Like many color cosmetics, face paints can contain parabens, phthalates, synthetic colors, fragrances and other potential toxins or allergens — even lead — and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t have the power to regulate them.

Earlier this year 43 Girl Scouts at an event in Ohio were left with red, bumpy rashes after using Shanghai Color Art Stationery Co. Ltd. face paint. This Halloween the FDA is cautioning parents. “Most of these products are completely safe, but there have been reports of adverse events and allergic reactions,” Linda Katz, director of the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Color told USA Today.

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Apples are not only delicious and an easy snack, but also very healthy in numerous ways. What are the main benefits of eating apples? What are some great apple recipes?

Apples are a great source of dietary fiber. As a result, they are believed to reduce the risk of some cancers, they improve the functioning of the intestines, eliminate cholesterol from the digestive tract, cleanse the lungs and colon, and help to prevent and potentially cure appendicitis.

Apples are linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, stroke, asthma and Type 2 diabetes. Moreover, as Healing with Whole Foods reports, due to all the pectin apples contain, they can help to reduce blood cholesterol and remove toxic metals from the body such as lead and mercury. In addition, apples are also found to play a very beneficial role in cleansing the liver.

I love to eat apples with peanut butter. It’s one of my favorite breakfast combinations. But here are a couple of interesting apple recipes that go beyond my apple and peanut butter dish. Enjoy a rice casserole with apples or apple noodle pasta for lunch or dinner sometime!

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As much as I love the coming onslaught of electric cars, they use lots of materials that currently have almost no recycling infrastructure — especially when it comes to their batteries. The numbers vary by the type of lithium-ion battery used, but on average, for every 100 miles of pure-electric range, a lithium-ion battery needs to contain about 15 pounds of lithium.

Although the developed world has had robust systems in place for a long time to deal with the recycling of lead-acid batteries (in the U.S. more than 95% of battery lead gets recycled), the lithium-ion battery has a long way to go to catch up. Granted, lithium-ion batteries are not nearly as toxic as lead-acid batteries and so the urgency of developing a recycling infrastructure is virtually non-existent. In fact, lithium-ion batteries are classified by the U.S. government as non-toxic and “safe” to throw away in the regular trash.

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Lead is a metal found in the earth’s crust. However, due to human activity such as mining, burning fossil fuels and manufacturing, it has become more widespread. Lead is also toxic. Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body over time. At very high levels lead can be fatal; but even in small amounts it can cause serious health problems, particularly in children under the age of 6 who can develop mental and physical impairments.

Lead emitted into the air can be inhaled or can be ingested after it settles out of the air. Lead particles that settle in soil can last for years, which continues to be a major problem, particularly around highways and urban settings. Because they are more likely to ingest lead and their bodies are developing rapidly, children are most susceptible to lead exposure. There is no known safe level of lead in the body.

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Now the corporation is paying the price. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commision, the $2.3 million fine is the highest levied against a toy company. Thomas Moore, the acting commision chair, said,

This penalty should serve notice to toymakers that CPSC is committed to the safety of children, to reducing their exposure to lead and to the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

As we all full well remember, the lead recalls caused panic among parents. Mattel’s negligence in manufacturing had the collective consumer culture in the States pointing a big fat finger at China as the cause of problems.

But it’s not only China.

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The predicted cancer risk increase–up to 1 in 50 more cases per site–was due to arsenic leaching into the water table from unlined waste (coal ash) ponds. Non cancer health problems, including liver and kidney damage, were also shown to be at increased risk for residents living within a few miles of the waste ponds. Additionally, neurological damage from lead leaching was also a major risk finding.

The EPA did release an edited version of the study in August of 2007, but, according to environmental groups, it omitted the risks to marine animals. Environmentalist fear that the risk may be even greater than the study predicts, due to the fact that the EPA based its findings on a smaller survey data set (of total coal ash ponds)–40% less than the Industry reported in the subsequent year. Currently, there are at least 427 documented, coal ash waste ponds in the US.

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Back when I testified at the Vermont Legislature in support of a Lead in Children’s Products Bill (that did ultimately pass!), I heard compelling testimony from two doctors, who shared (quoted from Non-Toxic Kids):

“At the hearing I listened to the testimony from two doctors, Dr. Best of the George Washington School of Medicine and Dr. Bruce Lanphear, pediatrics professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. They explained how new research shows even low levels of lead (blood levels lower than what is considered “safe” at 5 mcg/L )can lead to multiple problems for growing children, such as reading problems, behavioral and attention problems, school failure, and a decreased IQ. Dr. Lanphear said “we should not wait for the CPSC and the EPA” as they often are prompted to act by individual state action, and can’t be counted on to lead the way.

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My kids were always wanting to play with whatever was attached to my body and sometimes we ran out of the house without stashing a toy or two in the bag, so wearing a safe toy would have been a great help in our world.

There are no small or movable parts on this bracelet… it is one piece of durable, flexible material.  The bands are designed to stand up to lots of bending and chomping.  It can be cleaned up simply by washing in warm, soapy water.  In addition to being free of nasty chemicals, this bracelet meets or exceeds all CPSIA regulations and it is made in the U.S.A.

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Water fountains in some L.A. schools tested up to 500 times the government level for lead, and high lead levels have been found in our capitol’s water system, but covered up with ‘science fraud‘.

In a nation that’s getting ready to distribute an economic stimulus package of astronomic size, where is the money to stop poisoning our kids?

The author of the exposé of the D.C. lead incident, professor Marc Edwards, an environmental engineer, had this to say: “There’s no question that lead in schools is a big national issue —especially in some of the older urban cities that have this old plumbing infrastructure.”

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We are honored to be featured on ZapRoot for discussing the Consumer Product Saftey Information Act (CPSIA); however, we have new information to share.  Today, members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce submitted a letter to chair Henry Waxman requesting a hearing to explore how CPSIA will affect small business, according to Z Recommends.

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Fancy a new online store for eco-friendly children’s products?  Green product website Ambitious Green calls itself a “fun place to buy great products at the center of today’s environmental issues, concerns, and debates.”

Says Ambitious Green: “We think the environment and education are challenging debates worth having. Every time you make a buying decision you are telling manufacturers and the market what’s important to you.   We share the same frustrations you do - finding products that are natural, functional, friendly and fun. We believe that what’s good  for you can be good for the planet.”

Here are a few of the latest toys at Ambitious Green:

Dancing Alligator, $19.99 (shown above) “This award-winning, wooden alligator pull toy struts his stuff as he wiggles, bobs and click-clacks along.”  These toys are made in Thailand by Plan Toys, a green company that emphasizes socially responsible manufacturing.   It’s green because it’s made of organic rubberwood, non-formaldehyde E-Zero Glue, water-based dye, recycled and recyclable material and soy ink and water-based ink.

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New research from the University of Cincinnati concludes that kids exposed to lead are more likely to become violent criminals as adults.

Scientists studied 250 children that were exposed to lead in utero and found the adults who had the highest levels of lead in their blood as children had the highest arrest rates as adults.  “These findings provide strong evidence that early lead exposure is a risk factor for criminal behavior, including violent crime.”

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From gently used clothing to handmade toys, we’ve raised our concerns about how the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) will negatively affect green families and businesses.

This law designed to protect our children is so poorly written, it will actually benefit big business and harm resale shops and natural toymakers.  As Stephen Lamar, executive vice president of the American Apparel and Footwear Association explained to the Redding Record Searchlight, “The law introduces an extraordinarily large number of testing requirements for products for which everyone knows there’s no lead.“  An exemption has been proposed for clothing and toys made from natural materials such as wood and wool, but what about library books? Yes, LIBRARY BOOKS!

Taking effect on February 10, 2009, the CPSIA will require all products for children under 12 be tested for lead, including books.  That means in order for a library to admit children under 12, they must test all of their children’s books or ban children from the library.

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Smoke on clothing, carpets and furniture is much more than a nasty smell, however. According to the New York Times, the smoke is a toxic brew of “heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor.”

Researchers have labeled it “third hand smoke.” What exactly is it? According to the Scientific American, “”Third-hand smoke is tobacco smoke contamination that remains after the cigarette has been extinguished,” says Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at the Dana–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston and author of a study on the new phenomenon published in the journal Pediatrics.”

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[Creative Commons photo by Andrew Ciscel]

Appalachian Voices teamed up with scientists at Appalachian State University to test water samples downstream from the spill. They found contaminant levels far above what is considered safe for drinking.

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But now jewelry that was purchased at major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Banana Republic, Lane Bryant, Express, Anchor Blue, Abercrombie & Fitch, Longs Drug Stores and CVS stores have violated California laws limiting lead content, according to the Center for Environmental Health and to the San Francisco Chronicle.

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That’s why we find the latest efforts to keep our children safe by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) alarming, as it will actually prevent safe, natural toys from small companies from reaching the US market.

Due to under staffing at the CPSC and the flurry of toy recalls that have occurred, the agency passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008. At first glance, this seems like good legislation, as it bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.  Such requirements will be easy to fund for large toy companies; however, small independent natural toy companies will not be able survive these extra requirements. 

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I’m disturbed at the flagrant disregard of our children’s health by big business in favor of increasing revenue through any means necessary.

Let me explain.

I read about toxins in 1 out of 3 toys yesterday. So I went to HealthyToys.org to look a little closer at the findings of their toxic toy rankings. At the top of the list of examples of Worst Toys was a Hannah Montana necklace.

Made in (no surprise) China.

The toxin? Lead.

406,510 parts per million (ppm) of lead.

Is my math fuzzy, or doesn’t 400,000 ppm also mean 40%?

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Reports the Chicago Sun Times, the economic downturn can cause parents to turn to secondhand toys and discount Web sites to fill that space under the Christmas tree. And experts on Wednesday warned that those toys could be ones that got into the country before inspectors started seizing tainted toys in 2005.

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Make sure you are reading all the packaging and choosing safe products to put on your child’s skin. This Halloween, Wal-Mart sold a package of six make-up crayons for $1.00. There are two warnings on the package. One proclaims, “This product contains LEAD”, the other proclaims that they may be a choking hazard for children under 3.

Do they get bonus points for telling us there is lead in the face paint? The bigger question is who in the world would knowingly include a toxic substance in an item marketed toward children? And what kind of corporate responsibility allows their buyers to order such an item and stock it on the shelves? Just one more reason to NOT shop at Wal-Mart.

For an option you know is safe, use the following face paint recipe.

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