Testimony & Official Correspondence

EWG has been monitoring reports from Oregon regarding the discovery of formaldehyde in test samples of Brazilian Blowout – despite claims that the products are “formaldehyde free.” Oregon health officials found concentrations of formaldehyde that were more than 50 times greater than industry’s recommended 0.2 percent limit. They conducted tests following complaints from hair stylists who experienced “eye irritation, nose bleeds and difficulty breathing” after using Brazilian Blowout’s products.

Key Issues: 

Consumer Products

Cosmetics

EWG writes FDA commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg that a pivotal new study intensifies concerns about the danger of bisphenol A, plastics chemical and synthetic estrogen, to public health.

Key Issues: 

Chemical Policy

BPA

We are writing to express our serious concern about the recent decision of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to award a Specialty Crop Block Grant of $180,000 to the Alliance for Food and Farming, an industry communications group. According to CDFA documents, the group intends to use the money to “correct the misconception that some fresh produce items contain excessive amounts of pesticide residues” and to counter “claims by activist groups about unsafe levels of pesticides.”

Key Issues: 

Toxics

Pesticides

EWG comments to EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment question a case study’s failure to clearly present conclusions about the possible effects on people and the environment of nanoscale silver. EWG calls on the agency to conduct thorough health and safety evaluations of novel nanoscale materials prior to market entry.

Key Issues: 

Toxics

Chemical Policy

Nanomaterials

Consumer Products

Food Containers