Salinas teens lead research study on the effects of household cleaning products

This summer, a group of 12 high school students from Salinas have led a study to determine exposures to chemicals that woman may be inhaling when doing every day cleaning work.

The study called Lifting Up Communities by Intervening with Research (LUCIR) is done through the CHAMACOS youth council in environmental research with the help of a UC Berkeley laboratory.

“We’re focusing on latina woman because they make up the majority of professional household cleaners therefore they may face the highest risk of exposure,” Alisal High School student Kathrine Roman said.

However, little is publicly known about what chemicals are in these cleaning products, and companies are not required to disclose all every ingredient in its product.

In the study, special air pumps are placed in a backpack, and then tubes sit right around where a person’s mouth would be, which simulates how much they’re inhaling. Then the participant does their normal cleaning in a bathroom or kitchen for 30 minutes with their household products.

In the second tests, the student researchers have the women replace the cleaning supplies with greener products.

“If we find out the alternative products are better for our health, we can suggest people to continue using those,” Roman said.

The data is collected and stored in the tubes, which are sent off to the laboratory at UC Berkeley to be tested.

“It’s up to them to do all the major steps in forming all the study design and forming the protocol. We encourage them to take the lead, because it’s a growing process for them,” James Nolan with the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health said.

According to the UC Berkeley Center for Environmental Research, several previous studies suggest some products contain chemicals which may harm people’s health.

The results from the tests are expected in about a year.