News

In the absence of adequate federal regulation of hazardous chemicals, the states have stepped up to protect public health and the environment.

Three common environmental chemicals - lead, organophosphate pesticides and methyl mercury - may have effects on children's IQ in the overall population.

In 2007, two members of Congress traveling on a tax-funded junket scolded a Chinese government official over tainted Chinese-made products, including lead-tainted children's toys, being exported to...

On Jan. 4, President Obama signed into law theReduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act. The law will reduce the amount of lead allowed in faucets and plumbing fixtures to a tiny fraction of the old...

High-level lead exposure is a known risk for kidney disease. A new study sought to better understand the effects of low-level exposure, and found evidence that kids with blood lead levels as low as 2...

It's the Thursday before Halloween and my kids haven't quite decided what to be. Top runners at this point (it changes daily) are pretty standard: witch and princess.

Back in August of 2007, I was trying to work on vacation. I was squirreled away in a back bedroom surrounded by files and books when I got a Google alert. Millions of toys were being recalled because...

I live in an old house (1911) and used to work in affordable housing, so the dangers of lead paint aren't new to me. And with toddlers around for years now, I know to avoid paint chips in the mouth...

If you follow scientific news on autism, then you've probably noticed frequent reports of new discoveries of genes "linked" to the "disease."

Yesterday Janet Raloff of Science News wrote about a new study linking lead levels in older women to an increased risk of mortality. Women whose blood lead levels measure > 8 micrograms per deciliter...

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, aimed at keeping lead and toxic plastic chemicals called phthalates out of children's toys, went into effect yesterday.

Researchers have found a shockingly high lead levels in the blood of young Washington, D.C. children tested between 2001 and 2004, when the District of Columbia's drinking water was being contaminated...

I suffer every spring in Washington DC because of the smell of the fake grass that surrounds my apartment building, my walk to work, my walk in the park, my walk pretty much anywhere. I am not super...

When University of California-San Francisco researchers and health affiliates investigated an outbreak of lead poisoning in Monterey County, California, they found a correlation between consumption of...

Did you know that many cosmetics have a shelf life of only one year, and the applicators of some products, like eyeliner, need to be washed or discarded even more frequently? According to the FDA...

Question: There's an internet rumor that says you can check for lead in lipstick by rubbing a gold ring on the lipstick. If the lipstick turns black, it contains lead. Is there any truth to this?

A new report by ConsumerLab.com finds only 10 of 21 products tested meet the claims on their labels. Several of the multivitamin products tested contained high levels of lead, including one women's...