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Smart discussion of the latest science and news on toxins in your food, water, and air, and what government agencies should be doing to protect public health. Written by EWG staff.
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Toxins in our Kids' Foods: Where is the FDA?
Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?
Fluoride in Your Water: How much is too much?
Borax: Not the Green Alternative It's Cracked Up to Be
Test Your Knowledge of Cosmetics Safety: 8 Myths Debunked
EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure
EWG on TV
Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill
Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water
Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen
BPA in baby formula & safe cosmetics
What can I do about fluoride in my water?
What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?
Are stainless steel water bottles safe?
Is mineral-based makeup safer?
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Monthly Archive
Rocket Fuel Plume Discovered Near D.C.'s Drinking Water Supply
in concentrations 80 times what the Environmental Protection Agency
considers safe for human consumption, has been found near a reservoir that
supplies drinking water to the District of Columbia.
Although health officials insist there is no immediate threat to the
District's drinking water supplies, the discovery – which the agency kept
quiet for more than a year – sharpens the nationwide debate over the health
threats of perchlorate, which is known to contaminate water or soil in more
than 40 states. At most of the hundreds of sites of known contamination, the
chemical leaked from military bases or defense plants.
The EPA's preliminary risk assessment says drinking water concentrations of
perchlorate of more than 1 part per billion (ppb) are unsafe, and pose a
particular risk for pregnant women, fetuses and infants. The chemical can
disrupt normal functioning of the thyroid gland, which controls growth and
development, leading to learning disabilities and deficiencies in motor
skills.
The EPA's risk assessment is under review by the National Academy of
Sciences, but officials in Massachusetts and California agree that very low
levels of perchlorate are a health risk. Massachusetts has set a limit of 1
ppb in drinking water, while California's standard is 6 ppb. Both are in
sharp contrast to claims by the Pentagon and defense contractors that
perchlorate is safe at up to 200 ppb.
EWG, which has conducted a series of groundbreaking studies on perchlorate,
argues that a drinking water standard should be no more than one-tenth the
EPA's current recommendation, or 0.1 ppb. EWG's tests have found perchlorate
in lettuce and milk, and other researchers have found it in a wide range of
food crops.
View EWG's studies
Read The Washington Post coverage
DuPont's 3Q Profits Match Potential Teflon Fine
EWG reported these two flagrant violations of pollution law to EPA in April 2003. In September 2004, we asked the EPA to ensure that the Agency stay true to its intent to "send a message" by imposing the maximum fine against Teflon maker DuPont.
The EPA is likely to recommend a fine amount to an EPA judge on or before November 22, 2004.
For more information about Teflon pollution, please visit http://www.ewg.org/issues/PFCs/index.php.
EPA Enforcement Officers Questioned
EWG has pressed for enforcement action from Skinner's office for over a year regarding DuPont's illegal suppression of studies showing its Teflon chemical was polluting drinking water of residents near its Teflon plant in West Virginia, and that the chemical was found in newborn babies' blood. This Teflon chemical is in the blood of over 90% of Americans, never breaks down and causes several serious health problems in laboratory animals.
The first court hearing in the case of EPA vs. DuPont takes place on October 28 in Washington, DC. EWG urges Acting Enforcement Chief Skinner to recommend that the court assess the maximum fine of $313 million against DuPont.
For more information on Teflon pollution, please visit http://www.ewg.org/issues/PFCs/index.php.
Tobacco Companies to Pay for Buyout, But FDA Authority Still Lacking
The Washington Post reports that at least two Senators plan to either kill the bill or attempt to put the tobacco regulation provision back in the bill.
An EWG analysis, released last month, uses US Department of Agriculture data to show that 436,719 farm entities will share the $9.6 billion, with the average grower or holder collecting an average payment of $21,982. Some 462 farm entities will receive over one million dollars each, and over 7,800 estates stand to collect $172 million from the tobacco industry.
