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This clip shows several people who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity describing their reactions to chemicals in household products. Eve, who is filmed in a supermarket, says that she cannot walk down the cleaning-products aisle without feeling dizzy, and that the preservatives in smallgoods can send her into anaphylactic shock. Julie, seen at home, says that exposure to chemicals in carpet gives her heart palpitations, while another interviewee, Diana, reacts badly to the chemicals in newsprint and cannot read the paper without experiencing semi-paralysis and migraines. Michael holds up a glass of tap water, which he says is full of contaminants that affect his 'chemical load’.

Educational value points

• People with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are thought to have an adverse physical reaction to low levels of many common chemicals. MCS is defined as a chronic medical condition with multiple symptoms that occur after exposure to chemicals. MCS may be caused by a single large exposure to one or more toxic chemicals, or through repeated low-dose exposures over an extended period. MCS is also referred to as 20th-century disease, environmental illness, total allergy syndrome, idiopathic environmental illness and chemical AIDS.

• There exists a multiplicity of chemicals that may cause adverse reactions in humans. Common examples are car exhaust fumes, perfume and other scented products, formaldehyde, which is found in carpet backing and particle board, chlorine, plastics, cigarette smoke, pesticides including insecticides, disinfectants, paints, solvents, gas, newsprint, artificial colourings and food additives.

• There is some debate over whether MCS is classifiable as an illness or is a psychosomatic condition. A 2004 study linked MCS to people with low coping levels and high levels of helplessness. The pharmaceutical industry has funded studies whose outcomes have challenged the causes of MCS and whether it actually exists.

• MCS ranges from a mild condition that causes people to experience symptoms that are annoying rather than debilitating, through to a chronic disabling condition that includes severe reactions to all chemicals and most foods. MCS can cause symptoms in more than one organ system, but usually affects the central nervous system, causing fatigue, headaches, confusion, memory loss, and sleep disturbance. Sufferers may also experience eye, ear, nose and throat irritations, asthma, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, joint pain, muscle spasm, nausea, constipation and diarrhoea.

• People with MCS are often unable to lead normal lives or engage in everyday activities. A study conducted by the South Australian Department of Health found that just under 1 per cent of South Australians have MCS, while approximately 16.4 per cent experience some sensitivity to chemicals.

• Concerns about chemical exposure in different venues can restrict the social mobility of sufferers, and isolation and depression are common problems. In response to such concerns, efforts are increasingly being made to use the least toxic materials in new constructions and to ensure that buildings are adequately ventilated. Some people with MCS have been forced to move to isolated 'clean’ locations or have attempted to create a chemical-free environment in which to live and work.

• MCS can affect sufferers differently, as the people featured in this clip demonstrate. The multiplicity of symptoms has made it difficult to establish clinical criteria to diagnose MCS. There is no recognised treatment, but minimising exposure to chemicals that trigger reactions is recommended.

• According to American allergist Dr Theron Randolph, the human body may have a limit to its chemical load, or the amount of chemicals it can safely accumulate. Randolph theorised that once the body reaches this limit, further exposure to chemicals causes allergic reactions. Because most synthetic chemicals are fat soluble and not easily broken down by metabolic processes, they can be stored in body fats and build up to unsafe levels. The annual world production of organic chemicals increased from 7 million tonnes in 1950 to 250 million tonnes in 1985, indicating that people are being exposed to ever-increasing amounts of chemicals in the environment.

This clip starts approximately 3 minutes into the documentary.

This clip shows several people who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity describing their reactions to chemicals in household products.

Eve walks through an aisle at the supermarket and explains how this activity affects her.
Eve Oh, my goodness. This is the aisle that I usually avoid. This is the flyspray aisle, and I get very, very – in fact, I can feel myself getting a bit affected at the moment. I can’t – I can’t, uh, think very clearly. I’m a bit dizzy. These sorts of cleaning agent are a no-no, and about the only thing I can use is just simple everyday detergent, soap. This particular area is lethal for me. All smallgoods have a particular kind of preservative in them, and I’ve eaten this in the past and I ended up in casualty in allergic shock.

Julie, another sufferer, walks through her home describing the precautions she has taken there.
Julie The first thing you’ll notice is the flooring. This is sisalation paper which we’ve put over the carpet and underlay in the house because I found that in the parts of the house that don’t have this over the carpet, that I get pains in the chest and heart palpitations.

Diana sits in front of a which allows her to read the newspaper without suffering from an allergic reaction.
Diana Another one that most people just wouldn’t think twice about is reading the daily paper. But for us, the chlorine impregnated in it to bleach the paper, the volatile solvents in the printing ink is a no-no. Once again for me, it’s blinding migraines, semi-paralysis. I’m turned out like that, like someone that’s had a stroke. Uh, my brain goes out of gear so I’m reading and I don’t know what it says anyhow. So this is our answer – a glass-topped reading box. Hands go in through there. Turn the pages over no problems. All the chemicals are kept inside.

Michael pours himself a glass of water from his kitchen tap.
Michael Apparently there are contaminants in the water supply which can cause problems for people who are sensitive and have allergies, apparently contaminants like chlorine and other things. The effect of that, apparently, is that it can be the cause of diarrhoea, headaches, lethargy and other symptoms adding up to the total chemical load. It seems amazing that drinking a simple glass of water could have that sort of an effect on me, and hopefully it doesn’t cause problems.
He pours the glass of water down the sink.