Green Options

Sometimes I feel like an idiot for trusting the American government to protect our children. I mean really, I should know better by now.  I had just assumed any new chemical introduced into the US market would be tested for toxicity:  NOT TRUE!

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) does not require chemical companies to test the 700 new chemicals introduced into the US market annually for their toxicity.  This law is so bad the EPA has not even been able to ban the known carcinogen asbestos under TSCA after 10 years of trying!

Myth: Drinking bottled water is safer than drinking tap water.

Truth: You are being ripped off, and then poisoned, by drinking bottled water from unknown sources.

Recently found in bottled drinking water: Trihalomethanes, Haloacetic acids, Nitrates, Ammonia, Acetaldehyde, Hexane, Toluene, bacterial contamination, Arsenic, radioactivity contamination (and more…)

Not the sort of chemical cocktail you had in mind when you bought bottled water at the grocery store, now is it?

The results of a two year study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) were recently released, detailing the lab tests of 10 brands of bottled drinking water from 8 different states in the US.

The report is shocking.

38 different chemical pollutants were detected, with an average of 8 contaminants per brand. One-third of the chemicals they found are not even regulated in drinking water. Some brands, like Sam’s Choice (Wal Mart) and Acadia (Giant) contained cancer-causing chemicals at levels exceeding the standards for safety set by the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

Mothers exposed to phthalates during pregnancy may give birth to boys with incomplete genital development and impaired testicular function.

Shanna Swan, a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, authored a study recently, testing 106 expecting mothers’ urine for pthalates. They also looked at their babies at 12 months old, and found a correlation between the levels of pthalates in the mother’s body and certain physical traits, such as undescended testicles, smaller penis, and immature genital development.

Phthalates are an endocrine disruptor found in many everyday items, from PVC shower curtains to furniture to personal care products. Endocrine disruptors are seen by the body as hormones, and interfere with normal development, starting in the womb. If a male baby is exposed to something that lowers testosterone through interference, proper reproductive system growth doesn’t happen.

Teenage Girls Exposed to Hormone Altering Chemicals During Critical Development of Reproductive System

A new study on teenagers and toxic chemicals was released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and it has some very disturbing implications. Laboratory tests revealed that adolescent girls across America are contaminated with chemicals commonly used in cosmetics and body care products. The study of 20 teens found an average of 13 different hormone-altering chemicals in their bodies.

The laboratory tests found 16 chemicals from 4 different chemical families - phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks - in the blood and urine samples of the girls. Studies have linked these chemicals to potential health effects, including cancer and hormone disruption. This work represents the first focused look at exposure data for parabens in teens, and indicates that young women are widely exposed to this common class of cosmetic preservatives, with methylparaben and propylparaben detected in every single girl tested.

Every single girl tested had detectable levels of toxic cosmetics chemicals in their blood or urine!

How is this possible?

Toddlers Have Three Times the Level of PBDEs as Their Mothers

A new study finds that the concentrations of hormone-disrupting chemicals known as PBDEs in young children are significantly higher than their mothers. The investigation, conducted for the Environmental Working Group, tested blood samples of 20 mothers and their young children for PBDEs, a common fire retardant found in foam mattresses, furniture, and electronics.

According to the study, 11 different flame retardants were found in the children’s blood, and the levels were three times that of their mothers. Deca, a PBDE banned in Europe but still legal and unregulated in the US, was measured in 65 percent of the children. Two other fire retardant chemicals, Octa and Penta, are no longer made in the US, but are found in items made before the ban. Importing furniture containing Penta is still legal, due to a regulatory loophole.

Join Chic for a Cause : Stop the Spray ~ Our Body, Our Decision   

What? A fashion fundraiser to grow awareness about opposing the harmful effects of the aerial spraying of pesticides. When? May 30, 2008 Where? Muse Studios, 224 6th St. San Francisco, CA 94103 Time? 6-9 pm Admission? $10 Why? To stop the “Light Brown Apple Moth program” which is really a toxin dump on California! 

Last fall a pesticide was dumped on Californians that included ingredients that are carcinogens, mutagens as well as other toxic chemicals in microcapsules that reach deep lung tissue. Soon after spraying in 2007, 600 plus reports of illness were recorded such as respiratory distress, nausea and vomiting, as well as serious skin irritations. Now the spray is back and we need to take a stand! Sign the petition, participate in events if possible, and please help educate others.