Wal-mart stench

[midnight armadillo]

Hm, GD or lounge? Lounge, I choose you.

Ok, this isn't really picking on Wal-mart. Last fall I had an anaphylactic reaction to a chemical I was working with. Since then I've been rather keenly aware of chemical fumes in places. Or, perhaps, I'm still a bit hypersensitive. Or both.

I was in a Wal-mart today, it being the only place near work that sold youth-sized basketballs. Wow, the smell of plastics, glues, paints, etc. was so thick in the air there. I can't imagine it's healthy to be breathing that much volatile organic compounds all day. I've noticed this in many retail stores recently - the plumbing sections of hardware stores with all the PVC and ABS plastic is especially bad. Carpet and mattress stores I can't even get past the threshold, and candle stores are best enjoyed from across the street.

It makes me wonder if there's any known health effects of working retail, obvious quips aside.

[midnight armadillo]

1. and I found this publication...

Indoor Air. 2008 Oct;18(5):365-74. Epub 2008 Jul 10.
Spatial and temporal variability in VOC levels within a commercial retail building.

Eklund BM, Burkes S, Morris P, Mosconi L.

URS Corporation, Austin, TX 78729, USA. [e-mail]

A study was performed to characterize the concentration of dozens of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at 10 locations within a single large building and track these concentrations over a 2-year period. The study was performed at a shopping center (strip mall) in New Jersey. A total of 130 indoor air samples were collected from 10 retail stores within the shopping center and analyzed for 60 VOCs by US EPA Method TO-15. Indoor concentrations of up to 55,100 microg/m(3) were measured for individual VOCs. The indoor/outdoor ratio (I/O) was as high as 1500 for acetone and exceeded 100 at times for various compounds, indicating that significant indoor air sources were present.

So I guess I'm not crazy!

[Quantess]

2. Sure. Try working in the pesticide and herbicide aisle in Home Depot.

I know a lady who worked in the Garden Department who had a miscarriage late in her pregnancy. Who knows what caused it.

[midnight armadillo]

3. check this reference out

Kesavachandran C, Pathak MK, Fareed M, Bihari V, Mathur N, Srivastava AK. Health risks of employees working in pesticide retail shops: An exploratory study. Indian J Occup Environ Med 2009;13:121-6

Abstract

Background: Shop keepers dealing with pesticides are exposed to multiple pesticides that include organophosphates, organochlorines, carbamates, pyrethroids. Hence an exploratory health study was conducted on shopkeepers selling pesticides in urban areas of Lucknow and Barabanki District, Uttar Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: Detailed information regarding socio-economic status, family history, personal habits and work practices were recorded for 20 subjects and controls by the investigator on a pre-tested questionnaire. Clinical examination including neurological studies of the shopkeepers and control subjects was done. Results: The study revealed significant slowing of motor nerve conduction velocity and low peak expiratory flow rate among shopkeepers as compared to control subjects. Prevalence of significantly higher gastro-intestinal problems was also observed among exposed subjects. Neurological, ocular, cardiovascular and musculo-skeletal symptoms were also found to be higher among shopkeepers. This was not statistically significant. Significantly higher relative risk for sickness related to systems viz., cardio-vasular, genito-urinary, respiratory, nervous and dermal was observed among exposed subjects compared to controls. Conclusions: These findings provide a prima facie evidence of clinical manifestations because of multiple exposures to pesticides and poor safety culture at work place.

[Kali]

4. ugh

the freaking laundry detergent and cleaning supply aisle at the grocery store :puke:

hey people, fake perfume stench does NOT = clean
clean has no smell at all!

[GoCubsGo]

7. I can't go down that aisle without my eyes watering

The same goes for the sections with bar soaps. And, don't get me started on the people who wear too much perfume/cologne/scented aftershave. I swear, some people bathe in that stuff. It makes me ill.

[Mugu]

11. Hear, hear.

[Hardrada]

5. Small cheapo stores like Dollar General seem to reek of lethal Chinese plastics.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. "Candle stores are best enjoyed from across the street."

No kidding. Scented candles -- :puke: A whole store full of those cloying, nasty things is just unbearable; hard to decide whether to sneeze or vomit.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Ah, WalMart - the smell of desperation, empty lives, dysfunction, and undifferentiation.

I can't stand the emotional/spiritual/psychological stench in WalMarts.

[GoCubsGo]

9. I have the same issues with formaldehyde

I'm a biologist. Have been working with the stuff for decades. I can smell it in anything. I used to have to put my just-arrived scientific journals in the fume hood for a couple of days before I could read them. It's amazing what other products that stuff is in. I am sorry to say, but if you are hypersensitive, you are likely going to stay that way. Odd are, it will get worse with each exposure.

[grasswire]

10. Payless shoes reeks.

I went in to find some cheap slippers. The smell of toxicity was overwhelming. Off-gassing, it's called.

[TheMightyFavog]

12. Ever since I was nasally assaulted by the perfume counter at Selfridge's in London...

I can't bear the smell of perfume anymore. I get bad headaches.