Green Options » toxic chemicals

EWG Gives School Cleaning Supplies Their Report Cards (and it ain’t pretty)

Terri Bly — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:17:18 +0000

Last week, while volunteering at my daughter’s classroom Halloween party, I flinched a little as I saw one of the other parents dutifully strolling around dispensing the requisite waterless, chem-filled hand sanitizers. Aside from my skepticism that anti-bacterial soaps will actually do much to kill a virus, I also suspected the ingredients in the sanitizer weren’t much better than the germs they were designed to kill. So when the teacher instructed two of my daughter’s peers that they were supposed to wash their hands with soap and warm water instead (apparently per parental instruction), I quickly chimed in that I wanted Eliana to do the same. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what other chemicals were being sprayed around the room when the cleaning staff arrived.

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An Agricultural Scientist’s Food Supply Worries Part 2: Vomitoxin

Steve Savage — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:51:36 +0000

I need to be very careful in what I say about this topic because it would be easy to scare people beyond what is rational. I could also also easily make enemies in the Wheat industry which is about the last thing I’d like to do. I’m going to try to hit the right balance, but it is risky.

Mycotoxins

Most people don’t know that Mycotoxins are a very real issue in our food supply. These are nasty, natural chemicals that are produced by certain fungi that infect crops. This is not something new. In Medieval times there was a wide-spread neurological disorder called “Ergotism.” It was caused by mycotoxins in the rye crop produced by a disease called “ergot.” The poor people who lived off of rye, rather than wheat, were disproportionately effected.

Mycotoxins are still an issue today. 2009 has been a particularly bad year for a toxin called “vomitoxin” in wheat, barley and pasta wheat. Its not a secret, but unless you read the farm press or trade news, you would never know. Sometime do a Google News search for “vomitoxin.” If there is rain when these grains are flowering, they can become infected with a fungus called Fusarium graminierum. The disease starts by reducing the farmer’s yields, but it can also produce a toxin in the remaining grain called deoxynivalenol (more commonly called DON toxin). The trade term, “vomitoxin,” comes from the physical response that animals have if they are fed too much of this contaminated grain (which is obviously not pretty).

700 New Chemicals Introduced Each Year Not Tested for Toxicity

Jennifer Lance — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:33:34 +0000

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!

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Toxic Chemicals in Wal Mart’s Bottled Water

Derek Markham — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:21:14 +0000

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.

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Honey, We Shrank His Penis.

Derek Markham — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:25:34 +0000

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.

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Toxic Teens: Common Cosmetics Chemicals Alter Hormones, Disrupt Puberty

Derek Markham — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:52:53 +0000

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?

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New Study Finds High Levels of Toxic Fire Retardants in Children’s Blood

Derek Markham — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:51:35 +0000

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.

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

Lucille Chi — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:23:59 +0000

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.

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