Word: latex
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...Kirkland, 7 of 10 students did not know the box's location. Perhaps because of student ignorance, Kirkland has the best-stocked box of those examined, containing instructions in English and Spanish, as well as condoms and latex gloves. Then again, the same proportion of surveyed Lowell residents knew about their box, and it was out of both condoms and gloves, although there were plenty of instruction sheets available. (By contrast, the Adams' box was a quarter full and out of instructions...
Talk about strange bedfellows. Scientists have shown that new bedsheets can emit formaldehyde--a possible carcinogen. The chemical is present in the coating that makes sheets--and permanent-press shirts--wrinkle-free. Other offenders: wet fingernail hardeners, latex paint and some floor finishes. What to do? Wash shirts and sheets before using, and keep your distance after applying fresh paint and other products...
Among the formerly sick: Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, where 47 nurses wound up on disability leave in 1993 because of allergic reactions to the latex in surgical gloves that clung to surfaces in the building; Florida's Martin County Courthouse, where fungi infestation required a $3.5 million gutting by workers wearing respirators and bodysuits; even the epa's Washington offices, where brand-new carpets were blamed for gas emissions and were removed. OSHA's beleaguered inspectors can't begin to keep up with the complaints. A whole new business of industrial-hygiene companies has sprung up, offering...
...Academy Award-winning actor F. MURRAY ABRAHAM destined to be Mr. Roarke? Both hosts of Fantasy Island, Ricardo Montalban and Malcolm McDowell, have also played villains in Star Trek movies. Now Abraham has donned the latex for Star Trek: Insurrection. He plays Ru'afo, an alien Peter Pan. "Ru'afo's like so many of us who never want to grow old," says the actor, "but he takes it to terrible extremes, like some of these awful face-lifts you see in Hollywood." His own facial regimen--four hours of makeup daily--did have its perks: "Being really ugly...
...quickly--is the phenomenon of Asian companies' flooding world markets with cheap products made even cheaper by Asia's falling currencies and by a desperate need to find new markets. The Pharmed Group of Miami, with $65 million in sales and 140 employees, has watched as its sales of latex gloves were hammered by this new competition. The company used to ship 2 million gloves a month to South American customers. Now, says president Jorge de Cespedes, "the Asians are dumping their products on our customers at such a low price that we cannot compete. We're shipping a container...