New study links low-level lead exposures to kidney damage in kids

When I was a kid, there was lead in paint and gasoline (which could explain a lot...). Thankfully, both uses were stopped in 1978 and 1996, respectively. As a result, blood lead levels (the way human contamination is measured) have...

Growing veggies in my (leaded?) urban soil

I live in an old house (1911) and used to work in affordable housing, so the dangers of lead paint aren't new to me. And with toddlers around for years now, I know to avoid paint chips in the mouth...

Women's health: An Enviroblog round-up

While it may be true that for each and every day, week and month on the American calendar there is something to celebrate or advocate, this week we're into it. Why? Because it's National Women's Health Week. It's also a...

A new target for deadly lead?

Special to Enviroblog by EWG senior analyst, Sonya Lunder. Yesterday Janet Raloff of Science News wrote about a new study linking lead levels in older women to an increased risk of mortality. Naila Khalil and colleagues at the University...

Two toxic chemicals out of the children's toys, hundreds more to go

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, aimed at keeping lead and toxic plastic chemicals called phthalates out of children's toys, went into effect yesterday. Congress enacted this law last year in response to numerous recalls of over...

Study links tap water to high lead levels in Washington children

Special to Enviroblog by Alex Formuzis, EWG Director of Communications Researchers have found a shockingly high lead levels in the blood of young Washington, D.C. children tested between 2001 and 2004, when the District of Columbia's drinking water was...

The real problem with fake grass

I suffer every spring in Washington DC because of the smell of the fake grass that surrounds my apartment building, my walk to work, my walk in the park, my walk pretty much anywhere. I am not super-smell-sensitive, but...

Lead: Still in 35 percent of children's products

A new study tested over 1200 children's products still found on store shelves and found that 35 percent contain lead! Lead, as we all know, is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates in body over time. It can damage the...