EWG Accomplishments for 2009 and 2010

Toxic chemical reform

• The Obama administration made a major public commitment to reform of the nation's outdated toxics chemicals law. At a historic conference to explore fundamental changes to U.S. chemical policy, hosted by EWG on Oct. 6, Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, pledged to work for "comprehensive reform" with "special consideration for exposures and effects on groups with higher vulnerabilities - particularly children." Jackson and EWG leaders met to discuss the administration's strategy on Feb. 23, 2010. Recently EWG president Ken Cook asked the House panel with jurisdiction over toxics policy to give top priority to so-called persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs) and other dangerous contaminants detected in infants' cord blood. Cook and other EWG experts testified in support of single chemical bans and broader chemical policy reform legislation in nine states -- California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- plus the District of Columbia.

Energy policy

• EWG analyses such as Crying Wolf: Climate Change Will Cost Farmers Far More Than a Climate Bill , Ethanol's Federal Subsidy Grab Leaves Little For Solar, Wind And Geothermal Energy and America Needs a True Renewable Energy Policy, changed the national conversation about corn ethanol by underscoring the false promises of conventional biofuels as a solution for climate change and energy independence.

Banning BPA

• Major baby bottle manufacturers switched to non-BPA plastic. Lawmakers in Minnesota, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington state, Suffolk County, NY, and Chicago voted to ban BPA in food packaging for babies and young children. The California Assembly voted 35 to 31 for a similar ban, falling just short of 41 votes needed for passage. Final action was postponed to 2010. Meanwhile, California regulators proposed to add warning labels to canned and bottled food containing leached BPA. The matter is now under active consideration within the California Environmental Protection Agency.

Highlighting cell phone radiation risks

• EWG's first-ever guide to cell phone radiation, released September 9, 2009, went viral through the blogosphere in a matter of hours, logging more than 1.5 million visitors (in just September) and setting new EWG records for sign-ups and commentary. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) embraced major aspects of EWG's recommendations on cell phone safety.

Shedding light on secret chemicals

• EWG's ground-breaking January 2010 report, Off the Books, documented that a loophole in the toxics control law has permitted industry to keep secret more than 17,000 chemicals. The report prompted a front-page story in the Washington Post and spurred the Environmental Protection Agency to begin denying some confidentiality claims. Regulators in 13 states asked Congress to crack down on excessive secrecy. EWG senior scientist David Andrews briefed Congressional and EPA officials.

Pushing for more effective sunscreens

• EWG's three-year campaign for more effective sunscreens was affirmed by 70 percent of sunscreens offered for the 2009 beach season that contained strong UVA filters, compared to just 29 percent in 2008. EWG 's 2009 sunscreen guide contained new sections on moisturizers and lipbalms. The number of sunscreens containing oxybenzone, a hormone disruptor approved by FDA as an active ingredient in sunscreen, dropped by 19 percent in 2009.

Banning phthalates

• A federal ban went into effect February 10, 2009, for phthalates, a toxic plasticizer, in children's toys and childcare items.

Phasing out Deca

• Under pressure from EWG and other advocates, EPA and three chemical companies agreed to end production, importation and use of Decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca), a neurotoxic chemical and possible carcinogen, by the end of 2013. Deca, commonly added to consumer electronics, furniture, textiles and plastic shipping pallets, is biopersistent and presents particular dangers to children. EWG continues to support a federal ban and rules to assure safe substitutes.

Protecting ground water from gas-drilling chemicals

• In January 2010, EWG's report, "Drilling Around the Law, by senior mining analyst Dusty Horwitt, disclosed that companies drilling for natural gas and oil with a process called hydraulic fracturing were injecting toxic petroleum distillates into thousands of wells, skirting federal law and threatening drinking water supplies from New York to Wyoming. The report sparked Congressional investigations. On September 10 and December 12, 2009, Horwitt testified before the New York City Council Environmental Protection Committee that the watershed supplying city water was threatened by fracking.

Saving the Grand Canyon

• Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar reversed the Bush administration decision and imposed a two-year moratorium on new mining claims on 1 million acres around Grand Canyon National Park.

Fighting for safer tap water

• For the first time, EWG partnered with the New York Times to assemble and analyze water-testing data for 48,000 U.S. communities for a Times series called Toxic Waters. EWG compiled 20 million tap water quality tests performed by water utilities between 2004 and 2009. The EWG report, which generated dozens of media reports and hundreds of blogs, found that some drinking water supplies, while legal under federal safety standards, contained unsafe contaminants. Meanwhile, in August 2009, the California government proposed a strict safety goal for hexavalent chromium, a water pollutant known as the "Erin Brockovich chemical." Once the goal of .06 parts per billion in drinking water, is established, regulators plan to embark on a rule-making process to set a legally enforceable upper limit for chromium-6 in the state’s water supply.

We’ve been providing information to consumers about issues impacting their health for years. Read about our past accomplishments here.