A New Jersey Angler is Marketing a GREEN Alternative to Bleach
that could help save New Jersey fish...

by Tom Vassallo

About two or so years ago I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman from Manasquan who has spent the better part of his adult life making our planet a safer place to live and work. Wayne Lutz, a dedicated New Jersey angler, hunter and businessman, has worked in the air purification and environmental products industry for over 30 years. His business, SafeAir Corporation installs air purification and exhaust removal equipment for fire rescue and other industrial applications. Now this environmental specialist has set his sights on making our lagoons, bays and ocean safer for New Jersey fish and the anglers who consume them.

Just last year in California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a burst drinking water pipe killed rare endangered Steelhead Trout in San Mateo Creek. How does drinking water kill fish? When it's chlorinated. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Assistant General Manager for Water, Steven Ritchie, told the newspaper, "The chlorine is what makes it safe for us to drink, but it doesn't do very well in a stream. It's basically bleach and it kills fish..."

A broken pipe sent thousands of gallons of drinking water cascading into California's San Mateo Creek last February, killing scores, possibly thousands, of fish from chlorine poisoning...that's right...DRINKING WATER!

After striking up an agreement with the researchers who developed an innovative and safe alternative to bleach, Lutz has begun a new corporation, Vital Products Co. His company is marketing a new, environmentally-safe product that is safer than bleach when you are scrubbing down your boat after the bluefish blitz or cleaning that crusty bait board. The product is called "Vital Oxide" and he is selling it on his web site at www.vitalproductsco.com.

Now you may say that you don't use all that much bleach and that it would dissipate quickly in all that ocean water, but the reality is that the majority of bleach is used in lagoons and other access points to our bays and ocean. In New Jersey alone, there are over 150,000 registered vessels. If each owner washed over just a single quart of bleach all season, that translates to 37,500 gallons of bleach being dumped into our lagoons every season. If you consider there are over THREE MILLION registered vessels from Maine to Florida, that would translate into over 750,000 or three quarters of a MILLION gallons of bleach finding its way into the Atlantic Ocean each and every year.

Now even that amount of bleach doesn't kill the fish...(that is pretty obvious, since it has been going on for years). The troubling part is that as the bleach breaks down, it creates dangerous by-products that the fish store in their fatty areas. One by-product in particular is trihalomethanes. Lutz explains, "Trihalomethanes are a group or family of fat soluble chemicals that are bioaccumulative in the environment . In simpler terms, they move up the food chain. Killies and spearing exposed in the lagoons move into the bay to be consumed by larger game fish. When those game fish are caught and eaten, humans are then exposed". Relatively new scientific research has shed light on this chemical topic.
Trihalomethanes (THM), or total trihalomethanes (TTHM) contain such chemicals as chloroform, bromodichloromethane, bromoform, dibromochloromethane. These are all suspected problematic toxins in one form or another as they accumulate or deposit in the tissues of humans from eating contaminated fish who got them from the food chain.

Vital Oxide will not bleach color from fabrics and is safe to use without gloves. It also removes fish odor from boat and baitboard surfaces. Anglers and boat owners can buy the product online at www.vitalproductsco.com.

Trihalomethanes (THM), or total trihalomethanes (TTHM) contain such chemicals as chloroform, bromodichloromethane, bromoform, dibromochloromethane. These are all suspected problematic toxins in one form or another as they accumulate or deposit in the tissues of humans from eating contaminated fish who got them from the food chain. Wayne with his Vital Products Co is out to stop this dangerous cycle by marketing the "Vital Oxide" disinfectant as a replacement for bleach as a boat and bait clean up agent.

Chlorine bleach contains "sodium hypochlorite"...which can be dangerous to breathe or get on your skin. When chlorine starts to react with organic materials, it can form trihalomethanes, which are very similar to chloroform, a known carcinogen. Organic materials causing this reaction include living organisms, such as leaves, manure, and bacteria, to name a few. Once trihalomethanes are produced, they can cause serious health problems in the body such as cancer. On the other hand, Vital Oxide contains NO BLEACH. It consists primarily of stabilized sodium chloride (CLO2 ). CLO2 and its primary by-product, chlorite, break down to sodium chloride (simple table salt). It is completely safe on your skin and inhalation is virtually harmless as well. Lutz also points out that Vital Oxide is also used as a hospital disinfectant which kills MRSA, staphylococcus and 99.999% of dangerous organisms. It is used in hospitals and schools, and can safely be used in the home to clean and deodorize carpets, as well as killing mold and mildew (take note you Superstorm Sandy survivors!) Vital Oxide is even safe for countertops and food contact with no rinsing in certain dilutions. It is a super deodorizer for any smell, as it kills virtually any germ that causes odors...Bye-Bye fish and bait odors!

Wayne tells us at FishinJersey.com that he is selling the Vital Oxide in different sizes from a 3 ounce pocket spray (carry in a pocket for those nasty marine toilets) up to a 2.5 gallon "Bag in a Box" for larger marinas and commercial fisheries. If you call Wayne at 1-800-798-8820, he also has promotions for discounts on larger quantities. Just head to www.vitalproductsco.com if you want to get just a sample or even a whole pallet full. So let's do our best to make our boats clean while keeping our lagoons and fish safe as well. If you are eating the fish you catch, you should be concerned not only for your safety...but also the safety of your children. Get started going GREEN with "Vital Oxide" and we can all enjoy a safer (and better smelling) boat!