers and health hazards of commonly used household cleaning
products part company.

While many homemakers and consumers are still swimming in a chemical
soup of chlorines, ammonias and other caustic “household” cleaners,
the professional cleaning industry has led the way in developing and
producing healthier, environmentally sound cleaning product alternatives.

Now it seems that one such leader, EnvirOx, LLC has made a match with
race car driving teams to supply them with safe alternatives for degreasers
and brake cleaners on the race track and in their garages. Kudos to the
racing team and the folks at EnvirOx for putting together a smart and
highly visible campaign that will doubtless raise consumer awareness as
well as cleaning up the race tracks and garage facilities of racing teams
across the country.

Here is an except from an article published in EarthTimes yesterday:

“Our partnership with the Baker Curb Racing Green Team gives us the opportunity to inform the general public about the leadership role the professional cleaning industry is taking with issues of health and our environment, and how they also can ‘green clean’ their own homes,” states Taylor Stewart, president of EnvirOx, LLC. “The same hydrogen peroxide cleaning technology that changed the professional cleaning industry is now available to consumers through OurHouse cleaning products. Our sponsorship of the Green Team provides a great opportunity to raise awareness of these environmentally preferred cleaning alternatives.”

To read the entire article, follow this link: Racing’s First “Green Team”

You just never know what H2O2 will be up to next…

According to a recent article in WIRED Magazine,
a new prosthetic arm under development at Vanderbilt
University uses rocket technology to power its 22 joints,
and five moving fingers…

It’s a very high tech chemical reaction inside a well
insulated chamber that employs cylinders and pistons
to move the joints of the prosthetic elbow, wrist and
even the fingers.

Compared to currently available prosthetic arms which
have only 2 joints, this is a big advance… but it’s not
quite ready yet.

The hydrogen peroxide reacts with a small amount of
iridium, which creates a 450 degree blast of vapor to
fire the cylinders and power the pistons.

Now that’s a seriously powerful chemical reaction! But
word is, it’s all safely contained inside the prosthetic arm;
so not to worry!

It will be another year or so before the final version is
ready for actual testing with a whole team of scientists
still needed to produce the electrodes that will need to
be implanted in users to connect their nerves to the new
arm’s firing system.

Just goes to show you, you never know what new
application for H2O2 is coming around the corner when
you least expect it!

On the other hand… If you are interested in using
hydrogen peroxide for cleaning and household chores,
you are most likely interested in staying alive as well!

So. To digress for a moment…

Since we just had a vivid reminder that we live in
earthquake territory, I thought it was time to once
again remind my family and friends of the “big myth”
of earthquake survival. Seems it’s still prevalent
and even I, who know it all too well, am prone to
forgetting, in the “heat of the moment” what I am
SUPPOSED to do to stay alive!

So what’s the myth? The myth is that the proper
response to an earthquake is something known,
euphemistically as “Duck and Cover”.

Turns out “Duck and Cover” is an almost sure-fire
prescription to end up dead in a serious earth
quake… Go figure.

I know, I know, everyone says “Why would folks who
are in the business of saving lives be teaching the
exact wrong thing to do in the event of a disaster
like an earth quake? Well… turns out it’s just
“one of those things” that happens over time.

Most of today’s adults have lived through the “cold
war era” where we learned this amazingly simple (and
thoroughly useless) response during our childhoods.
We were told that when the sirens sounded to tell us
that the bombs were going to fall, we should “duck
and cover”. Well, I don’t know the truth of that
as far as bombs go, honestly. Maybe it WOULD do
something useful other than flatten you under your
school desk… I honestly do not know.

But what I do know is that if you use this same
technique in an earthquake your chances of survival
are from nil to none. Like, zip. Nada. Nothing.
You’re dead.

And please, let’s forget the old “a doorway is the
safest place to be in an earthquake” routine as well.
Not true. Unless guillotine is your preferred merciful
method of transition to the afterlife…

So once again it’s time to whip out the real answers
to some pretty darn serious questions and from someone
who actually KNOWS what they are talking about…

Here you have it. My suggestion is to copy the text.
Put it in a notepad or other program, and PRINT IT.
Print it big enough to post somewhere in your house
where you can see it. The back of a door or the inside
of a kitchen cupboard, for instance. And READ IT until
you KNOW what it says.

As an example of why this is a good idea, I offer
myself: I have known this information for several
years. When Seattle shook and all those bricks came
crashing down, I sent it out to my Northwestern
friends as a reminder. Yet, the other night as the
house began to dance, without thinking for a moment
I went straight to the doorway! And then, as it
dawned on me that this was the wrong move, I stepped
out into the back yard. Duh.

Later that night, on the phone with one of my kids,
I admitted my folly, and was met with a resounding
“MOM!!! Triangle of LIFE MOM! Not Doorway of Death!”
oh my. Nothing like one of your own to drive the point
home!

So here it is again, to (hopefully) remind us all of
what we really SHOULD DO when an earthquake strikes.

Print it, share it. Pass it on. You never know who
might still be thinking “duck and cover” is anything
other than a death sentence in an earthquake.

EARTHQUAKES - What to do.

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP’S ARTICLE ON THE
“TRIANGLE OF LIFE”,
Edited by Larry Linn for MAA Safety Committee
brief on 4/13/04.

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and
Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team
International (ARTI), the world’s most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will
save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings,
worked with rescue teams from 60 countries,
founded rescue teams in several countries, and
I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries.
I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation
(UNX051 -UNIENET) for two years. I have worked at
every major disaster in the world since 1985, except
for simultaneous disasters.

In 1996 we made a film which proved my survival
methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal
Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul,
Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this
practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school
and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins
did “duck and cover,” and ten mannequins I used
in my “triangle of life” survival method. After
the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through
the rubble and entered the building to film and
document the results. The film, in which I practiced
my survival techniques under directly observable,
scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse,
showed there would have been zero percent survival
for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability
for people using my method of the”triangle of life.”
This film has been seen by millions of viewers on
television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it
was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America on
the TV program Real TV.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a
school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake.
Every child was under their desk. Every child was
crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could
have survived by lying down next to their desks in
the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered
why the children were not in the aisles. I didn’t at
the time know that the children were told to hide
under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight
of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture
inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or
void next to them. This space is what I call the
“triangle of life”. The larger the object, the
stronger, the less it will compact. The less the
object compacts, the larger the void, the greater
the probability that the person who is using this
void for safety will not be injured. The next time
you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count
the “triangles” you see formed. They are everywhere.
It is the most common shape, you will see, in a
collapsed building. They are everywhere. I trained
the Fire Department of Trujillo (population 750,000)
in how to survive, take care of their families,
and to rescue others in earthquakes.

The chief of rescue in the Trujillo Fire Department
is a professor at TrujilloUniversity. He accompanied
me everywhere. He gave personal testimony:
“My name is Roberto Rosales. I am Chief of Rescue
in Trujillo. When I was 11 years old, I was trapped
inside of a collapsed building. My entrapment
occurred during the earthquake of 1972 that killed
70,000 people. I survived in the “triangle of life”
that existed next to my brother’s motorcycle. My
friends who got under the bed and under desks were
crushed to death [he gives more details, names,
addresses etc.]…I am the living example of the
“triangle of life”. My dead friends are the example
of “duck and cover”.

TIPS DOUG COPP PROVIDES:

1) Everyone who simply “ducks and covers” WHEN
BUILDINGS COLLAPSE is crushed to death — Every time,
without exception. People who get under objects,
like desks or cars, are always crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies all naturally often curl
up in the fetal position. You should too in an
earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct.
You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an
object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object
that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction
to be in during an earthquake. The reason is simple:
the wood is flexible and moves with the force of
the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse,
large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden
building has less concentrated, crushing weight.
Brick buildings will break into individual bricks.
Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed
bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an
earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed.
A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels
can achieve a much greater survival rate in
earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back
of the door of every room, telling occupants to
lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the
bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens while you are watching
television and you cannot easily escape by getting
out the door or window, then lie down and curl
up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Everybody who gets under a doorway when buildings
collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway
and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will
be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls
sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In
either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different
“moment of frequency” (they swing separately from
the main part of the building).The stairs and remainder
of the building continuously bump into each other
until structural failure of the stairs takes place.
The people who get on stairs before they fail are
chopped up by the stair treads. They are horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn’t collapse,
stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely
part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs
are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may
collapse later when overloaded by screaming, fleeing
people. They should always be checked for safety,
even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside
Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near
the outside of the building rather than the interior.
The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter
of the building the greater the probability that
your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when
the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes
their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with
the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway.
The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all
stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed.
They could have easily survived by getting out and
sitting or lying next to their vehicles, says the
author. Everyone killed would have survived if they
had been able to get out of their cars and sit or
lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids
3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that
had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed
newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of
paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are
found surrounding stacks of paper.

We had hoped to provide you with the entire Lancet Journal
article here, however, the Lancet still does not allow reprinting
of their aritlces…even those printed 83 years ago… so.

We are providing the title and reference information as well
so that anyone who wishes may purchase the article from the
Lancet directly.

The Lancet Journal

Influenzal Pneumonia and Hydrogen Peroxide Study of 1919

Title and authors
INFLUENZA PNEUMONIA
THE INTRAVENOUS INJECTION OF
HYDROGENS .PEROXIDE.Th
BY T. H.OLIVER, M.A., B.CH. C1NTAB.,M.D. VICT.,
RESIDENT MEDICAL OFFICER. THE ROLL INFIRMArY
BLANCHESTER : AND D. V. MURPHY, M.B., CH.B. N.U.I.,
CAPTAINS, R.A.M.C.

Excerpt:

Theory Underlying the Treatment.
There occurred in Busrah in June and July,1919, a severe epidemic of influenza,
most marked among Indian troops, and accompanied in many cases by an
exceedingly toxaemic and fatal broncho-pneumonia. It is unfortunately impossible
to give statistics of the mortality of the epidemic, but its extent may be gauged
from the fact that in one large Indian hospital in which the influenza cases were
segregated in special huts the. death-rate was over 80 per cent.
in the pneumonia cases with toxic symptoms.

So useless were the usual remedies tried in this latter class of case that we felt
justified in giving a trial to any method which held out a prospect of success.

.Effect on Patients.
The first case was an Indian with broncho-pneumonia of influenzal origin and intensive
toxaemic. He had been delirious for two days previously, and was selected as being
the worst case in the ward and to all appearances moribund. Two ounces of a
ten-volume solution of H202 were diluted with 8 ounces of normal saline, and the
solution made slightly alkaline with 5 minims of liquor ammouiae. This produced a faintly
effervescing solution.

Encouraged by the apparent success in this case, we tried. the method on 24 others
cases of influenzal pneumonia—selecting always those whose condition was apparently
hopeless. Of the total of 25 cases, 13 recovered and 12 died, a mortality of 48 percent.

###

Quite remarkable that an experimental study born of desperationduring an epidemic
in which there was an 80 percent mortality rate should accomplish such a great
reduction in mortality, even in such a small sampling of the worst cases.

When I started down this road, I had no idea where it was headed.

It’s easier to say that now, looking back. I smile when I think of
conversations with a man who said to me, when I asked him how
he came to be so involved in hydrogen peroxide.. “For me, it all
started when my wife insisted we go on a Caribbean cruise.”

That’s how it is. We think we are headed in one direction, “minding
our own business, bothering no person” as a friend often says…

When suddenly, you are upon a journey. An unfolding of circumstance
and event, and new ideas and information which captivate, excite and
enliven you.

Here’s a small sampling of ideas, just to prime the pump.

Those aseptic packages you see at TJ’s and all the supermarkets?
Non refrigerated soups, milk, juices…

Uh huh. You guessed it. A process developed in the Netherlands using
35% food grade hydrogen peroxide in combination with a special coating
within an aluminum shield; usually wrapped in cardboard…

If there was no aluminum shield, the hydrogen peroxide would just keep
right on coming through the outer packaging materials…

Pretty slick.

Well, that is just one tiny little detail in a world so vast, I would have
to spend all day telling you about it.

Here’s another.

What if you have a brain tumor that has been removed
and yet has localized infection/puss around the area?

Just flush the area with injections of hydrogen peroxide
to remove the infectious materials. When it stops bubbling upon
application it is clean. It is free of any microbial life which might
cause further infection.

That’s from a medical document published over 100 years ago.

How sensitive is brain tissue?

The medical record exists. It is simply waiting for anyone to

look into it…

Do you have questions about hydrogen peroxide use around your home,
for personal hygiene, with plants, fish or animals?

If you do, you may want to check out some exciting news… and you
just might get your question answered!

Go ahead and take a look and
Ask your question about hydrogen peroxide today!

Our continuing research in the many fields in which hydrogen
peroxide plays a role over the last few months has been enlightening
to say the least.

The pervasive consumer products industries in home, health and
personal care sectors continues, for the most part, to undermine most
common and simple uses of hydrogen peroxide.

Yet evidence is clear that hydrogen peroxide is an effective
anti viral, anti microbial and anti bacterial agent in fields as far
ranging as agriculture, aqua culture, water treatment, animal
husbandry, and even in the “war on terror”.

Coffee filters, toilet paper and hundreds of other consumer products
are now touting “Oxygen” bleached properties… yet no one uses
those conspicuous two words: “hydrogen peroxide” when discussing
this new “environmentally safe alternative to chlorine”. They tell
us it is environmentally safe and that the bleaching agent is oxygen…
and carefully sidestep the issue of what FORM of oxygen is used.

It’s simple really; they used to use chlorine dioxide; now they use
hydrogen dioxide; or hydrogen peroxide… (look it up in Merck Index;
dioxide and peroxide are interchangeable words). Learn something new
every day, I can guarantee you that has been happening around here.

This week we learned so much we had to take a step back to take
it all in. But this one tidbit of information seemed important enough
to get out on the site right away:

According to MoAA News; the newsletter of the Missouri Aquaculture
Community, a new “Drug” is being introduced for use in aquaculture to
prevent certain prevalent fish diseases… It’s name? 35% Perox Aid (registered
trademark)…

Let’s take a look at how this new drug is being marketed. Here is an excerpt
from the newsletter:

The first new waterborne drug approved for a disease claim for any
aquatic species in more than twenty years

The second aquaculture drug to gain designation under the Minor Use and Minor
Species (MUMS) Animal Health Act which entitles Eka Chemicals, Inc. to seven years
of exclusivity for marketing rights for the approved label claims

The first new aquaculture drug with an original approval covering multiple label claims for use in a variety of finfish species 35% Perox-Aid® is approved with over-the-counter marketing status and has no requirement for an acceptable daily intake, tolerance, withdrawal time, or regulatory method. Eka Chemicals Inc. has licensed Western Chemical Inc. as the sole distributor of 35%Perox-Aid®.

This first new approval is as recent as January 2007; it’s announcement is in the March
Issue of MoAA; and it is clearly the latest successful translation of food grade hydrogen
peroxide into a branded exclusive “drug” product; overcoming poor hydrogen peroxide’s
only major crime to date: Not being “economically viable”; whether it’s in the field of
medicine, home cleaning or food production, hydrogen peroxide is simply too inexpensive
and too effective to be marketed with any real economic “viability”.

Ah, if only we could turn it into an exclusive “drug”…

The news these days is full of new product releases from
natural toothpastes to green cleaning products…

But are they really? And how could you tell?

With toothpaste there is a required list of ingredients on
the label, which is some help…

But with cleaning products, in many cases there is no in-
gredient list; and none is currently required. So what’s a
green shopper to do?

Well, you could just start replacing cleaning products with
hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, sodium percarbonate and
acetic acid… (that’s white vinegar, btw)

Or you could check labels on green cleaning products and
if there are no ingredients listed, either choose to call the
manufacturer, or, choose another product which does provide
an ingredient list…

The new surge of interest and of scrutiny being applied to
“green cleaning products” may ultimately change the rules for
ingredient lists on products, but in the short term, supporting
companies who provide the ingredient information is a best
practice for smart consumerism.

And don’t forget that “green” is not only about what is in the
package but about how much packaging and energy goes in to
getting the package to you… Avoid excess boxing, wrapping,
containers and look for local products where possible.

And as always, hydrogen peroxide wins awards for all these, with
nothing extra: a bottle full of liquid which is recycleable when
empty… There you go!

From the Globe and Mail to local city papers across the U.S.
the buzz is on about Green Cleaning this Spring.

Dierdre Imus’ new book Green This! Is just hitting the shelves
and all over the landscape people are talking about how they
keep house.

Stories ranging from personal encounters with white vinegar
smelling up the kitchen to advice on how to transform your
Spring cleaning with non-toxic alternatives and home made
remedies are publishing all over the country as manufacturers
scramble to explain how their toxic ingredients are not really
toxic.

At the same time the next wave of “green cleaning products”
is moving out across the landscape to meet this new demand.
Target is adding green products to their stores; and new
organic and safe cleaners for babies and families are
being introduced by new companies coming into the market.

What you might not have known is that this new trend has
a name… Yes, LOHAS is the name of a “trend”. To be more
precise, it is a “Market Segment”, as is explained in this excerpt
from the Globe and Mail:

Green thinkers belong to an increasingly important market segment called LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability), a concept originated about seven years ago from the work of sociologist Paul Ray, co-author of The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World.

So if you were thinking that you were the only one you knew who
seems to be looking at life in a way that is “a bit green of main
stream” you can see, you really aren’t alone. You’re a part of something
bigger, and maybe better! A Market Segment! Whew Hoo!

When we observe life in nature, we find endless examples of
the natural order of life itself.

Just as the beauty of nature nurtures our spirit, the natural systems within nature sustain and support our physical well being. When we unleash the power of nature within our own systems of endeavor we find unlimited potential and endless abundance.

We are at the front of a vast frontier into new sciences and emerging technologies
capable of producing clean energy, increased vitality and expanding sustainability.

New breakthroughs in materials and construction of solar, wind and biomass energy
systems as well as advancements in carbon free energy carriers are leading us ever
closer to a world of clean reliable and sustainable energy systems.

In this season of Spring new products, programs and public discussion has
blossomed in a wealth of “going green” reflected everywhere from new Home
Improvement television programs to all natural organic fiber products for babies
and beyond.

Natural solutions to complex problems including waste management, soil erosion
and sustainable living practicies are “blooming” far and wide.

I am stunned to see that popular products are still
promoting bleach as a positive addition to their
ingredient list.

Are people really still falling for the “bleach” thing?

If so, my advice is to do a little research on Google.

Look up dioxin. At the EPA for instance…

cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=55264

Dioxin is not a manufactured chemical. It is a “by-product’
of various combinations of “members of three closely
related families: the chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs),
chlorinated dibenzofurans (CDFs) and certain polychlori-
nated biphenyls (PCBs).”*1

These chemical combinations are formed in incinerators,
paper and pulp or fiber processing, where chlorine is the
bleaching agent; and in municipal waste treatment plants
where the water supplies are chlorinated.

Dioxin is persistent in the environment and breaks down very
slowly over a long period of time. That means it will travel
through the food chain to the top in larger concentrations
over time as it isn’t broken down along the way.

“Dioxin enters the general population almost exclusively
from ingestion of food, specifically through the consumption
of fish, meat, and dairy products since dioxins are fat-soluble
and readily climb the food chain.”*2

Before the great new “Dioxin Reassessment” went up at the
EPA it was already a known fact that certain dioxins are
several orders of magnitude more carcinogenic than DDT.
Not twice as bad, mind you, but thousands of times
more toxic…

But those “bleach added” commercials just don’t quit, eh?
There is even a little video on Google that will teach you
how to clean the inside of your refrigerator with bleach.

Hmmm. Chalk it up to human nature. We imitate our parents.
Unfortunately, our parents and their parents were all part of
a massive expansion into the “chemical age” without a lot of
solid science about the impact of some of the chemicals
involved.

Not to worry. We have other choices. In this whole social
climate of “cleanliness” or “germ phobia” we have come to see
ourselves as somehow endangered by the natural environment.
Evil germs and bacteria will take us down if we don’t sterilize
the surroundings to death, literally.

But we can choose another way. We can have our clean
and be healthy and nonlethal to the rest of the environment
too.With simple hydrogen peroxide we can do the job better.
When we put hydrogen peroxide in combination with acetic
acid (white vinegar to us novices) we get 100 percent of
he sterilizing power needed in food handling with none, and I mean
zero, zilch, zip, nada, no environmental, health, or other
consequences to you, your home or your family, dog, cat, fish
or anyone or anything else living in the environment..
Are you getting the picture yet? Consequences.

The consequences of hydrogen peroxide are water and oxygen.
That’s your by-product. No carcinogens. No long term
residual toxicity to build up in the environment and
move up the food chain.

Seems simple enough to me.

In case you are thinking that what you pour down your drain is no
big deal, consider this small excerpt from a L.A. Times last
Spring regarding anti bacterial soaps:

“About 75% of a potent bacteria-killing chemical that people
flush down their drains survives treatment at sewage plants,
and most of that ends up in sludge spread on farm fields,
according to Johns Hopkins University research. Every year,
it says, an estimated 200 tons of two compounds —
triclocarban and triclosan — are applied to agricultural
lands nationwide.”

We can clean up our cleaning up. We can go to a real clean
without consequences which actually endanger us. From
compost to septic tank, municipal water treatment to
flood water decontamination and yes, even to our own
house hold cleaning regimen, we can go along with
the natural order and thrive.

Start thriving now… Clean up your messes with h2o2
and thrive in a clean and toxin free environment for
everyone.

*1 E.P.A. Dioxin FAQ
*2 Dioxin and Human Health Wikipedia

Hydrogen Peroxide seems to be in the news a lot lately! Take a look at what the NSF has up on their site today… The latest news in the research to decontaminate dangerous flood waters starring good old H2o2! Three Cheers For Science!

National Science Foundation Researchers Using Hydrogen Peroxide In the News January 10, 2007

You Still Can’t Drink the Water, But Now You Can Touch It

Laboratory filtration system kills 100 percent of dangerous microbes in water taken from Hurricane Katrina disaster Researchers hold the polymer that is critical to their water filtration system.

Researchers hold the polymer that is critical to their water filtration system.
, Credit and Larger Version
January 9, 2007
Engineers have developed a system that uses a simple water purification technique that can eliminate 100 percent of the microbes in New Orleans water samples left from Hurricane Katrina. The technique makes use of specialized resins, copper and hydrogen peroxide to purify tainted water.

The system–safer, cheaper and simpler to use than many other methods–breaks down a range of toxic chemicals. While the method cleans the water, it doesn’t yet make the water drinkable. However, the method may eventually prove critical for limiting the spread of disease at disaster sites around the world.

National Science Foundation-funded researchers Vishal Shah and Shreya Shah of Dowling College in Long Island, New York, collaborated with Boris Dzikovski of Cornell University and Jose Pinto of New York’s Polytechnic University in Brooklyn to develop the technique. The research published online in Environmental Pollution on Jan. 10, 2007.

“After the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, scientists have had their backs against the wall trying to develop safeguards,” said Shah. “No one knows when a similar situation may arise. We need to develop a treatment for decontaminating flood water before it either comes in contact with humans or is pumped into natural reservoirs.”

The treatment system that the researchers are developing is simple: a polymer sheet of resins containing copper is immersed in the contaminated flood water. The addition of hydrogen peroxide generates free radicals on the polymer. The free radicals remain bound to the sheet, where they come in contact with bacteria and kill them.

The researchers are working to lower the amount of copper in the treated water end product and improving the system’s impact on chemical toxins. Shah believes it could be ready for emergency use within five to seven years. To develop their process, the researchers built upon a century-old chemical mechanism called the Fenton reaction - a process wherein metal catalysts cause hydrogen peroxide to produce large numbers of free radicals.

Free radicals are atoms or molecules that have an extra electron in dire need of a partner (they obtain the partner by stripping it from a nearby atom, damaging the “victim” in the process). In large quantities, the radicals can destroy toxic chemicals and even bombard bacteria to death or irreparably damage a microorganism’s cell membrane.

Applying their technique to water from the Industrial and 17th Street canals in New Orleans, the researchers were able to destroy all of the bacteria within 15 minutes. In tests with laboratory water samples containing even higher bacterial concentrations, the exact same process killed at least 99 percent of the bacteria in 90 minutes.

-NSF-

Visit Their Site

If you spend any time attempting to do research on the environmental impacts or potential hazards of chlorine or its derivatives, the story is wide ranging and full of specific perspectives.

Like any “popular subject topic” the “information” available ranges in scope and calibre from actual scientific studies (of which there are far too few; the common case with many chemical products in today’s marketplace; all the way to completely inaccurate, oversimplified or purposefully misleading or misrepresented information which achieves a “point of view”. In many cases, supporting evidence notwithstanding.

Suffice to say that a thinking person, upon approaching such a subject, understands that the world he or she encounters upon “investigation” (which should be called “outvestigation, really, as you go out and find what others are saying about it, don’t you?) is fraught with vested interests of all sorts, attempting to justify and persuade you into agreeing with their position.

Because there is so little actual science to be had, the odds of getting good information are not great. Because there is a long standing industrial and municipal commitment to chlorine water disinfection, there is a preponderance of pro chlorine “white noise”…

I stumbled across an ad for Clorox on a keyword search for “natural cleaners” the other day… I don’t think I can go that far..

What we do know about chlorine and all its cousins, is that it has a natural tenancy to bond to organic substances in ways we had not anticipated. These “organochlorines” are extremely environmentally persistent; that is to say, they do not break down easily in the environment, but rather, sustain over long periods of time and travel through out the food chain.

In North America today, studies find humans can have up to 177 different varieties of these new creatives derived of chlorine molecules in diverse combination with organics in their body tissues. These organochlorines are the result of chlorine’s interactions with organic materials encountered in the process of their “break down” into harmless salts and water.

We also know that long term exposure to chlorinated drinking water increases rates of bladder and colon cancer in humans fairly significantly. If you want to read that data search for the cancer type with study and chlorine in the search. It is the only real data other than “known eye and respiratory tract irritant” that seems to be available for common perusal.

Finally, we know that organochlorines may not all be detrimental to our well being, but a few of them certainly are. Dioxins are one of the families of organochlorines. So, this might be iffy…

Now you can see why the idea of including information relating to this subject might become a bit of a pickle. There are far too many voices attempting to confound and confuse for the purposes of persuasion already. What to do? Well, my advice dear reader, is to:

Use your own head. Think it through as best you can, and come to your own best conclusion. Nothing else is really relevant anyway. As for chlorine, it has served us very well for a century nearly, from war zone to water pipe…

Perhaps it is possible we are on the verge of something new and wonderful that can help us find the answers to the problems chlorine has presented. Perhaps, we, like our forefathers, will come up with a better idea. Or a different idea.

They beat cholera and all sorts of seriously dangerous and deadly diseases, and now we will look out and see what new solutions are coming to take the place of a solution that has served us well and yet now may be one we no longer wish to choose.

For Chlorine’s virtue has always and still is, its environmental persistence. That is to say, the ability of chlorine to travel from the municipal water station to your home and persist in keeping the water free of bacteria and infectious disease, is what has made chlorine the solution for water disinfection. Ironically, it may also be its curse.

On site disinfection may become the new solution, which bypasses the need for any form of persistent disinfection. Because, as it seems to turn out, persistent disinfection is not good for us either.