>>From: BHGazette@aol.com
>>Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 21:39:06 EST
>>
>> Those yellow sponges with the green plastic fibers on the back for scrubbing
>>pots-"Pot Scrubbers"-should be kept far away from our birds, fish, reptiles,
>>cats and dogs, hamsters and whatevers. Proctor & Gamble, in its continuing
>>search to make America look clean and smell great, has a new "improved"
>>version of the sponge on the market that kills odor-causing fungi that get in
>>the sponge after a few uses. They make a big deal out of this innovation on
>>the outside packaging.
>>
>>A friend used one of these sponges to clean the glass on a 200-gallon
>>aquarium. The abrasive backs are good for removing algae and smutz that
>>collect on the inside of the tank. He refilled the tank and after the water
>>had time to condition and rid itself of chlorine, he reintroduced his tropical
>>fish collection of some 30 fish.
>> Within five hours of putting the fish back in the tank, they were all dead!
>> Some began to die after only 30 minutes. He removed the survivors to another
>> tank but they all died. Retracing his steps to clean the tank, the only
>> thing that was different was using that new kind of sponge-he'd used the
>> regular old Pot Scrubbers for years.
>>
>>Lo and behold I discovered on the back of the packaging in about the finest
>>print you could put on plastic a description of the fungicide in the sponge
>>and the warning in tiny bold-face letters, "not for use in aquariums. keep
>>away from other pets." Thanks for warning Proctor & Gamble.
>>
>>It seems the fungicide is a derivative of the systemic pesticide-herbicide,
>>2-4-D, more popularly known as Agent Orange, the chemical we sprayed all over
>>Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War that many veterans and war refugees say
>>did them permanent damage to their lungs and nervous systems.
>>
>>The package warning goes on to say they fungicide cannot be washed from the
>>sponge even if it is placed in the dishwasher (in which case Agent Orange is
>>now all over your dishes and drinking glasses).And, if you think its there to
>>kill disease-causing bacteria like Salmonella from contaminated chicken meat,
>>think again-it's not effective enough to kill those kind of bugs.
>>
>>I called P&G to register a complaint and told them I'd never use their
>>products again because I couldn't trust what they were putting in them. By the
>>way, the same chemical in the sponge is used now in many of those popular
>>anti-bacterial, anti-viral disinfectant liquid soaps and hand cleaners that
>>are flooding the market.
>> Don't buy that poison and warn your friends as well. >>
>>
>
>
>
>
>"Whenever people say 'We musn't be sentimental,' you can take it they are
>about to do something cruel. And if they add 'We must be realistic,' they
>mean they are going to make money out of it."
> -Brigid Brophy
>
>
>"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made
>for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for
>men."
> -Alice Walker
>
>
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>Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
> - Anatole France