TODAY, the Zambian market is flooded with various types of imported and locally produced household cleaning materials and pesticides.
These products that come in different shapes and sizes are mishandled as some of them are sold in undesignated places such as streets by unauthorised persons.
Some pesticides are not supposed to be sold anywhere because of their poisonous nature, but we see vendors selling rat poison or cockroach killers at will.
Early this week, a man came to our offices selling pink bar soaps that he claimed could be used as mosquito repellent, as well as to clear pimples and acne.
That soap was said to cure any form of rash, red sores and ring worms.
And all of a sudden, people jostled for this ‘brand’ that was ‘naked’ because it was not packaged in any material, entailing there was no label to show the ingredients and other necessary information like manufacturing and expiry dates.
The chemical combination of this product is not known as it is produced at the backyard, meaning the product is not authentic or original.
One thing for sure is that some users of the products are not aware that the household cleaners are pollutants, meaning they are harmful to the environment.
These are few examples of products that have rocked the market whose authenticity is questionable and  they have negative effects both on health and the environment.
These household cleaners have various chemicals in them which have an impact on the environment.
The impact includes land degradation, air and water pollution and risks to human health.
The main concerns about chemicals in the environment are their persistence and their possible toxicity.
Some of the practices that contribute to the release of chemicals in the environment and consequent exposure to humans include re-packaging, accidents and emergencies.
This is according to the Zambia Environmental Management Agency.
Re-packaging: Illegal or inappropriate re-packaging has been identified as one of the problematic areas in chemicals management which exerts pressure on health and the environment.
Some chemicals are illegally imported into the country through the porous border entry points. These are often illegally re-packaged and sold on the local market without proper labelling.
Accidents and emergencies: Chemical accidents can occur due to lack of safety measures, equipment failure or human error.
In Zambia a number of emergencies have occurred over the years which are predominantly acid spillages.
However, my focus today is on chemicals found in household cleaning materials and how they affect the environment.
Household cleaners are not usually thought of as pollutants because they are used inside the confines of the home to make the indoor environment safe and clean for human habitation, but they are harmful to the environment.
The chemicals in many cleaners are common pollutants that contribute to smog, reduce the quality of drinking water and are toxic to animals.
For example, the nitrogen in window cleaners forms harmful nitrates and pollute ground water.
Many household cleaners are effective at ridding the home of dirt, germs and other microscopic, harmful organisms, but they are dangerous to water and air.
This is according to Agenda Planet, an online publication that discusses environmental concerns.
The US Environmental Protection Agency names phosphorus, nitrogen, ammonia and chemicals grouped under the term Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) as the worst environmental hazards in household cleaners.
According to the Canadian Labour Environmental Alliance Society, dishwasher detergents are 30 to 40 per cent phosphorus.
Ammonia is a multi-purpose household cleaner that is found in many cleaning products that do everything from degreasing to sanitising and removing allergens.
VOCs are found in a wide range of cleaning products. They whiten clothes, remove grease from dishes and disinfect as bathroom cleaners, among other uses.
Nitrogen is found in glass and surface cleaning products. This chemical is found in floor cleaners as well.
Nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia are dangerous water contaminants in large quantities. They are rinsed down drains and flushed down toilets as families clean the house.
Most pollutants are removed from the water by the waste treatment facilities before the water is returned to the rivers, streams, lakes and other waterways.
However, those three household cleaning chemicals are not removed by waste treatment processes.
Instead, they enter the waterways and build up, causing an accelerated growth of some types of plant life.
Ammonia, nitrogen and phosphorus are all fertilizers used in agriculture to help plants grow in controlled environments on farms.
When those same chemicals enter a freshwater environment as residues of household cleaning, their levels are not controlled.
The result is excessive nourishment of some types of plant life in habitats native to aquatic animals.
This can lead to dense vegetation that clogs waterways, crowding out animal life and other marine plants.
At the end of these plants’ chemical-accelerated life cycle, they die in large masses, decaying and depleting the oxygen in the water.
Algae then grow, and the animals – freshwater shellfish, fish and others – die off as well; the die-offs cause more decay.
Soon, the water is no longer suitable for drinking, cooking or bathing.
VOCs can cause health hazards by concentrating inside the household air, and when windows are raised to ventilate while cleaning, the problem goes outdoors.
The VOCs contribute to smog, and the pollution is so severe in some areas that legislation to ban or restrict the amount of VOCs in household cleaners became necessary.
Cleaning products and processes affect the environment in many ways.
The raw materials used to make chemicals used each year to clean commercial buildings mostly consist of petroleum, a valuable, but limited and non-renewable natural resource.
Other environmental impacts include plastic packaging components used in bottles made from petroleum and ingredients such as phthalates used to keep the bottles from becoming brittle and breaking or leaking.
Packaging also includes cardboard shipping cartons made from tree fibers.
Chemical products are disposed down the drain or evaporate into the air where they have further environmental impacts.
Environmental impacts of cleaning agents are the consequences of chemical compounds in cleaning products.
The human impact on the environment has produced a range of unnatural compounds that have been specifically developed to achieve the goals of the consumer.
Synthetic chemicals exposed to the environment introduce novel, bioactive opponents to ecosystems with consequences ranging from mild to severe for terrestrial and aquatic animals, humans and plant life.
Increased focus concerning the impact of cleaning products has emerged as developmental and endocrine disruptors have been linked to cleaning agents.
Some chemicals have been found to alter gene function.
Altered gene function often leads to changes in an organism’s proper development, with negative consequences to animal populations, for example, resulting from grander upset in ecosystems.
Many commonly used household products in these categories release toxic chemicals.
As an alternative, manufacturers are introducing products, often referred to as green products, whose manufacture, use, and disposal do not become a burden on the environment.
Chemicals enter air as emissions and water as effluent. Industrial and motor vehicle emissions of nitrogen and sulphur oxides cause acid rain, which poisons fish and other aquatic organisms in rivers and lakes and affects the ability of soil to support plants.
Carbon dioxide causes the greenhouse effect and climate change. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) cause the destruction of ozone in the stratosphere and create the possibility of serious environmental damage from ultraviolet radiation.
Chemical fertilisers and nutrients run-off from farms and gardens cause the buildup of toxic algae in rivers, making them uninhabitable to aquatic organisms and unpleasant for humans. Some toxic chemicals find their way from landfill waste sites into our groundwater, rivers and oceans and induce genetic changes that compromise the ability of life to reproduce and survive.
Zambia has not been an exception to the threats posed by climate change and variations.
The country has experienced a number of climatic hazards over several decades ranging from floods to dry spells.
Scientists have shown that climate change will result in physical changes in temperature, wind, and rain-fall and this may affect the distribution and break-down of chemicals.
This may alter the way the chemicals interact with the environment.
Furthermore, public health infrastructure, including the health care systems, as well as chemical safety laws, regulations, surveillance and enforcement, are critical to minimizing injury and illness related to chemical exposures.
In those areas where these basic services are lacking, whole populations are at increased risk.
However, there are various strategies and reforms that are being undertaken to improve effective and efficient management of chemicals in Zambia.
The Government, through a number of institutions and legislations, regulates the use of chemicals to address their impacts on the environment.
But the biggest challenge is the lack of implementation of these policies, strategies and reforms.
Zambia has ratified a number international conventions, but domestification has been a challenge.
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