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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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Bush: Carpooling, Less Driving "Helpful"
Healed by Grace: Asbestos Giant Tells Libby Victims They Aren't Sick
Ga. City Suspends Pesticide Use on Athletic Fields
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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
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Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill
Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water
Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen
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Monthly Archive
Utah Hunters Warned of Mercury in Duck
September 30, 2005
Just before hunting season opens in Utah, state officials are warning hunters not to eat two types of ducks that feed on Great Salt Lake marhes because tests on the animals show dangerous levels of mercury in their flesh. One of the seven species sampled had levels ranging from two to 39 times the EPA's safe level, which is the same for ducks as that used for fish. The Salt Lake Tribune has more, and EWG's work on mercury in seafood is here.
New Study Will Examine Link Between Environment, Disease
September 30, 2005
The National Institutes of Health are launching a study that will follow 100,000 American children from birth to adulthood in the hopes of pinning down possible environmental causes of many common diseases. They'll biomonitor the kids until age 21, tracking their environmental exposures and their health and development, from their food, water and air, to the schools they go to, how often they see a doctor, and dust levels in their homes. Parental testing will take into account genetic contributions. Initial results will be available in 2010. Read Reuter's report for all the details, and visit EWG to learn more about body burden.
Washington Begins Biomonitoring Program
September 29, 2005
The Washington State Toxics Coalition and the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition have started body burden testing on 10 people in the Puget Sound area, looking for pesticides, heavy metals, PCBs, fire retardants, phthalates and other toxics in their subjects' bodies. Biomonitoring provides a detailed snapshot of the individual chemical body burden each person carries. The testing is expensive, but becoming more mainstream. This group's results will be available next spring. Full story's at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and EWG's two body burden studies are available here.
Coastal Women Have Highest Mercury Levels
September 28, 2005
The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin reports on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study that shows that U.S. women living near a coast have higher levels than women living inland. East Coast women averaged 7.7 parts per billion (ppb) of mercury in their blood and West Coast women averaged 4.7 ppb. Women living inland had an average mercury blood level of 2.4 ppb. EPA guidelines say levels higher than 33.5 ppb are a possible health threat. Mercury harms the brain of developing children, which is why health officials aim to warn women of childbearing age to eat a variety of seafood and to limit consumption of high-mercury fish such as tuna.
Because it's hard for a one-size-fits-all health advisory to really tell a woman how much tuna she can eat, EWG used federal data to assemble our Tuna Calculator, where you can plug in your weight and find out how much tuna you can safely eat per week.
To read about EWG's work on mercury in seafood, please visit http://www.ewg.org/issues/siteindex/issues.php?issueid=5010.
Bush: Carpooling, Less Driving "Helpful"
September 27, 2005
The New York Times has the article, but since they buried the lead, head over to Washington Monthly for the real story on Bush's speech – lip service to conservation efforts while Congress puts its muscle into more drilling. Take a look at EWG's work on oil at home and abroad.
Update: NYT gets to the crux of the matter.
Big Ag = Big Pollution
September 27, 2005
If you've ever been curious about why an environmental group like EWG has such an interest in farm subsidies, yesterday's Washington Post has the answer. Agribusiness pollutes the air, water and land on par with cars and trucks, but the firmly entrenched farm lobby and its powerful allies in Congress throw their collective weight around not just to protect their porky subsidies, but also to prevent any laws from passing that might cost them a buck – whether it's spent to protect Americans' health or not. The article is long, but worth a read, and when you're finished, visit EWG's farm subsidy database to see who's getting the ag dollars in your area.
Healed by Grace: Asbestos Giant Tells Libby Victims They Aren't Sick
September 27, 2005
W.R. Grace has taken the power of positive thinking too far, attempting to cure the Libby, Mont., residents the company knowingly poisoned for decades with toxic vermiculite just by saying it isn't so. Grace sent letters to most of the Libby members of the asbestos fund EPA forced them to set up, saying that either they don't have asbestos-related disease, or that they might – but their benefits are being scaled back anyway. These shenanigans are likely due to the potential of Grace's $2.75 million fund to run out – a local group estimates Libby's medical bills at closer to $250 million.Daily Inter Lake story is here, and EWG's asbestos issues page is here.
Ga. City Suspends Pesticide Use on Athletic Fields
September 26, 2005
After a local 15-year-old was hospitalized due to what doctors speculated was a reaction to pesticides on her soccer field, Peachtree City, Ga., has temporarily stopped spraying fields and is looking into organic options. However, faced with the threat of weeds, city officials seem to be waffling, and TruGreen ChemLawn calls the situation "a big stink over nothing," despite the blue-dyed skin and clothing of children who practiced on treated fields. Full story at the AJC, and take a look at EWG's work on pesticides here.
EPA Moves to Reduce Companies' Pollution Disclosure
September 22, 2005
The Environmental Protection Agency has released a proposal designed to lift the "regulatory burden" from polluters by allowing them to skip reporting "small" releases of toxic chemicals, and reduce their yearly pollution reports by half. Under current regulations - which Dow Chemical actually says it has no problems following - companies must inform the EPA if they release more than 500 pounds of a toxic chemical. The new regulations raise the level to 5,000 pounds and make annual pollution reports biannual, freeing up a third of the 23,000 companies affected by the current law from reporting anything at all. AP article is here.
Calif. Wal-Marts Suspected of Illegal Pesticide Sales
September 21, 2005
Wal-Mart's 153 California stores are in danger of an audit from the state Department of Pesticide Regulation for selling home and lawn pesticides not approved for use in the state. Wal-Mart blames its suppliers, but that might not save them from charges of "bad faith" and failure to cooperate with state attorneys. A bill to tighten state regulations of pesticide sales is before Gov. Schwarzenegger.Full story at the Sacramento Bee; EWG's work on pesticides is here.
Asbestos Bill’s Fuzzy Math Draws More Condemnation
September 21, 2005
The Judiciary Committee passed the bill out onto the Senate floor in May, '05. But with criticism coming from all corners, and the epidemic in their own back yards, can Senators cast their votes for this bill? Stay tuned....
Can Synthetic Food Additives Be Organic?
September 21, 2005
Yes, if major food processors have their way in the Senate. According to Beyond Pesticides and the Organic Consumers Association, if the food processors get their amendment through the Senate this week, then the hard-won national organic standards, just passed in 2002, will be weakened.Currently, processed food products containing dairy must contain all organic ingredients. If the amendment passes, producers will be allowed to add synthetic processing agents, and non-organic ingredients could be substituted for organic ones.
If the entree on your plate is not made with all organic ingredients from start to finish, would you call it organic?
Our nation's organic standards withstood another profit-driven attack in 2003. Read about it at http://www.ewg.org/issues/organicfood/index.php.
Oregon Tuna Lower in Mercury
September 20, 2005
As an update to last week's post on high mercury levels in supermarket tuna samples, the Eugene Register-Guard provides incentives for eating locally-caught fish: lower mercury, higher omega-3s and support for community businesses.
DOJ Seeks to Blame Environmental Groups for Levee Failure
September 19, 2005
Straight from the Jackson Clarion-Ledger:E-mail sent to various U.S. Attorney's offices:
SUBJECT: Have you had any cases involving the levees in New Orleans?
QUESTION: Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps' work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation.
Great. The Clarion-Ledger snagged this internal email last week, and it sounds like there's a congressional inquiry on the way. Read the whole article -- it cites a National Review piece from earlier this month blaming the flooding on groups that brought a 1996 suit to delay shoring up the levees on the Mississippi until an environmental impact assessment could be conducted. NR apparently didn't mention that it was the Lake Pontchartrain levees, on the other side of the city, that collapsed.
No word yet on whether Bush's decision to cut $400 million from the area's flood control budget will be part of the investigation.
PCBs at Danger Levels in Wash., Wisc. Waters
September 16, 2005
Toxic PCBs have been found at 140 times the level that requires cleanup at a South Seattle site that EPA declared clean more than five years ago. Fish in the nearby Duwamish River are the most PCB-laden in the state, and high levels have been found in salmon and killer whales in the Puget Sound. Port officials plan to delay further cleanup because of the test results, and expand their efforts beyond the original two-acre area.And in the Milwaukee River in Wisconsin, PCB concentrations are high enough to harm humans and wildlife in stretches of the river near Lincoln Park where people swim, waterski and fish. An official says that Milwaukee has been aware of the hazard for a decade, but only now is the information "specific" enough to warrant a funding request for cleanup and signs warning citizens about contamination. And cleanup efforts might not start for years, as there are "scores" of toxic sites in Wisconsin waiting their turn.
PCBs are persistent chemicals that remain in our environment despite having been banned in 1976. PCBs can cause cancer and neurological and reproductive difficulties in humans and other mammals.
EWG's work on PCBs in farmed salmon is available here.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have the full stories.
Mercury High in Storebought Fish
September 16, 2005
AP reports that University of North Carolina tests in 21 states found average mercury levels in tuna and swordfish at 1.1 parts per million, over the government's limit of 1 ppm. The samples came from supermarket chains, including Safeway and Whole Foods, and some groups are pushing for supermarkets to include warning signs with their seafood displays. Mercury can cause neurological and developmental problems in children, and women of child-bearing age, infants and children are advised to avoid fish high in mercury, including white albacore tuna, swordfish, tilefish and shark.
EWG's work on mercury and seafood is here.
Lead in Lunchboxes
September 14, 2005
An Oakland group found lead in 27 soft vinyl lunchboxes in a recent study, a quarter of the products tested. The lead was on the surface of the plastic, where it could easily leach onto children's hands or food. Lead poisoning can cause behavorial and developmental problems in children, and no amount is considered safe. Parents can get lead test kits for around $3 online or in hardware stores.LA Times has details.
EPA Proposes New Human Pesticide Testing Rules
September 7, 2005
EPA's new human pesticide testing legislation prohibits intentional dosing of pregnant women and children, but will allow some human testing, subject to ethical standards and approval of a review board the agency plans to set up. No federal agency has ever rejected or accepted human testing data based on ethical standards before, and critics are worried about loopholes that might not protect vulnerable citizens. Read more in the LA Times, or take a look at the EPA's news release.
Subsidy Disclosures Across The Pond
September 1, 2005
Read about an Irish executive, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture (who's appearing before Parliament on September 1 to explain) and get the full picture from the Wall Street Journal's European edition (subscription required).EWG's farm subsidy data, searchable by name, zip code, town, state and more, is viewable at www.ewg.org/farm.
What Revolving Door? Industry and Government Share an Office in Utah
September 1, 2005
Here is a news story you may need to read twice. It's about people on energy company payrolls, consultants whose livelihoods depend on plundering our natural treasures, and who are now charged with screening requests to… plunder our natural treasures. When the Bureau of Land Management gives industry reps a stack of applications and a rubber stamp, it’s not outsourcing – it’s oligarchy.Mining and drilling companies have been running roughshod over Western nature with increasing zeal in recent years. EWG’s ongoing research on who really owns the West, the pillaging of our public lands, and the folly of U.S. energy policy, is here
