Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 11:35AM 
The EPA has announced a new product lable for household products that are safer for the environment. Lets hope they have a good filter for choosing these products, especialliy in light of our recent post about VOCs found in green products.
EPA Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 08:25PM Researches at the Universtiy of Melbourne have determined that products markets as 'green', 'organic', and 'non-toxic' actually can emit a range of substances harmful to humans. Investigators comapred volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from products, such as air fresheners, cleaning products, laundry supplies and personal care products. About one quarter of the VOCs emitted were classified as toxic. Of all of the VOCs emitted fewer than 3% were listed on the ingrediants.
“The paradox is that most of our exposure to air pollutants occurs indoors and a primary source is consumer products. But the public lacks full and accurate information on the ingredients in these products. Our indoor air environments are essentially unregulated and unmonitored,” Professor Steinemann said.
Read more in Business Insider
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 12:45PM 
One particular product purchased from a Family Dollar store in Maine — a $2 package of 18 brightly colored earrings — contained 6,548 parts per million of lead. Federal regulations require all children’s products manufactured after Aug.14, 2011, contain no more than 100 parts per million of total lead content.
Monday, January 12, 2015 at 12:19PM 
University of Calgary scientists say they think their research is the first to show that bisphenol-S, an ingredient in many products bearing “BPA-free” labels, causes abnormal growth surges of neurons in an animal embryo. The same surges were also found with BPA, though not at the same levels as with BPS, prompting the scientists to suggest that all structurally similar compounds now in use or considered for use by plastic manufacturers are unsafe.
BPA and its alternatives are found in many polycarbonate plastics as well as the linings of food cans and register receipts. The chemical an endocrine disruptor, which mimics estrogen, and has been linked by many studies to prostate cancer, infertility, asthma, heart disease and a number of neurodevelopmental disorders. Researchers found, in this study, that BPA and BPS (the alternative) specifically affected male brain growth potentially indicating why more boys are diagnosed with autism. “Finding the mechanism linking low doses of BPA (or BPS) to adverse brain development and hyperactivity is almost like finding a smoking gun,” Hamid Habibi, one of the authors of the study, said in a news release.
Science | 2 References Friday, December 12, 2014 at 01:05PM 
A recent study linked lower IQ in babies born to mothers with higher levels of phthalates. The chemicals, Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP), are found in many common products, including, vinyl upholstery, shower curtains, plastic food containers, raincoats, dryer sheets, lipstick, hairspray, nail polish, certain soaps and chemical air fresheners.
The study, published in the journal PLOS One, tracked 328 women, control for their education and home envrionment and found that the children of mothers with the highest levels of DnBP and DiBP in their systems had IQ's of 6 to 7 points lower than children in the lowest exposure group.
In 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned six types of phthalates from use in toys and other products meant for children such as bottles and plastic cups and bowls. However, health officials have yet take to take steps to alert pregnant women of the risk that comes with using certain products that contain phthalates. Moreover, companies are not required to label the use of phthalates in products.
Thursday, November 20, 2014 at 11:55AM 
The house has passed a bill that would limit the way the EPA conducts is scientific research.
The Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 would require the Environmental Protection Agency to base its rules only on scientific studies whose data can be shared in sufficient details that other researchers can duplicate the research. A vote is expected within the hour, and this post will be updated with its results.
Supporters of the bill say they want to make sure that any scientific study that is used to regulate business be made available to the public. While this seems reasonable on the surface, opponents say it is another attempt to weaken the EPA.
“This bill does not permit me to mince words,” Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas said. “It’s an insidious attack on the EPA … and the culmination of one of the one anti-science and anti-health campaigns I’ve ever witnessed in my 22 years in Congress. It is born of the Republicans’ long-standing obsession with two seminal scientific studies conducted by Harvard and the American Cancer Society.”
Policy, Regulation, Science | 6 References Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 12:03PM 
...Many companies that raise funds for breast cancer also make products that are linked to the disease. Breast Cancer Action calls these companies “pinkwashers.” BMW, for example, gives $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure each time you test-drive one of their cars, even though pollutants found in car exhaust are linked to breast cancer. Many cosmetics companies whose products contain chemicals linked to breast cancer also sell their items for the cause...
Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 11:45AM 
Treehugger digs a little deeper into how the arsenic is actually getting into the apple juice. Here is a hint:
...China's air is awash in arsenic and lead from the profligate use of coal. Heavy metals sent up coal stacks fall onto plants and soil as particulate matter or are dissolved in rain before they precipitate on plants and soil. Plus, there is a chance they are using arsenic as a pesticide - a practice common in the West 30 to 40 years ago but no longer allowed...
Apple Juice, Arsenic, China Food | 7 References Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 11:27AM 
A growing body of research is linking five chemicals -- among the most common in the world -- to a host of ailments, including cancer, sexual problems and behavioral issues.
We encounter them every day -- in plastic bottles, storage containers, food wrap, cans, cookware, appliances, carpets, shower curtains, clothes, personal care products, furniture, television sets, electronics, bedding, cushions and mattresses. In short, every room in almost every house in the United States is likely to contain at least one of these chemicals, many of which did not exist a century ago.
They are bisphenol A, or BPA; phthalates; PFOA; formaldehyde; and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PDBEs. Tests reveal most of us now carry them in our bodies, but are they putting our health -- and the health of our children -- in jeopardy?
BPA, Body Burden, Formaldehyde, PDBEs, PFOA, Phthalates, Plastic, Teflon, Tips Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 11:22AM You are in a store, considering what to buy and you see a claim on a product -- maybe your cleaning product bears the Green Seal label, or a claim on the carton says the eggs are "Animal Welfare Approved." What's it mean? Is it backed up by good standards? Can you trust it? Check it out on Label Lookup on this web site or in our updated iPhone app, available here. We've researched roughly 200 different claims that can be found on product labels and gathered what we learned into this tool so that you can make informed product choices.
