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Archive
October 31, 2005
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em
Two stories from the weekend worth reading, at the Salt Lake Tribune and Living on Earth, highlight a nascent conservation movement in response to the federal government's poor Western land management strategy. Several groups are even taking advantage of a recent proposal in Congress to open up for cheap sale 5 million acres of public lands in 13 states – by buying it themselves. It's an interesting and proactive step among environmentalists, whose lack of corporate political donation dollars often leave them reacting to legislation, rather than shaping it.Read more about mining and drilling claims in the West at EWG's public lands issues page.
Congress Moves to Weaken Organic Standard
Congress has attached an action to next year's agriculture appropriations bill that will allow synthetic ingredients to be used in manufacturing products labeled with USDA's green "organic" seal. The move has been widely derided as a loophole for companies that want part of the annual $11 billion organics, the fastest growing segment of the food industry, are producing, without the added cost of adhering to stringent organic standards. Consumers will have to vote with their wallets on this one, but with a new vigilance, now that the handy green seal has been opened up to the lowest bidders.Scripps Howard has more details, and EWG's work on organic standards is here.
October 27, 2005
Floating Pharmacies
Prozac, antibiotics, health and beauty products, steroids, disinfectants, fire retardants, DEET, caffeine and more are increasingly being found in America's waterways. As we wash these substances off our bodies or eliminate them, they head down the drain to wastewater treatment plants that not only aren't equipped to deal with these kinds of compounds, but have no standards for how much of any of them is acceptable in water. While scientists say that the levels in drinking water are below what could be considered a therapeutic dose of any of these chemicals, not much is known about the potential health effects of long-term, low-level exposure. The Hartford Courant has the rest of the story.October 25, 2005
Wal-Mart Goes Green?
Check out the New York Times for a rundown of the impressive environmental initiatives the nation's largest retailer is undertaking. Wal-Mart plans to double fuel economy on its delivery trucks, reduce energy use in its stores and minimize packaging. While detractors say this is just a diversion from Wal-Mart's myriad problems with worker treatment, the sheer size of the retail giant and the powerful influence it wields over its many suppliers mean that if the company meets its goals, it could have a hugely positive impact.Community Protests DuPont's Teflon Dumping
Residents near DuPont's W.Va. Washington Works plant, where the Teflon chemical PFOA is produced, are speaking out against a landfill where the company dumped the toxic chemical. DuPont's permit doesn't limit the amount of the Teflon chemical that can leach from the landfill into nearby water supplies, and company tests have shown higher levels in the water than their self-imposed limits. The state is about to issue DuPont another five-year permit, although the company says it plans to close the dump in March.The Teflon chemical is in 95 percent of Americans' blood, never breaks down in the environment and has been linked to birth defects and cancer in lab studies.
The Charleston Gazette has the article, and EWG's issue page on the Teflon chemical is here.
October 24, 2005
Toxic Trash
Feeling good about donating your old computer for use by someone in another country? Then don't read Laurie J. Flynn's New York Times story about the finding that many of those donated electronics end up creating pollution, not opportunities, for people in developing nations.Flynn writes, "An average computer monitor can contain as much as eight pounds of lead, along with plastics laden with flame retardants and cadmium, all of which can be harmful to the environment and to humans."
The donated equipment is broken down and sorted under conditions that expose the workers to toxins, and then most of it ends up in landfills because it's beyond repair.
If you want to dispose of old electronics according to U.S. standards, please visit http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recycle/ecycling/live.htm.
October 21, 2005
Miers Supported Asbestos Fund
As if enough weren't wrong with Harriet Miers' Supreme Court nomination, Reuters reports that Miers spoke to several groups last spring to garner support for Sens. Specter and Leahy's ailing asbestos trust fund bill. The bill hasn't made it to the Senate floor despite passing committee in May, largely due to a fear that its paucity of actual protection for victims won't have enough support to pass the entire chamber.EWG's asbestos issue page is here.
No Safety Standard for Cosmetics
The New York Times gets it wrong in an otherwise nice article about organic labeling of health and beauty products:Synthetic ingredients used in cosmetics are generally considered safe. The Food and Drug Administration requires that cosmetics makers make sure that their products are safe.Actually, it's probably true that most people consider cosmetic ingredients – synthetic or otherwise – to be safe, but that's likely because they're also assuming that FDA requires safety testing – and they don't. In fact, they can't. And the only thing FDA could do, which is set a safety standard, so at least all the self-policing companies have something similar to shoot for in their non-required, private tests, they refused to do in September.
You can see EWG's petition, FDA's refusal and related docs, and find out more about the "generally considered safe" ingredients in your favorite products, at our Skin Deep site.
October 20, 2005
Supermarkets Post Mercury Warnings
Safeway and Albertsons grocery chains have new additions to the seafood counter – signs warning consumers of health concerns associated with consuming fish with high levels of mercury. The signs are voluntary, but mention primarily swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel and shark, largely ignoring tuna.Mercury is a neurotoxin, and pregnant mothers, infants and children should limit their consumption.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has the full story, and EWG's work on mercury and seafood is here.
October 19, 2005
Home Antibacterials Raise FDA Concerns
An FDA panel is examining possible health concerns associated with antibacterial soaps, wipes and other household products. The market is booming for these germ-killers, but home use might be creating strains resistant to both antibacterials and antibiotics. This is of particular concern to families with children, as it presents the double-edged sword of exposing children to surviving super-germs, or, on the other hand, overprotecting them in a squeaky-clean environment that prevents them from building immunity, which can lead to asthma or allergies later in life.More information on triclosan, the active ingredient in antibacterials, can be found at EWG's "Skin Deep" site, a consumer guide ranking safety concerns for 14,000 health and beauty products. The AP article is here.
Gov't Eliminates Drilling Reviews
The Bush administration continues to combat the country's energy problems with industry giveaways, now allowing oil and gas drilling permits on public lands to be issued without environmental reviews or citizen comment. Consumers shouldn't expect their efforts to benefit anyone but the energy companies – see the poor production rates of the past 15 years (just 53 days of oil and 221 days of natural gas at current U.S. consumption rates) and how much oil and gas is actually available in the West in EWG's "Losing Ground" report.The AP article is available at the Salt Lake Tribune.
Oil and Gas Sites Costing Colo. Communities
Construction on 9,500 new oil and gas wells in western Colorado is creating erosion and runoff that's clogging towns' irrigation systems and raising cleanup costs. Most sites don't have required silt fences to prevent runoff, likely due to industry efforts to not only squash a new state law requiring erosion-control permits, but also to move even further away from the Clean Water provisions this year's energy bill ended.Full story is at the Denver Post, and EWG's work on public lands is here.
October 18, 2005
Fluoride Concerns Gain Momentum
Grassroots opposition to proposals to fluoridate water supplies across the country are gathering community and state-level attention and support, a new piece in TIME Magazine shows. Concerns about fluoridated water's connection to a rare form of bone cancer in young boys has spurred action from populations that are adding up exposures from water, food and toothpaste and asking if their families are getting too much of a good thing.The full story is available here, and EWG's work on fluoride is here.
October 13, 2005
Toxic Toys
Many baby and young children's products like teething rings, plastic and plush toys, clothing, and personal care products contain phthalates and fire retardants, a new study shows. Environment California Research and Policy Center and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund tested 25 products and found the chemicals in 18, including in some labeled "phthalate-free." Phthalates, which soften plastics, are linked to reproductive defects and early onset puberty and are banned in Europe. There's a bill in the California legislature that would ban them by 2007, and two fire retardant chemicals are already set for a state phase-out by June 2006.The study is available here, the story in the San Jose Mercury News is here, and EWG's work on phthalates and fire retardants is here and here.
October 11, 2005
French Resistance: Underground Group Takes on Paris SUVs
The LA Times has a funny piece about a band of subversive Parisian jokers terrorizing the SUV-driving population with deflated tires and mud-smeared windows. The group is non-violent and hopes to be considered non-vandal as well – they restrain their efforts to letting air out of tires without damaging them, and use mud to demonstrate the rough, 4x4 lifestyle the vehicles were meant for. Most local officials agree with their message if not their methods – there are already heavy taxes levied on the heavy vehicles, and an SUV ban has been proposed in the city.You can see what filling up your vehicle is costing you here on the home front with EWG's gas price calculator.
Schwarzenegger Vetoes Biomonitoring Bill
Using a line straight from the chemical industry's playbook, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have established the nation's first state biomonitoring program last weekend. The governor said the program would only provide a snapshot of citizens' body burdens, without proper context for the chemicals found or other health factors. California biomonitoring advocates aren't expected to try again in the near term, but with the federal government continuing to fund and increase the scope of CDC's national biomonitoring program, the practice is far from off the table.The Oakland Tribune has the full article, and EWG's work on body burden is here.
Forest Service Fires Pesticide Whistleblower
The U.S. Forest Service has fired a 40-year employee after he filed a whistleblower complaint related to misuse of pesticides across several forests in Arizona and New Mexico. He said he was fired him because the Forest Service doesn't want controls over its pesticide use in public areas.AP has the story, and there's more about pesticides at EWG's issue page.
October 6, 2005
Are States Rebelling?
An October 6 investigation by the Christian Science Monitor finds that 27 states are taking the lead on environmental protection issues in cases where they feel the federal government is either acting wrongly, slowly or not at all. Will this trend become the norm?The story quotes former top EPA enforcement officer Eric Schaeffer saying, "EPA used to be leading the pack, but now the states that were the most industry friendly are lining up with EPA - and other states are pushing the envelope and taking the lead on enforcement."
October 5, 2005
W.R. Grace Asbestos Threatens Dallas Community
W.R. Grace strikes again, the Dallas Morning News reports, with news that up to 450 employees of the company's West Dallas plant and their families are at risk from asbestos-related illnesses. People who lived, worked or went to school near the plant, which operated from 1953 to 1992, are also at risk – 7,140 people lived within a mile of the site in 1990, and half a dozen schools are as close. The plant processed vermiculite from the infamous asbestos-contaminated site in Libby, Mont.EWG's report, "Asbestos Hotspots," details 40 sites across the country that received asbestos from the toxic Libby mines. Visit the site to see if an area near you was affected.
October 4, 2005
San Francisco Considers Mercury Warnings for Seafood
San Francisco officials are looking at a proposal requiring trilingual signs in restaurants, stores and markets warning consumers of mercury in their fish. Mercury can cause neurological and developmental problems, with pregnant mothers, infants and children most at risk.SF Chronicle has the article, and EWG's mercury page is here.
Pollution Decreasing Male Births?
Environmental Health Perspectives examines the possible connection between a startlingly low male birth rate and industrial pollution among a population of Native Americans in Ontario living right next to one of Canada's largest concentrations of chemical plants. The area is heavily polluted with PCBs, phthalates and dioxins, all known endocrine disruptors. Canada's average rate for male to female births is roughly 51 to 49; this group's rate of male births has been falling for more than 10 years, and reached just 34.8 percent from 1999-2003. Past studies have documented similar reproductive problems in area wildlife.EWG's work on phthalates is available here.
Update: The Wall Street Journal is looking at phthalates' effects on male fetal sexual development, too, but you'll need a subscription to read this one.
October 3, 2005
Fla. Chemical Maker Drops Pesticides Linked to Birth Defects
Ag-Mart Produce, the giant Florida tomato grower, is eliminating the use of some pesticides linked to birth defects following a lawsuit involving three seriously deformed babies born to field workers. It's good news, although the company will continue to use methyl bromide, a "banned" (apparently it's pretty simple to get an exemption) substance that is the only one of six suspected chemicals it's not discontinuing. Pesticide-related violation notices against Ag-Mart are expected from Florida and North Carolina in the next few days.The Palm Beach Post's coverage of this article, with links to more information on the three babies' trial, is here, and EWG's pesticide page is here.