The problem with chemical diapers:
The
original superabsorbent diapers contained five to six grams of
Super absorbent polymers per diaper. Today's new, thinner disposables have less wood
pulp and more SAPs; 10 to 15 grams per diaper.
Superabsorbent diapers currently on sale at natural grocery stores
contain SAPs.
SAPs can cause severe skin infections or worse. In the 1980s,
SAPs were removed from superabsorbent tampons because the material increased the
risk of toxic shock syndrome.
In 1988, P&G commissioned a three-year study
at the University of Michigan to determine the effects of sodium
polyacrylate in disposable diapers in landfills. The study showed
that SAPs are environmentally safe. However, the OSHA
"Material Safety Data Sheet on Superabsorbent Polymer"
states, "Preexisting skin or breathing disorders may become
aggravated through prolonged exposure". A study in the
September 1999 issue of Archives of Environmental Health
found that laboratory mice exposed to various brands of throwaway
diapers suffered eye, nose, and throat irritation, including
bronchoconstriction similar to that resulting from an asthma
attack. The lead author of the study advised asthmatic mothers to
avoid exposure to the chemicals found in most throwaway
diapers.
In 1989, the National Association of Diaper
Services(NADS) commissioned Carl Lehrburger of Energy Answers
Corporation to study throwaway diapers. Lehrburger
concluded that each family that chooses cloth diapers prevents one
ton of waste from entering the solid-waste stream each year.
The environmental impact of chemical
diapers:
In 1991, Carl Lehrburger of Energy Answers
Corporation undertook a life-cycle analysis of diapers, his
second study for NADS. It was the most detailed study to date of
the environmental impact of single-use diapers and the first one
not funded by the disposables industry. Lehrburger found that,
compared to reusable diapers, throwaways generate seven times more
solid waste when discarded and three times more waste in the
manufacturing process. In addition, effluents from the plastic,
pulp, and paper industries are far more hazardous than those from
the cotton-growing and manufacturing processes.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, 3.5
billion gallons of oil were used to produce the 18 million
throwaway diapers that Lehrburger studied in 1991.
Approximately, 7 billion gallons of oil each year are required to
feed our disposable-diaper habit today, almost four times as much
oil as is estimated to be in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
In 1991, the Landbank Consultancy, an independent environmental
agency in the United Kingdom, reviewed and evaluated the available
research on the environmental impact of throwaway diapers. Their
conclusion: compared to cloth diapers, throwaway diapers use 20
times more raw materials, three times more energy, and twice as
much water; they generate 60 times more waste.(exerpts from Mothering
Magazine Oct., 2006.)
