Febreze is safe around pets
Internet mailing lists frequented by dog owners recently reported that a Procter
& Gamble cleaning product is dangerous to pets, but the company, the National
Animal Poison Control Center, and the American Veterinary Medical Association
said that the reports are false.
"Contrary to rumors being spread over the Internet, there is no substantiated
evidence that the use of Febreze1 caused the death of any dogs or
cats," wrote NAPCC vice president Steven R. Hansen DVM, MS. "In instances where
a pet died and a necropsy was performed, an understandable cause of death was
identified and Febreze was eliminated as the cause." In one case, the cause
of death was complications from heartworm infestation, Hansen said.
Febreze is a fabric freshener. A water-based corn starch formula in a pump
sprayer, it eliminates smells in fabrics by destroying odor molecules. Directions
on the container say to spray the fabric until damp, then let dry. It is only
intended for use on fabrics; it should not be sprayed directly on any pet, and
pets should be kept away from sprayed fabrics until the product dries.
Since birds are more sensitive to airborne chemicals, it is wise to remove
birds from the room whenever aerosol cleaners are used and to return them when
the product has dried and the area has been ventilated, Hansen said.
An earlier formula of Febreze contained zinc chloride, a salt that - like many
chemicals - can be toxic in large amounts but is considered safe in trace amounts.
In its Internet fact sheet about Febreze, P&G said that it used less than one
percent zinc chloride in the product formula and that the chemical is used in
mouthwash and eyedrops and is approved for use in pet foods by the US Food and
Drug Administration.
The latest version of Febreze uses a different agent to speed drying, P&G said.
"Like all our products, Febreze and its ingredients were tested extensively
to ensure that the product is safe for humans, pets, and the environment," the
P&G fact sheet said. "This safety data was reviewed by more than 100 scientists,
doctors, safety experts, and veterinarians, and all have come to the same conclusion:
Febreze is safe."
Urban legends
The Internet helped spread the rumors about Febreze and the World Wide Web
helped dispel them. Along with P&G, AVMA, and NAPCC, websites about urban legends
2 helped debunk the claims. Typical of most urban legends, the allegations
that Febreze is dangerous are accompanied by vague assertions that pets have
died or become seriously ill after coming in contact with the product. There
have been no contact names, no medical records, and no research cited to give
credence to the stories.
"There's a big difference between 'My pet died after I used Febreze' and 'My
pet died because I used Febreze," said the report on the Urban Legends Reference
Page by Barbara and David Mikkelson. "… Febreze has been widely available
for many months now, and it has been used in various large test markets for
several years prior to its general market introduction. Is it plausible that
this product has been killing birds and dogs left and right and this is the
first we've heard of it?"
(1) Febreze is a registered trademark of the Procter & Gamble
Company.
(2) Urban
Legends Reference Page, and About.com
Urban Legends and Folklore
More about NFWF
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit corporation established
by the US Congress in 1984 to improve conservation efforts and promote sustainable
use of natural resources.
The foundation goals are conservation education, natural resource management,
habitat protection, ecosystem restoration, and public policy development through
public/private partnerships.
The foundation receives some federal money, but it must match that money dollar
for dollar with donations from its project partners, a requirement it has met
or exceeded for 11 consecutive years. From 1986 until mid-1998, the federal
government gave NFWF $100 million and the foundation added $200 million and
awarded more than 2500 grants for conservation projects.
NFWF projects fall into six categories: education, fisheries conservation and
management, migratory bird conservation, wetland and private lands, wildlife
habitat, and conservation policy.
Shell
Not to be outdone by Exxon, Shell Oil Company has pledged
$5 million to marine conservation in the Gulf of Mexico. Like the STF efforts,
the Shell Marine Habitat Program will be administered by NFWF. The money will
be spread over five years and will be used to fund Gulf Coast marine management
research, habitat protection, and environmental education projects.
Golf
NFWF partners also include the US Golf Association, which
donates $200,000 annually to the study of wildlife on the golf course.
More than 15,000 golf course provide more than 1.5 million acres of habitat.
The projects funded since the program's inception in 1996 include a manual for
golf course architects and managers to improve habitat for birds developed by
the Colorado Bird Observatory; a handbook of wetlands habitat management for
golf courses; an Audubon project to develop a database for wildlife habitat
on golf courses; a Xerxes Society study to determine the potential for golf
courses to become sanctuaries for butterflies and other insects; two university
studies to test the effect of golf course management on amphibians; and a university
study to determine the extent of runoff from golf course use of pesticides.
|
