Diapers, Pacifiers, Hazmat Onesies -- Parenting in a Toxic World

Last week, the New York Times ran a D-1 story titled "Is It Safe to Play Yet?" on parents working to detoxify their homes, featuring EWG. On the same day, the Los Angeles Times ran a story on fracking in California, mentioning our recent report. On the cosmetics front, Self Magazine ran an interview they did with EWG senior scientist Olga Naidenko, PhD on healthier hair treatments. Here's a review of EWG in the media last week:

Natural Resources

Los Angeles Times: Oil extraction method widely used in California with little oversight

Hydraulic fracturing has been used on thousands of wells in California, according to the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based organization critical of the energy industry.

KPCC Southern California Public Radio: Oil fracking in Baldwin Hills: The controversial process gets a hearing

The meeting comes weeks after a report from the activist Environmental Working Group that accused state officials of failing to track fracking or collect enough data to assess its safety.

Also found in: Switchboard

Huffington Post: BP's Influence Peddling In Congress Bears Fruit Two Years After Gulf Spill

"The Gold Rush in the Gulf is back on and BP is one of the companies leading the charge, with a lot of help from Congress and the Obama administration," said Alex Formuzis, a spokesman for the Environmental Working Group. "The pace with which the oil companies are moving to increase deepwater drilling off our shores seems to suggest the worst oil spill to foul U.S. waters is a distant memory."

Columbia Patch: What is Fracking?

On the other hand, The Environmental Working Group (EWG) explains that now, natural gas producers are deploying a new gas drilling method called high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing to release gas locked in previously untapped shale formations.

Toxics

New York Times: Is it Safe to Play Yet?

Then she typed the names of the cosmetics into an online database called Skin Deep, created by the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org/skindeep), a research and advocacy organization.

Architect Magazine: Material Culture

P+W's Paula Vaughan, AIA, and Diana Davis, AIA, cite a 2005 Environmental Working Group study, "Body Burden: the Pollution in Newborns," which found that out of 287 foreign substances in umbilical-cord blood from Red Cross samples, 250 were directly tied to building products.

McClatchy: Do Your Part: We all look good in green

Some ingredients can't even be found on the ingredient list because they're hidden under the term "fragrance." Visit CosmeticDatabase.org to find what's in the products you use.

Salem-News: FDA Forced to Consider Bisphenol-A Ban

In 2007, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a study showing that BPA leached from epoxy can linings into the surrounding food and drink.

Children Health Tips: Bisphenol A - A health hazard

If you are giving your baby formula, then go for the powdered variety, says the Environmental Working Group. Women who are pregnant as well as mothers who breast-feed their children should avoid eating canned food.

Brain and Head Health News: Common Chemicals Linked to Infertility

A 2004 study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) actually found blood samples from newborns contained an average of 287 toxins, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and Teflon chemicals.

Mom's Rising: Chemicals of Concern to Our Children

In fact, an alarming study by the Environmental Working Group found that at least 287 hazardous industrial chemicals pass through the placenta to the fetus.

Bounteous: Spring cleaning with Castile Soap

According to the Environmental Working Group, many conventional cleaning products "contain ingredients linked to asthma, cancer, reproductive toxicity, hormone disruption, neurotoxicity and other health effects."

Mommypotamus: Guiding Your Child's Genetic Expression Through Holistic Orthodontics

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) did a study (2005) that shows 10 cord blood samples across US has 297 chemicals in them, 180 of them carcinogenic, and 217 are toxic to brain and nervous systems.

Cosmetics

Self: Healthier Hair Treatments in the Salon and at Home

Besides leaving strands dry and prone to breakage, the chemical has been linked to allergic reactions such as eczema, explains Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group.

Easy Eco Blog: Eco-friendly, Safe, or Green Cosmetics, Natural Make Up, and Skin Care

A good place to start is the EWG skin deep guide to cosmetics and personal care products database. They also have a nice printable guide.

Curly Nikki: Traditional Hair Dye, Henna & Honey Hair Lightening

Another very good article is from the Environmental Working Group connecting coal tar hair dyes with bladder cancers and non-hodgkin's lymphoma which you can read here.

Organic Gardening: Toxic Perfume Chemicals Linked to Cancer, Sperm Damage

The analysis, performed by the nonprofit Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a group with coalition members from the Breast Cancer Fund, Environmental Working Group, Clean Water Action, and other public and environmental health organizations, found that many top-selling fragrance products contain a dozen or more secret chemicals not listed on the labels, and multiple chemicals that can set off allergic reactions or disrupt hormones. Many have never been tested for safety on humans.

Water

Care2: 7 Good Reasons to Quit Drinking Bottled Water

According to Environmental Working Group's scientific study on bottled water vs. tap water, bottled water contains distinfection byproducts, fertilizer residue and pain medication . . . ahhhhh! Seriously - read this article.

In A Treehugger's World: So, Will You Still Drink Bottled Water?

An investigation by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found a variety of contaminants found in each brand of bottled water tested.

Disqus Comments