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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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Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?
Cell phone radiation series - Part 2: 8 Ways to reduce your exposure
Infant formula: How to choose it & use it
EWG's Tips for Parents: The Series
EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure
Let's talk some serious shop about TSCA reform
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
Dell to Offer Free Recycling of Old PCs
Dell is expanding its services to include free recycling of any of their computers, regardless of whether its being replaced by a new Dell product. This goes one step beyond the policy of rival manufacturers'--Apple and Hewlett-Packard--policies, which generally leave the burden of shipping (about $30.00) on the customer. Whether the other companies follow suit, and how well they will advertise any new recyling services remains to be seen.
Tell Apple you want free recycling : Tell Hewlett-Packard you demand free recyling of your PC
NYT: Dell Expands Its Computer Recycling Program
Consumers Willing to Pay for Greener PCs
The BBC reports that a study commissioned by Greenpeace reveals consumers want more environmentally friendly PCs. What's so bad about computers? Well--they contain, among other nasty chemicals: lead, arsenic, fire retardants, cadmium, chromium, and mercury. And that's only in the final product--making the machine requires 10 times its weight in chemicals and fossil fuels.
The study reveals that consumers in the UK were prepared to spend an extra $117 while people in China were willing to pay $197 more for a cleaner PC. Could this have something to do with China being a world-wide dumping ground for obsolote electronics?
Related posts: Cell Phone Recycling : That "New Car" Smell :
WHO: Environment = Health
The World Health Organization has released a new report which strengthens the argument for increased controls on environmental pollution. Here are some of the key findings:
13 million deaths annually are due to preventable environmental causes.
More than 33% of disease in children under the age of 5 is caused by environmental exposures.
94% of deaths from diarrhoeal diseases and 40% of deaths from malaria – two of the world's biggest childhood killers – could be prevented through better environmental management.
Almost 25% of global disease is caused by environmental exposures that can be averted.
Here's an excerpt from the press release:
The report shows that one way or another, the environment significantly affects more than 80% of these major diseases. Moreover, it looks to quantify only those environmental hazards that are modifiable - that is, those that are readily amenable to change through policies or technologies that already exist. The report also spells out us how much environment-related disease is preventable.By acting assertively and setting priorities for measures aimed at curbing the most serious killers, millions of unnecessary deaths can be prevented every year. Working with sectors such as energy, transport, agriculture and industry to ameliorate the root environmental causes of ill health is crucial.
Something In The Air
As Reported in the L.A. Times, a recent study of teeneagers in Los Angeles and New York found that contaminants in indoor air made up 40-50% of particiapants' cancer risk. The two main culprits cited were Formaldehyde, from shelving, cabinets, and pressed-wood furnishings, and dichlorobenzene used in solid toilet deodorizers and mothballs.
And while on the topic of indoor air, check out this San Francisco Chronicle piece about "that new car smell." Marian Keeler reports that the smell we so fondly associate with new cars is indicative of the slurry of toxic chemicals airborne inside them. It's no surprise that, among other things, new cars are creeping with fire retardants and plasticizers.
Aparrently even our computers have a suspiciously alluring smell when new.
Vinegar for Whiter Whites?
Who'da thunk. Tossing some vinegar into your washer's rinse cycle whiten your whites without making your clothes smell like a salad. Throwing in some baking soda can strengthen your laundry detergent so you can use less of it. And hydrogen peroxide?
Check out these (and more) tips from The Myrtle Beach Sun News. See? Being good to the environment can also be good for your wallet.
Consumer Reports supports EWG findings
The magazine Consumer Reports is warning pregnant women not to eat
any tuna at all because the government can't assure us that even
supposedly-safe light tuna won't contain excessive levels of mercury, which
harms developing brains.
As reported in the Chicago Tribune:
"This is important information that women need to hear," said Jean Halloran, the director of food policy at Consumers Union and a member of an FDA advisory panel on mercury in seafood. "We think that high exposures, even for a day or two, could be too much of a risk."
Consumer Reports bases its advice on a powerful investigation by the Chicago Tribune last winter finding that some light tuna, which on average appears to be lower in mercury than albacore tuna, actually contained more mercury than the albacore. The Tribune also quotes an FDA official admitting that they kept light tuna on the
low-mercury/low-concern list for consumers in order to protect tuna companies.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) researchers have pressured the Food and
Drug Administration for years to give women of childbearing age clear,
accurate advice about which fish to eat or avoid, ultimately coming up with
a fish list (link) and a tuna calculator that lets them see based on their
weight how much tuna they can safely eat.
Click here to see all of EWG's research on mercury in seafood.