--- title: Toxic Chemicals Around the House: Dust Harms Your Health description: Ten chemicals suspected or known to harm human health are present in more than 90% of household dust samples, according to a new study canonical: https://time.com/4493689/toxic-chemicals-house-cancer/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-15T04:01:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:35:47.862Z article:section: Health og:title: The Dust in Your Home May Be Filed With Hazardous Chemicals og:description: Each exposure—no matter how small—adds up og:url: https://time.com/4493689/toxic-chemicals-house-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c64708ed0e2a308/6988a61bbc6cfc42963de932/dusty-floor-household-chemicals.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3264 og:image:height: 1836 og:image:alt: dusty floor household chemicals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Dust in Your Home May Be Filed With Hazardous Chemicals twitter:description: Each exposure—no matter how small—adds up twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c64708ed0e2a308/6988a61bbc6cfc42963de932/dusty-floor-household-chemicals.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Your Household Dust May Be Filled With These Hazardous Chemicals > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 15, 2016 4:01 AM UTC  Katharina Osterholt—Getty Images/EyeEm  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 15, 2016 4:01 AM UTC Ten chemicals suspected or known to harm human health are present in more than 90% of household dust samples, according to a new [study](http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b02023). The research, published in the journal _Environmental Science and Technology_, adds to a [growing body of evidence](http://time.com/4462892/couch-cancer-flame-retardants/) showing the dangers posed by exposure to a slew of chemicals people in developed countries encounter on a day-to-day basis. The chemicals come from a variety of household goods that includes toys, cosmetics, furniture, cookware and cleaning products. A class of chemicals known as phthalates — a group that includes DEP, DEHP, DNBP and DIBP — are present in the highest concentrations, according to the research. That class of chemicals is also thought to be among the most harmful. Exposure to phthalates may interrupt the endocrine system, leading to a decrease in IQ and respiratory problems, among other problems, health researchers say. **Read More:** [_You Asked: Can My Couch Give Me Cancer?_](http://time.com/4462892/couch-cancer-flame-retardants/) Highly fluorinated chemicals (HFCs), another class of chemicals common in household dust, has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer. The compound is found in everything from cell phones to pizza boxes, according to the study. Researchers behind the study, which evaluated datasets from more than 25 prior studies, called for manufacturers to replace the chemicals in their products with safe alternatives, but, voluntary participation aside, the path to force companies to replace chemicals remains difficult. For decades, chemicals in this country have been eligible for use without tests to confirm their safety. An [overhaul](http://time.com/4348103/tsca-congress-chemical-reform/) to the Toxic Substances Control Act passed earlier this year will require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to sign off on new chemicals before they enter the open market, but still thousands of chemicals on the market today remain untested. The Environmental Working Group, an environmental nonprofit, estimates that 1,000 of those chemicals warrant further scrutiny, but the EPA does not have the staff — or the time — to invest in such an effort. Instead, the EPA has selected a much smaller list of priority chemicals to evaluate first. The research comes as scientists increasingly understand that exposure even to very low levels of these toxic substances can damage human health. 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