EWG has long known the Toxic Substances Control Act (aka "TSCA") needs to be overhauled. Most Enviroblog readers likely do, too - because we talk about it a lot.

But the notion that the nation's federal chemicals policy is toothless and ineffective isn't likely dinner table talk across America - yet.

Thanks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta's discussion of the problem on CNN earlier this week, it might be soon. Watch this 4-minute segment to get the basics on why TSCA should be reformed - now:

If 4 minutes isn't enough for you, be sure to catch Dr. Gupta's hour-long special on the subject, Toxic Town USA. It debuts on CNN April 24th (Earth Day) @ 8 PM eastern.

I was about seven years old, and frustrated from trying to curl my straight, limp hair when my mom taught me a saying she had learned from her mom when she was a young girl: "What price beauty."

This classic line refers, of course, to the lengths  to which we go for "beauty." As a second-grader, having sore arms after 35 minutes of setting curlers was a steep bounty for the temporary effect. Today it's clear that there are bigger stakes - our health and that of our children and our environment - and these stakes are just too high.

We need safer personal care products.  Here's why:

They contain toxic chemicals that affect our health.

• Phthalates are most commonly used for softening plastics. When it comes to their use in personal care products, they are a regular ingredient in fragrance and moisturizing beads. A 2008 report by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics brought the good news that companies are using less phthalates. However, until they're officially banned - they'll remain an ingredient of top concern due to their association with hormone disruption.

• Parabens are preservatives found in products with higher water content (think shampoo, conditioner, and lotion). They have also been found in breast cancer tumors, as they are another notorious hormone disruptor. Play it safe, and skip products using ingredients ending in - "paraben."

• Heavy metals - We took lead out of house paint over 30 years ago, so why is it still in lipstick? The FDA found lead in 100% of lipstick samples they tested. Arsenic, mercury and zinc are other heavy metals known to be in body care products. While some of these, such as zinc, are necessary in small amounts for the body, higher doses can lead to a variety of health effects. Lead and mercury are both known neurotoxins.Lets not forget that we have found all of these chemicals in people through biomonitoring studies, so not only are they in our products but they are in our bodies too.
  

As you can see, these chemicals come with health risks.

• Immediate reactions - Allergies, contact dermatitis, asthma, migraines... they are all common reactions to ingredients in personal care products. Remember when a bank was evacuated in Ft. Worth, TX last summer because of someone's perfume?
  

• Long-term consequences - What can be more frightening is what we don't see happen immediately after using these products. Cancer, endocrine disruption, and nervous system damage are some of the reported health effects of exposure to the ingredients in cosmetics products. This recent New York Time's article on skin lighteners is a good example.

• Unstudied risks of unstudied ingredients - Recall our conversation a few weeks ago about the ingredient data gap? Until we know the effects of these ingredients AND the effects of combining these ingredients, day in and day out, we're still playing a game of chemical roulette with our personal care products

I can wait a few months for that sweater I've been eying to go on sale. But I've run out of patience waiting for the price of beauty to drop.

This is part of our "Not in My Cosmetics" series. The first two posts are here and here.



[Thanks to Flickr CC and Orin Zebest for the photo "Staring At It."]

By Lisa Frack

Known, of course, for her movement-launching 1962 book, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson understood the important relationship between nature and chemicals. She raised her voice to inform others and protect the environment long before it was popular.

Carson's biographer, Linda Lear, describes her courageous role questioning the norms of her day:

Disturbed by the profligate use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson reluctantly changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long term effects of misusing pesticides. In Silent Spring (1962) she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world.

Carson was attacked by the chemical industry and some in government as an alarmist, but courageously spoke out to remind us that we are a vulnerable part of the natural world subject to the same damage as the rest of the ecosystem. Testifying before Congress in 1963, Carson called for new policies to protect human health and the environment. Rachel Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer. Her witness for the beauty and integrity of life continues to inspire new generations to protect the living world and all its creatures.

A Sense of Wonder: The documentary
In their 2008 documentary, A Sense of Wonder, Kauilani Lee and Bullfrog Films offer us a chance to remember (or, for some of us, to experience for the first time) what was going on with our country's environment and the quickly-expanding use of synthetic chemicals when Ms. Carson was in the thick of it, recognizing what others failed to see and courageously speaking out.

Since she put pen to paper about DDT, a lot has happened, hasn't it?

[Thanks to Wikipedia for the historical book image]

Special to Enviroblog by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, Co-Authors, Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things

The first question we usually get asked about our book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things, is: "What's up with the unusual title? A rubber duck? Dangerous?"

As any EWG fan will know, the answer to this is, unfortunately, yes.

Perversely, most rubber ducks these days aren't made of rubber at all. They're vinyl -- a plastic that's full of potent hormone-disrupting chemicals called phthalates. Whenever a child handles or chews the soft and squishy toy, the chemical is absorbed and begins wrecking havoc.

The rubber duck, that most beloved of household icons, perfectly symbolizes the new and surprising kind of pollution that threatens our health and environment. Pollution like:

• Stain repellent coatings on sofas and rugs,
• Bisphenol A in containers in the kitchen, and
• Triclosan in anti-bacterial soap (among others).

Our homes are full of presumably innocuous items that are turning out to be significant sources of hormone-disrupting pollutants. And our kids are the most at risk.

As advocates working on this issue, we wanted to experience these chemicals firsthand and to investigate their properties in a (very!) new way. To research our book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck, we decided to experiment on ourselves. Over a four-day period, we ingested and inhaled a host of things that surround us all every day, all of which are suspected of being toxic and posing long-term health risks to humans. By revealing the pollution load in our bodies before and after the experiment -- and the results in most cases are downright frightening -- we tell the inside story of seven common substances.

After achieving bestseller status in Canada, Slow Death by Rubber Duck has just been released in the US. The advance reviews are great. The Washington Post had this to say (read the full review):

Slow Death by Rubber Duck is hard-hitting in a way that turns your stomach and yet also instills hope for a future in which consumers make safer, more informed choices and push their governments to impose tougher regulations on the chemicals all around us.

Slow Death By Rubber Duck empowers readers with ideas for protecting themselves and their families and changing things for the better. If you're concerned about the level of toxins in your body and want to understand the hidden threats already in your home, you should read this book. You'll never look at a rubber duck the same way again.

Grab a copy on EWG's Amazon page (they get a percent of proceeds) or at your local bookstore. And please follow our US book tour herel. It includes a stop in DC with EWG President, Ken Cook on January 20th @ 6:30 PM at Busboys and Poets.

We hope to meet you soon. Thanks for your support! Together, we're making a difference.

By Travis Mitchell, EWG Press Intern

Now that that you've taken our cosmetics safety quiz (you have, right?), you're ready to hear about THE DATA GAP. It's like this:

We think consumers deserve to know that the products and ingredients they use every day have been tested for safety.

Unfortunately, a lack of industry regulation has left customers in the dark about the safety of many of their personal care products.

Consider this: out of the 10,500 (!) unique ingredients found in our cosmetics, about 20 percent have been tested or analyzed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In fact, the FDA has no authority or systematic process to review most cosmetic ingredients. This "data gap," as we call it, is a serious concern for consumers. Given that the average adult uses about 126 different chemicals a day in personal care products alone, it's important to recognize that the missing information and unknown implications of these ingredients mean potential health risks for consumers.

Thankfully, EWG's Skin Deep database picks up where industry and government leave off.

Along with assigning a hazard score (from 1 to 10) to each of the 53,000 (and growing) products and roughly 9,000 ingredients, EWG's product database also includes another number: the percent of ingredients for which there is no safety data, aka "the data gap." The higher this percentage, the less is known about the ingredients. While we can't fill this data gap, EWG can highlight the known facts, empowering consumers to make better choices with known hazard information.

Keep in mind that EWG doesn't consider the "data gap" when assigning the hazard levels of personal care products in Skin Deep. In fact, the two scores are separate from one another. So assessing a product based on hazard score alone doesn't give you a complete picture.

It's also important to realize that just because an ingredient is labeled as "natural" doesn't mean it's been tested for health effects. Ingredients such as pine, rosemary and sage are examples of ingredients with a Skin Deep rating of zero - with no safety data available.

So the next time you're using Skin Deep to find safer products, take a look at the amount of information available - and not available - on each ingredient and choose products with lower hazards scores and lower data gaps. That way you're making decisions based on data, not data gaps.

This is part of our "Not in My Cosmetics" series. You can catch the 1st one right here.

By Lisa Frack

"This is the beginning of the end for brominated flame retardants."

So said Richard Wiles, EWG senior VP for policy, upon learning last week that the major manufacturers of decaBDE have agreed to stop making it.

Who agreed to what, with whom and when?
Late on December 17th, three large chemical companies and officials of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a deal to voluntarily phase out the toxic flame retardant Decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca), which is heavily used in consumer electronics, furniture, textiles and plastic shipping pallets.

The voluntary agreement with bromine industry giants Chemtura, Albemarle and ICL Industrial Products would end production, importation and use of Deca in all consumer products by December 2012. A full ban would take effect one year later.

A voluntary agreement isn't enough
The joint announcement came just two days after legislation to force a phase-out of Deca was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine). The Decabromine Elimination and Control Act of 200 (H.R. 4394) would ban Deca in all products, including those designed for children, by the end of 2013. In a statement issued on December 17th, Rep. Pingree said,

I am encouraged by this [industry-EPA] eleventh hour agreement, and if it is followed it will achieve my primary goal with this legislation--getting Deca out of our environment. The chemical industry hasn't always lived up to voluntary agreements. This bill will make sure they do.

EWG Senior Scientist Sonya Lunder had a similar take on the need for Congressional action, despite the agreement:

Deca is a potent neurotoxin and suspected carcinogen that puts children at risk. It needs to be banned. We applaud the Deca phase-out deal. It's an important step forward, but as a voluntary agreement, it does little to ensure that the substitutes for Deca are safe.

Rep. Pingree's bill will give this phase-out the force of law and it will ensure that substitutes for Deca are safe. Until congress takes action to reform the federal toxic chemical law, it will take actions like this against individual chemicals to protect public health.

Why is deca a health concern?
EWG tests in show that Deca accumulates in people and their homes, and that children have the greatest exposures to the chemical. This is especially concerning because single-day exposures to Deca cause permanent changes learning, memory and behavior in newborn mice. In our 2008 report on PBDEs in toddlers and their mothers, we explain the risks associated with Deca exposure:

Like other PBDEs, Deca upsets the developing brain and reproductive system. But recent studies indicate that it also impacts the reproductive system, possibly at even lower exposure levels.

In addition to its direct toxicity there are serious concerns that Deca breaks down in the environment to form PBDEs with fewer bromines, which are more persistent and bioaccumulative in people.

In the meantime, we recommend that you follow EWG's Healthy Home Tip 3 on how to avoid fire retardants to reduce your family's exposure to PBDEs.

'Tis the season to be jolly cooking. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

In the next two weeks, you're probably going to do some (or possibly tons of) holiday cooking. You'll buy ingredients, cook, clean -- and enjoy some leftovers. It's a great time to do a little "greening" before the guests arrive.

EWG makes it easy to prepare your holiday feasts with your family's environmental health in mind. Just follow these simple tips as you shop, cook, eat and clean:

Cook with safer foods
The food we eat can contain ingredients we don't want to eat -- from pesticides to food packaging chemicals. To find safer foods, we suggest that you:

• Buy organic when you can. Organic produce is grown without pesticides, so when you eat it you're not also eating toxic chemicals. Organic meat and dairy products also limit your family's exposure to growth hormones and antibiotics.


• When you can't buy organic, look for less-contaminated conventional produce. Our Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce ranks popular fruits and vegetables based on the amount of pesticide residues found on them. Check out the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides.


• Avoid food containers that leach packaging chemicals into food, especially canned foods (the can linings contain bisphenol-A) and greasy fast-food wrappers. Instead, head for fresh food or prepared foods in glass containers. Pick recipes that call for fresh, not canned, foods.

Use non-toxic cookware
Skip the non-stick so you don't breathe toxic fumes (that can kill your pet bird!) while cooking on high heat. Non-stick pans are coated with a synthetic chemical (think Teflon), and, while convenient, they emit toxic fumes when overheated.

Non-stick cookware is in most American kitchens. Is it in yours? If it is, use it safely. If you can, cook with safer alternatives. Here's how:

• Choose safer cookware. We suggest cast iron, stainless steel and oven-safe glass. Yes, there are many new products on the market, but we don't know enough about them to know if they're safe. Even if they're advertised as "green" or "not non-stick," manufacturers do not have to release their safety data to the public. If you're in the market for a new pan, purchase it through Amazon and a portion of your purchase total will go to EWG!


• Cook safer with non-stick if you're 'stuck' with it. You can reduce the possibility of toxic fumes by cooking smart with any non-stick cookware you happen to own: never preheat nonstick cookware at high heat, don't put it in an oven hotter than 500 degrees F and use an exhaust fan over the stove.

Store & reheat leftovers safely
Leftovers are an inevitable result of holiday cooking. Avoid plastic when storing and (especially) when heating them. Here's why -- and how:

• Skip the plastic food storage containers if you can. We know that chemicals routinely migrate, or leach, into food and liquids placed in plastic containers. Ceramic or glass food containers (like Pyrex) are safer.


• Don't microwave food or drinks in plastic containers, even if they claim to be "microwave safe." Heat can break down plastics and release chemicals into your food and drink. Microwaves heat unevenly, creating hot spots where the plastic is more likely to break down.


• If you must use plastics, handle them carefully. Use them for cool liquids only; don't reuse single-use plastics; wash plastics on the top rack of the dishwasher, farther from the heating element (or by hand!); use a paper towel instead of plastic wrap to cover food in the microwave.

Clean greener
You clean before holiday guests arrive and after they leave -- and while you cook. But do you clean green? We recommend that you do, because our homes aren't safe and clean if the air inside is polluted with chemicals from household cleaners. It's really quite easy:

• Choose safer cleaning products. Try natural alternatives (vinegar, baking soda and water!). Avoid anti-bacterials (here's how). Avoid the biggest hazards (acidic toilet bowl cleaners, air fresheners, oven cleaners, and corrosive drain openers).


• Adopt safe cleaning routines. Open the window. Use gloves. Keep kids away from toxic products. Dust and vacuum often because dust often contains toxics.


• A few tips for the kitchen. Microwave your sponge. Wash your hands with plain soap and water -- it's just as effective. Use a baking soda & water paste instead of commercial oven cleaner.

These tips are part of our Healthy Home Tips series - read all 7 and sign up for the rest here.