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Creating a Safe, Fragrance-Free Environment That's Healthy for All of Us Or, Listening to the "Canaries in the Mine" Sing for the Benefit of All Beings by Diana Lion Over the last fifteen years I have gradually become more and more chemically sensitive. It started with runny eyes from being around perfumed products, and gradually got worse. Over a period of a decade and a half, I realized that I had changed my entire lifestyle. I was getting several migraines each week, seeing four different wholistic practitioners to help me with pain, and carrying around various pain meds wherever I went. Since public spaces are filled with people wearing scented products, I had become more reluctant to venture out into them. With a denial that I can only admire for its ironclad persistence, I still kept telling myself that this would pass on its own. However recently I was diagnosed with CFIDS (chronic fatigue syndrome) and EI (environmental illness) or MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities syndrome). They often go together. I have since learned that more and more people are being affected by the massive increase in environmental pollution over the last few decades. You might even call us the proverbial “canaries in the mine” – who may be the early victims of the philosophy of better living through chemistry. We may be the ones whose bodies are warning everyone about mounting environmental concerns. I gathered the information below* for various sanghas I am in because I really want to be able to sit with my sangha without getting sick. However the products people wear, plus the incense use, currently make that impossible for me. Who knows how many other sangha members are too shy to come forward and talk about this issue. I can say that as I’ve “come out” to folks about this, an amazing number of people have confessed their chemical sensitivities to me. There is an aura of shame and/or unworthiness that seems to go with this condition, as if we’re somehow to blame for being sick – as if this is our personal neurosis. I’m writing this article in the spirit of reaching out. This issue can, and has in the past, led to dukkha and separation. However I’d like to see this be a transforming agent to lead us to a greater sense of the interconnectedness and community that we already have. As a canary, I want to use this suffering to help all beings!
List of commonly found fragrance-free products
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) and Environmental Illness (EI) MCS is a form of Environmental Illness (EI). EI can result from chemical injuries caused by pesticides or solvents and can be reactivated by subsequent exposure even to low-level amounts of certain chemicals. Someone who has MCS can be harmed by exposure to the chemicals that produce the fragrances found in common products such as: after-shave, scented hair products, cosmetics, lotions, deodorants, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, incense, dry-cleaning solvents, and air fresheners. However other common products such as glue, carpets, paint, pressed wood furniture, foam mattresses, photocopier emissions, auto exhausts, gasoline, carbon paper, felt pens, ink, barbecue grill fumes, and new building materials can also make people with MCS ill. A person with MCS needs to avoid using scented products, being with other people who use such products and being in places that have picked up their smells. Fabrics in clothing and handbags absorb fragrances from the environment and can be harmful to people with EI. Be aware that “natural” is an unregulated term and an “unscented” product may contain masking fragrances which actually make the product more toxic. People with EI may get sick from products even when they cannot smell them. Being fragrance-free protects everyone’s health.
Policy reflecting our InterconnectednessPublic spaces, including doctor’s offices and community centers as well as dharma centers, are increasingly recognizing the need to address mounting concerns about chemical sensitivities. In the spirit of making sanghas accessible to all who have a sincere desire to practice, we encourage centers to honor the needs of persons with MCS. To create a safe space some dharma centers are asking everyone to be fragrance free when coming in for practice and/or meetings (see below for details). Because the needs of persons with MCS vary, accommodations often need to be made on an individualized basis. Some people may need to sit near open windows, while others may find the street fumes bother them. When possible, centers may purchase a good quality air purifier which filters out both particulates and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds – illness-causing chemicals) to protect the air quality. People with MCS can then sit near the filter. As a compromise, since newcomers are unaware of the fragrance-free policy and since others may forget from time to time, these centers are working towards creating three zones: a space for those with MCS, a buffer zone for those who do not have MCS but are fragrance free, and an area where those who are wearing fragrances can sit. However, if a fragrance is pungent, the wearer may be asked to wash it off by an MCS ally (see next section), and/or meet in another space.
AlliesThe role of allies is crucial in this work of making our world accessible to everyone. In this context, they are people who do not have MCS, who can serve in the sangha as protectors for those of us with MCS. Allies can:
How to be Fragrance Free
List of commonly found fragrance-free products ResourcesChemical Injury Information Network (CIIN) The CIIN is a support and advocacy organization dealing with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. It is run by the chemically injured for the benefit of the chemically injured, and focuses primarily on education, credible research into MCS, and the empowerment of the chemically injured. Debra Lynn Dadd’s web site Gives resources focused on improving your health by removing toxic chemicals from your home, and helping us make wise consumer choices about lessening our impact on the environment when we buy products we use at home every day. Magick Botanicals A leader in manufacturing products for people with chemical sensitivities and environmental illness. MCS: Health & Environment A Chicago-based national support group that offers a Resource Guide, bimonthly newsletter, meetings, speakers, lending library. N.E.E.D.S., Inc. Nutritional information and shopping site for the health conscious and environmentally sensitive person. Nirvana Safe Haven Wide array of products for people with chemical sensitivities and environmental illness. Business is owned by an elderly woman with MCS herself. Other web sites: www.nettally.com/prusty/mcs.htm www.princesstigerlily.com/mcs/mcs_by_area.html
There is no separation. When we act in a way that protects the life of others, we are protecting ourselves, our environment and future generations.
Sentient Beings are numberless, I vow to save them.
* Thanks to Margi Gregory and Anraku of the Zen Center on Main Street in Northampton, MA for all their work on which this article is based; to Al Wood for his MCS support; and to my BPF sangha for their help and generosity.
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