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ENVIROBLOG VIA EMAIL
Fracking: Live chat with EWG & 'Gasland' director Josh Fox
Understanding Sunscreen: 4 Questions about SPF
Strawberry Lovers, Take Action
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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
How to give kids a green and healthy start
Every month we send our e-listers (yes, that could be you) a Healthy Home Tip.
Since last year, we've sent 12, ranging from picking better personal care products to greener cleaning and drinking clean water).
In May, we focused on giving kids a green and healthy start in 4 ways. Here are the basics - for the full story, visit EWG's Healthy Home Tip web page.
1. Reduce Mom's chemical exposures while pregnant
Pregnancy is a critical time. A mother's chemical exposures can adversely affect her baby in many ways. Talk to your doctor about lifestyle changes that are critical -- stopping smoking, cutting out alcoholic beverages, and eating right.
Beyond that, here are some simple, but important steps, you can take to further reduce risks during pregnancy -- and beyond:
2. Feed your baby safely
- Go organic and eat fresh foods.
- Drink safer water.
- Eat low-mercury seafood.
- Get your iodine.
- Choose better body care products.
- Wash maternity clothes before wearing.
- Identify lead sources and avoid them.
- Avoid painting and other chemical-intensive jobs when you are getting your nursery ready.
- Clean greener.
- Avoid gasoline fumes.
- Pick plastics carefully.
Breast milk is best, but when you're feeding breast milk or formula in a bottle, choose safer bottles and formula:
Use a safe bottle:
- Start with a clear silicone nipple.
- Use glass. Avoid clear, hard plastic bottles marked with a 7 or "PC."
- Don't use plastic bottle liners.
- Warm bottles in a pan of hot water.
Make safe infant formula:
- Choose powdered formula.
- Use filtered tap water.
3. Create an eco-healthy home
We created a short Healthy Home Checklist for you to use as you walk through your home -- and open your bathroom cabinet, look under your sink, and check those laundry supplies.
It's an easy, hands-on way to create a less toxic environment for your family. When you're done, you'll breathe easier (literally!) knowing that you've tackled the toxics that matter most in your home.
4. Clean greener at home
Cleaning might be a chore, but it doesn't have to be toxic, too! Safer products and practices are available and easy. Children accidentally exposed to harsh, corrosive cleaners can suffer burns to skin and eyes, and inhaling the fumes can cause lung damage.
Exposure to low levels of these chemicals over a lifetime may increase the risk of developing serious health conditions, such as cancer or reproductive problems.
Some simple steps to green your cleaning routine:
Dilute your cleaning supplies according to instructions and use only what's needed to get the job done.
- Less is more.
Open the window. Clean with windows and doors open so you don't trap air pollution inside your home.
Use gloves and other precautions. Cleaning chemicals may harm or penetrate skin and eyes -- check warning labels.
Keep kids away. Children are more vulnerable to toxic chemicals. If they like to help, let them clean with soap and water, not toxic cleaners.
Avoid "antibacterial." If your family is generally healthy, there's no need to use potentially toxic "antibacterial" products, according to the American Medical Association. Wash your hands with plain soap and water.
Never mix bleach with ammonia, vinegar, or other acids. These combinations can produce deadly gases.
Don't be fooled by labels -- buy certified green products. Label claims aren't always true. Cleaning supplies certified by Green Seal or EcoLogo meet green standards.
Try natural alternatives. Experiment with non-toxic options like vinegar and baking soda.
Take care with pine and citrus oil cleaners. Avoid using these cleaners especially on smoggy days, when the ingredients can react with ozone to produce cancer-causing formaldehyde.
Skip the biggest hazards. Avoid air fresheners, use a baking soda and water paste to clean the oven and tackle toilet stains, and use a mechanical snake to unclog the drain.
Get details on all four tips on EWG's Healthy Home Tips page.
A (video) Green Guide to Pregnancy
When I was pregnant with my second child, I read Sandra Steingraber's book, Having Faith, a haunting account of the effects of toxic chemicals on babies in utero, written while she was pregnant herself.
It opened my eyes to the critical importance of timing when it comes to chemical exposures, and spurred me to make some behavioral changes to reduce my exposures to toxic chemicals while pregnant (more organics, fewer and less toxic personal care products, and greener cleaning supplies, among them. For more ideas, see EWG's 11 Healthy Pregnancy Tips).
But for those among us with little reading time (parents in general!), this new video about environmental health during pregnancy covers a lot of ground on four topics in a mere 20 minutes:
- Environmental tobacco smoke,
- Beauty treatments and personal care products,
- Exposures in the home, and
- Food safety and healthy eating.
The video was designed to help prenatal healthcare providers and educators teach women how to reduce their risk of exposure to environmental toxins during pregnancy. The cast is diverse, the language is accessible (middle-school level), it's available in Spanish and there are home and classroom options (the classroom option is more expensive, but comes with a Workshop Leader's Guide, flyers, evaluation forms, a computer slide show presentation and full color printable handouts).
You'll get a sense of its tone in this trailer:
Your Green Guide to Pregnancy is an excellent introduction to the idea of an environmentally healthy pregnancy - that explains the importance of it along with simple how-tos.
You could (almost) eat this furniture
When I shop for furniture, I usually think of what NOT to get - no sprayed-on stain protection, no flame retardants, no unsustainable wood, and the list goes on.
So it's a relief to find out that there is at least one furniture maker who frees you from having to ask all those questions or fret over all those worries, because they're thinking about your health and the environment for you.
Introducing the Q Collection, a furniture line out of New York City that EWG President Ken Cook likes to joke he'd be happy to eat with a little mango salsa.
The Q Collection has a mission
This company's mission has to do with your home and the environment (how refreshing): Be people safe and planet safe. How? By designing and manufacturing long-lasting furniture that doesn't rely on harmful materials typically used in furniture and fabrics. That means making eco-healthy choices like:
- No formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is used in most furniture adhesives, but the Q Collection uses only water-based adhesives. - No polyurethane, no dacron
Polyurethane, a known carcinogen, is used as a topcoat and in the manufacturing of foam and dacron (part of foam padding) contains toluene. This company uses only water-based stains, topcoats and natural latex foam rubber. - No brominated flame retardants
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are banned in Europe but are still being used extensively in US upholstery manufacturing. - No heavy metals
Leather tanning is the most harmful of all fabric production processes because it relies on harmful heavy metals like chromium 6. - No toxic stain resistant chemicals
Fabrics often contain dioxin (typically as a byproduct of the dyeing and finishing processes), a powerful carcinogen that is also known to damage the human immune system. Dioxins are also on the "dirty dozen" list of persistent environmental pollutants (POPs). - Sustainably harvested wood, 100% certified
The source of most wood used to make furniture today is unknown. Unfortunately, it can come from some of the world's most threatened ecosystems, such as old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest or the Amazon rain forest. The U.S. is by far the largest importer of virgin timber from the Amazon. - Organic or European ecological cotton
Cotton is the world's most polluting crop because of enormous levels of pesticides and herbicides used in growing it. - Non-toxic, low-impact fabric dyes
Fabric dyes often contain toxic chemicals that are suspected to cause cancer, reproductive or developmental damage.
Find out more environmental health details about the kids' line.
Where to get Q Collection furniture
The Q Collection Junior (see nursery photo, right) is available online and in these stores in the US, Canada, Australia and the Cayman Islands. The studio line (all ages!) is available online or in their NYC Flagship store.
Beyond the sheer joy of knowing that it really is possible to find safe furniture for you and your children, there's a larger, important message here: making safe, environmentally friendly furniture is possible, and it doesn't have to break the bank. Thank you, Jesse Johnson & Anthony Cochran, for showing the way with the Q Collection.
[Gorgeous photo is of the Q Collection Junior line.]
Is your sunscreen in EWG's Sunscreen Hall of Shame?
When it comes to protecting yourself from the sun, it's easy to go wrong. To help you go right, instead, we whipped up a list of the really bad actors because sometimes, knowing what's on the "avoid" list is a good way to land a safer product.
To that end, here are some prime examples of products that typify what's wrong with the sun protection business - and remember, don't buy them - or their marketing claims:
1. Banana Boat Baby Max Protect, SPF = 100
Sky-high SPF protects against sunburn but leaves skin exposed to damaging UVA rays.
One of at least 79 sunscreens on the market this year with high SPFs (greater than "SPF 50+"), this product protects babies from UVB radiation and the sunburns it causes but leaves them exposed to UVA radiation that penetrates deep into the skin. UVA is known to accelerate skin aging and cause skin cancer (IARC 2009).
A standard industry sunscreen model estimates that the actual UVA protection factor for this sunscreen is only 9.3 - a far cry from 100 (BASF 2010). The best possible UVA protection in U.S. sunscreen lotions is currently about 20 (BASF 2010). Sunscreen makers are waiting for the FDA to decide whether to approve a wider selection of chemicals that could help boost UVA protection. In the meantime, high-SPF products may tempt people to stay in the sun too long, suppressing sunburns but upping the risks of other kinds of skin damage. EWG recommends that consumers avoid products labeled with anything higher than "SPF 50+" and reapply sunscreen often, regardless of SPF.
2. iS Clinical SPF 20 Powder & Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral Powder SPF 30
Loose powder sunscreens can enter the airways and may move from the lungs to the bloodstream. Health concerns include cancer and tissue damage.
These sunscreens are in a loose powder form. The particles of zinc and titanium they contain can offer strong UV protection for the skin, but they end up in the lungs, too, inhaled from a cloud of airborne particles with each use. There, they can cause damage. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies inhaled titanium dioxide as "possibly carcinogenic to humans," based on studies of rats and of people who work in dusty environments (IARC 2006).
Once in the lungs, the minerals may move into the bloodstream and throughout the body. In 2008 a research group based in China reported that nanoscale titanium dioxide like that used in many sunscreens can accumulate in the brain and cause lesions and other tissue damage (Wang 2008). Nano and micronized zinc oxide cause lung inflammation (Sayes 2007).
The bottom line? Sunscreen belongs on your skin, not in your lungs. EWG recommends that people stick to creams and avoid powders, pumps and sprays.
3. Hawaiian Tropic Baby Creme Lotion SPF 50
"Advanced UVA protection"? Not so much. Many U.S. sunscreens claim to provide "broad spectrum" protection that blocks both UVA and UVB rays, but the reality is that they don't. Hawaiian Tropic Baby Creme Lotion SPF 50 lists "Advanced UVA protection" on its website and "UVB/SPF with UVA" on its label. But it would earn only 1 star in FDA's proposed 4 star UVA labeling scheme, according to EWG analysis using a standard industry sunscreen model.
Hawaiian Tropic is not required to back up its claim of "advanced UVA protection," and the fact is that no currently available sunscreen chemical has been shown to block UVA rays effectively. Regulations in Japan and Australia prohibit making such claims altogether for products that provide such weak UVA protection (Diffey 2009), but there is no such restriction in the U.S.
Based on a review of partial label information published by online retailers, EWG researchers identified 218 beach sunscreens that claim "broad spectrum" or "full spectrum" protection for 2010. Many would garner only "low" or "medium" UVA protection in FDA's proposed labeling system.
4. Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection SPF 55
"Mild as water." Sure it is. Can a product be "mild as water to the skin" if the label warns to "Stop use and ask a doctor if rash or irritation develops and lasts"? And certainly when swallowed this product is nothing like water: "Keep out of reach of children" and "get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away," reads the warning label.
5. Anthony Logistics for Men Sunstick SPF 15
Safe for eyes? Not really. This product's directions tell users to "Apply to eye area," but the warnings advise: "Keep out of eyes."
Since there are no regulations to ensure it, you would hope that common sense would lead sunscreen makers to formulate products for use around the eyes that are actually safe for the eyes. No such luck!
Tip for consumers: Wear sunglasses and keep sunscreen (including from sprays) out of your eyes.
6. Panama Jack Naturals Baby Sunblock SPF 50
Potential hormone disruptor in baby sunblock. Panama Jack advises users of this baby product to "apply liberally."
Scientists who have researched a key sunscreen chemical in this sunblock, the potential hormone disruptor oxybenzone, advise the opposite: "It would be prudent not to apply oxybenzone to large surface areas of skin for extended and repeated periods of time, unless no alternative protection is available. There may be an additional concern for young children who have less well developed processes of elimination, and have a larger surface area per body weight than adults, with respect to systemic availability of a topically applied dose" (Hayden 1997).
This Panama Jack sunscreen is one of at least 26 sunscreens offered in the 2010 season with the word "baby" in their name and the chemical oxybenzone on their ingredient list. EWG advises consumers to avoid sunscreens containing oxybenzone. Plenty of safer products are available.
Oxybenzone is readily absorbed through the skin; government studies have detected the compound in 97 percent of the population (Calafat 2008). In rodents, it mimics estrogen and increases the weight of the uterus (Schlumpf 2004). In people, higher maternal exposures to oxybenzone have been linked to decreased birth weight in girls (Wolff 2008).
One more thing: This so-called "natural" sunscreen contains at least ten compounds that do not occur in nature. Most are made from petroleum.
7. Banana Boat Ultra Defense Sunscreen Stick SPF 50
"It doesn't break down," says the manufacturer of the Banana Boat sunscreen stick. Maybe it doesn't break down, but it also doesn't last forever.
You might think one coat would do you for a whole day. Not so. Even though sunscreen makers like Banana Boat often use stabilizing additives to keep their ingredients from breaking down in sunlight, the product still doesn't last forever on the skin. Sunscreens wash off in water and rub off on clothes and towels.
Tip for sunscreen users: Some sunscreen chemicals break down in the sun. They also wash off in water and rub off on towels and clothes - reapply them as directed.
8. Baby Blanket Tender Scalps Scalp Sunscreen Spray for Babies SPF 45+
"Instantly provides 45 times your babies' natural protection," claims the manufacturer. More like: Instant protection from sunburn, instant exposure to UVA rays.
While that may be true for UVB rays and the red burns and blisters they cause, it's not the case for UVA. This product would earn only one of four stars for UVA protection in FDA's proposed rating system, according to EWG's analysis. Your baby's scalp may not get burned, but UVA rays could instantly penetrate deeply and cause skin damage and trigger cancer later in life. At least 18 other products EWG assessed claim "instant" or "immediate" protection.
If your sunscreen made it into our 2010 Hall of Shame, go ahead and find a better one by searching our online database.
Fracking: Live chat with EWG & 'Gasland' director Josh Fox
"Everywhere I went, it was the same story: water trouble, health problems, hazardous explosive conditions - inside the house."So says Josh Fox, director of the film Gasland, when he describes his work documenting the natural gas drilling boom over the Marcellus Shale in the eastern United States.
The film, a compelling personal story and excellent assessment of this growing, under-regulated environmental health threat, premiers on HBO Monday, June 21st @ 9 PM (eastern).
Get the official house party guide (scroll down, on the left) and invite a few friends over to get up to speed and learn how to get involved.
Join us on Tuesday, June 22nd @ 2 PM (eastern)
Once you've seen the film, bring your comments and questions to our live chat with EWG fracking expert Dusty Horwitt and documentary filmmaker Josh Fox here on Enviroblog.
Read all about it in EWG's fracking report, Drilling Around the Law.
Understanding Sunscreen: 4 Questions about SPF
Pretty much all I knew about sunscreen growing up was that SPF was some measure of how much sunburn protection came out of the bottle. Hard to believe that (way back) in those days the great debate was "6 or 8," not 30 or 50 (or 100!). We even busted out the baby oil on occasion (oh, the teen years!).
In case you, too, wonder exactly what "Sun Protection Factor" does, or how much you need, or whether it's a meaningful measure - and of what, these 4 questions are for you:
1. What does "SPF" really mean?
SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is a measurement of sunburn protection, which is primarily from UVB rays. If your skin would normally burn after 10 minutes in the sun, for example, wearing an SPF 15 sunscreen would theoretically allow you to stay in the sun for 150 minutes (10 x 15) without burning.
This is a rough estimate, however, and your own skin, the type of activity you do in the sun (i.e. one involving water or sweat), and the intensity of sunlight may give you more or less safety. Note that SPF ratings can be confusing or misleading at times.
For example, the rating tells you about UVB protection, but nothing about protection from also harmful UVA rays which cause photo-aging and cancer. In addition, The Food and Drug Administration has expressed concerns that current testing methods may not be able to accurately and reproducibly determine SPF values for high SPF products.
2. How high of an SPF should I use?
Pick the SPF appropriate for your skin type and solar exposure. But remember that UVA protection in U.S. sunscreens maxes out at about 15, so higher SPF products will not fully protect your skin from sun damage.
The American Cancer Society recommends that people use a sunscreen with a SPF of at least 15, the American Academy of Dermatology opts for 30. Avoid sunscreens with SPF numbers higher than 50. More important than seeking out ultra-high SPF products is that you apply your sunscreen generously -- most people put on only a 1/4 to 2/3rds enough sunscreen to actually reach the product's SPF rating.
3. I use decent sunscreen with SPF 50, why do I still get burnt in the sun?
With proper usage of an SPF 50 sunscreen you should be able to get 50 times the solar exposure before burning had you not been wearing sunscreen. Proper usage ensures that you are applying sunscreen 20-30 minutes before solar exposure, applying ~1 ounce for your entire body (which is more than you think!), and reapplying frequently. Make sure to reapply every 2 hours and after swimming, sweating or toweling off.
According to a recent study applying half the recommended amount of an SPF 50 sunscreen will only provide SPF 7 protection, so make sure to use enough.
4. What's wrong with high SPF?
Theoretically, applying SPF 100 sunscreen allows beachgoers to bare their skin to sunshine a hundred times longer before causing the skin to burn: Someone who would normally redden in 30 minutes could remain in the sun for 50 hours before a burn would appear. But for high-SPF sunscreens, theory and reality are two different things. Here's what's wrong with high-SPF sunscreens:
- Extended sun exposure, same number of sunburns. Users of high-SPF sunscreens stay in the sun longer with a single application and get burned when the product's chemicals break down, wash off or rub off on clothes and towels. Armed with a false sense of security, they extend their time in the sun well past the point when users of low-SPF products head indoors.
- Increased exposure to potentially hazardous ingredients. High-SPF products contain greater amounts of sun-blocking chemicals than low-SPF sunscreens.
- SPF factors are based on two-to-five times more sunscreen than people actually use. In the real world, people get far less protection than the bottle advertises. In fact, people apply one-half to one-fifth the amount of sunscreen used in the laboratory SPF tests. Because of the physics of sunlight, that cuts the protection factor not by a factor of just 2 to 5, but by between the square root and the fifth root of the SPF.
Learn more about the problem with high SPFs.
Strawberry Lovers, Take Action
Methyl iodide: it's listed as a human carcinogen, is considered a neurotoxin and has been linked to late-term miscarriages. Now the state of California is poised to let farmers spray it on the state's strawberry fields - fields that provide over 85% of the US crop.
California's regulators are all but ignoring their scientific advisors by proposing a "safe" level of exposure (for those doing the spraying) at a rate 120 times higher than that recommended by their own scientists and an outside independent panel.
What's so bad about methyl iodide?
This toxic chemical, that gets extra precaution and a fume hood when handled in a lab, has been linked to thyroid disease, neurological damage, lung tumors and fetal harm. Both California state scientists and an outside review panel determined that when widely used as a pesticide, methyl iodide would have "a significant adverse impact on public health."
Too much at stake
But the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) appears to be putting the profits of strawberry growers and pesticide manufacturers above the interests of public health and is poised to allow farmers to sterilize their soil with methyl iodide, risking:
- The health of Californians living and working near any field where the pesticide is sprayed. DPR claims that safety measures such as buffer zones and tarps will prevent a dangerous level of human exposure, but enforcement of these safety measures is often lax.
- The health of farm workers who will face the highest exposure to the toxic poison. While DPR insists that the use of respirators and other precautions will make it safe, experience has shown that real life application of these measures often falls short.
- California's air & water quality. Methyl iodide is a particularly volatile chemical, and when released into the environment, there's a risk of contamination of air and groundwater.
There is still time for California's regulators to change their mind. Tell the California Department of Pesticide Regulation that use of methyl iodide should not be permitted in California. Anyone (even non-Californians) can email them a comment through June 29th. Below we've given you some sample text - feel free to add, or send as is today!
Sample Text:
I am concerned about the pending approval of methyl iodide for use as a fumigant on California fields. Agricultural spraying of this poisonous chemical, linked to cancer, thyroid damage and fetal loss, threatens farm workers, Californians living in agricultural areas, and the state's water & air quality. I urge the DPR to put the health of the state's citizens & environment first and withdraw its recommendation to approve the use of methyl iodide.
Thanks to .JenniferLeigh. & flickr for the photo
EWG's Sunscreen Quick Tips
Of course the best defenses against getting too much harmful UV radiation are:
- Protective clothes,
- Shade, and
- Timing.
But when those aren't options, it's time to get out the sunscreen.
Some sunscreens prevent sunburn but not other types of skin damage. Make sure yours provides broad-spectrum protection and follow our other tips for better protection:
Don't be fooled by a label that boasts of high SPF. Anything higher than "SPF 50+" can tempt you to stay in the sun too long, suppressing sunburn but not other kinds of skin damage. FDA says these numbers are misleading. Stick to SPF 15-50+, reapply often and pick a product based on your own skin, time planned outside, shade and cloud cover. Learn more about sky-high SPFs.
News about Vitamin A. Eating vitamin A-laden vegetables is good for you, but spreading vitamin A on the skin may not be. New government data show that tumors and lesions develop sooner on skin coated with vitamin A-laced creams. Vitamin A, listed as "retinyl palmitate" on the ingredient label, is in 41 percent of sunscreens. Avoid them. Learn more.
Ingredients matter. Avoid the sunscreen chemical oxybenzone, a synthetic estrogen that penetrates the skin and contaminates the body. Look for active ingredients zinc, titanium, avobenzone or Mexoryl SX. These substances protect skin from harmful UVA radiation and remain on the skin, with little if any penetrating into the body. Also, skip sunscreens with insect repellent - if you need bug spray, buy it separately and apply it first.
Pick a good sunscreen. EWG's sunscreen database rates the safety and efficacy of about 1,400 products with SPF, including about 500 sunscreens for beach and sports. We give high ratings to brands that provide broad-spectrum, long-lasting protection with ingredients that pose fewer health concerns when the body absorbs them
Cream, spray or powder - and how often? Sprays and powders cloud the air with tiny particles of sunscreen that may not be safe to breathe. Choose creams instead. Reapply them often, because sunscreen chemicals break apart in the sun, wash off and rub off on towels and clothing.
Message for men: Wear sunscreen. Surveys show that 34 percent of men wear sunscreen, compared to 78 percent of women. Start using it now to reduce your cumulative lifetime exposure to damaging UV radiation.
Got your Vitamin D? Many people don't get enough vitamin D, which skin manufactures in the presence of sunlight. Your doctor can test your level and recommend supplements or a few minutes of sun daily on your bare skin (without sunscreen). Learn more.
Download our 1-page sun safety tip sheet so it's handy when you need it.
Watch CNN's 'Toxic America' Special on June 2-3
CNN's chief medical correspondent for its Health, Medical & Wellness unit, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has put together an impressive 2-part investigative report on toxic chemicals in America. It airs this week, on June 2 & 3 @ 8 PM (EDT). He frames the series with a critical, timely question: Is enough being done to protect us from chemicals that could harm us?
Of course at EWG we know the answer is a resounding no. If you agree, sign our petition to Congress asking for a strong national chemicals law.
Join us on Enviroblog for an Open Thread during the June 3 show
We'll be watching live and hope you will be, too. Please share your thoughts with us and other Enviroblog readers as you watch. What did you learn? What changes might you make in your own life going forward? What did you think of the show?
In the June 3 broadcast, EWG President Ken Cook debates the head of a chemicals industry-funded front group, which should be interesting! Also included in the hour-long segment will be an interview with Healthy Child Healthy World founders Nancy and Jim Chuda.
Learn more about toxic chemicals from CNN Online
In addition to the 2-part TV series, CNN has put together excellent online information, such as:
- Toxic Chemicals Finding Their Way into the Womb
- 5 Chemicals that are Everywhere: Protect Yourself
- Fragrance Companies Withhold Chemical Information
- Presidential Panel: Cancer Risks Underestimated
- 'Dirty Dozen' Produce Carries more pesticide residue, group says
All about sunscreen: Live chat with EWG
On May 24th, we released our 4th annual Sunscreen Guide. While our basic message is pretty straight forward - cover up first, slop on some effective sunscreen next - the sunscreen choices are so plentiful as to confound even the most avid label readers (that's me).
So, once you've had a week (and hopefully a sunny weekend) to absorb the information - and some sunscreen chemicals - you've probably got a question or two. Maybe you're a little confused by ever-increasing SPF numbers? Or not sure which chemicals make the "must avoid" list, and why?
Join EWG to get some answers and learn a little more about sunscreen on Wednesday, June 2nd from 2-3 PM eastern, when we're hosting a live chat right here on Enviroblog with EWG sunscreen experts Jane Houlihan (Senior VP for Research) and Sonya Lunder (Senior Analyst).
