News Releases

Monday night, June 13, is your chance to speak up on behalf of America's drinking water and to help protect your land from damage from oil and gas drilling.

The California State Assembly has passed legislation sponsored by Environmental Working Group and Earthworks to require oil and natural gas drillers to make public a complete list of chemicals they use in oil and natural gas hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) operations. The fracking issue has raised alarms in communities nationwide because some chemicals injected into the earth to break up rock formations and free oil and gas are known human carcinogens such as benzene, xylene, toluene and diesel fuel.

Only a scant number of chemical industry studies documenting Americans’ exposures to industrial chemicals appear on public databases maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and even fewer have focused on children’s exposures, according to an Environmental Working Group investigation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture ignored the intense pressure from the produce and pesticide industry and released its extensive annual analysis of pesticide residues on fresh fruits and vegetables this week without downplaying any of the findings. The release of the data comes after leading scientists and over 50,000 EWG supporters registered objections with USDA, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration to the unusual delay in making the information public. In past years, the government made test results made public in January; this year they were four months overdue.

The Environmental Working Group today will send the U.S. Department of Agriculture a petition signed by more than 50,000 EWG supporters who object to the department’s grant of $180,000 to a California-based pro-pesticide, big agriculture group.

The Obama administration panel named May 5 to study hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas drilling technique that injects thousands of gallons of chemical-laced water into the ground, is dominated by oil and gas industry professionals.

Skin Deep boasts a new look today, featuring smoother navigation, easier search functions and additional tips for consumers looking for information on the ingredients in their soap, deodorant, toothpaste and countless other personal care products.