ABOUT

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.

DONATE TO EWG!

Help us protect your health and environment!  Please donate $5 to EWG today.

GET EWG'S TIPS & ACTION ALERTS

Sign Up here to receive email updates and tips from EWG and stay informed on the issues that matter most to you.

ENVIROBLOG VIA EMAIL

Delivered by FeedBurner

 Enviroblog in your Reader

Get EWG widgets & blog badges.

Join EWG's live chat with Chef Ann Cooper

School lunch: More fruits & veggies, please!

Texas Schools are Drilling for Dollars

Why do blowouts take so long to fix?

SEARCH ENVIROBLOG

FIND PAST POSTS

select month November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004

FEATURED

Support the 2010 Safe Cosmetics Act. It's Urgent.

Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?

Cell phone radiation series - Part 2: 8 Ways to reduce your exposure

So what products CAN we use?

Test Your Knowledge of Cosmetics Safety: 8 Myths Debunked

EWG's Tips for Parents: The Series

EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure

EWG on TV

Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill

Toxic Tub?

Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water

Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen

BPA in baby formula & safe cosmetics

Ask EWG

What can I do about fluoride in my water?

What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?

What is "fragrance"?

Which infant formula is best?

Are stainless steel water bottles safe?

Is mineral-based makeup safer?

Ask EWG Archives

PEOPLE TALKING TOXICS

Breast Cancer Fund

The Daily Green

Eco Child's Play

Environmental Defense Fund

Green Moms Carnival

Grist

Healthy Child, Healthy World

Huffington Post Green

NRDC's Switchboard

Organic.org

Safer States

TreeHugger

TALK TO US

Did we miss something? Email Enviroblog.

« There are studies. And then there are studies. | Main | EPA widens rift with science advisers »

12th Annual Heinz Women's Health and the Environment Conference

Richard Wiles, the Environmental Working Group's Executive Director, and development associate Jocelyn Lyle joined more than 2,300 women for the 12th Annual Heinz Women's Health and the Environment Conference in Boston, sponsored by Teresa Heinz and Heinz Family Philanthropies.

Jocelyn's report:

When asked the question -- why women? -- Nena Baker didn't miss a beat but launched into a crisp, smart explanation of what she calls the" womb-to-tomb" exposure cycle." I had never heard the phrase before, but as I sat among 2,000 women nodding in unison, I realized how deeply we all felt about toxic chemicals that enter our bodies and those of our children through the air we breath, our food and water and consumer products

Before a baby is born, all its organs and tissues got through critical stages of development. The chemicals to which babies are exposed in the womb may cause permanent health problems.

Baker, author of The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being, spent 20 years writing for The Arizona Republic and The Oregonian, then left daily journalism behind to embark a journey seeking answers to questions about her world. What makes water-repellent jackets water-proof? Perfluorooctanoic acid. What exactly is in that yellow rubber ducky in your child's bathtub? Phthalates. Both are toxins.

"We are running a collective chemical fever that we cannot break," she says. "Everyone everywhere now carries a dizzying array of chemical contaminants, the by-products of modern industry and innovation that contribute to a host of developmental deficits and health problems in ways just now being understood."

At the Environmental Working Group, we are helping people understand this chemical fever and are working to change the way people think about chemicals. EWG 's pioneering biomonitoring work is creating common ground between the scientific and medical community and environmental organizations concerned with the effects of chemical contamination on human health.

Like Baker, EWG's search for the truth is motivated by the realization that pollution in people is the direct result of a weak federal statute, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976g, that does not require chemicals to be proven safe to be brought to market or stay there. The answer: the Kid-Safe Chemical Act, an overhaul of the federal government's approach to the toxins around us. For details about what EWG is doing to make this important legislation a reality, go to www.ewg.org/kidsafe.

Like Nena Baker and the other women in the room, EWG hopes our journey will lead us to the passage of the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act so our children can have a safer and healthier future.

« There are studies. And then there are studies. |