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Provision Banning Toxic Firefighting Foam on Military Bases Will Get Senate Vote

Friday, May 24, 2019
The Senate will soon consider a must-pass piece of legislation, including a provision to prohibit the use on military installations of firefighting foam containing the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Trump EPA Sets Tap Water Limit for Rocket Fuel Chemical 3X Higher Than Agency Scientists Recommend

Friday, May 24, 2019
The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to set a drinking limit for a toxic rocket fuel chemical three times higher than agency scientists recommended during the Obama administration.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Perchlorate
Water
Tap Water

EWG Board Member Michelle Pfeiffer Urges Congress To Reform Outdated Cosmetics Law

Thursday, May 23, 2019
EWG board member Michelle Pfeiffer met with federal lawmakers today to urge them to support bipartisan legislation to reform a woefully outdated law governing the cosmetics industry.
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Key Issues: 
Consumer Products
Cosmetics

Senate Environment Committee Considers Legislative Package To Combat PFAS Contamination Crisis

Wednesday, May 22, 2019
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing today to consider a number of legislative proposals that would begin to address the growing public health crisis from exposure to the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Two-Thirds of Sunscreen Products Offer Inferior Protection or Contain Worrisome Ingredients

Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Today EWG released its 13th Annual Guide to Sunscreens, which rates the safety and efficacy of more than 1300 SPF products, including sunscreens, daily moisturizers and lip balms with SPF values. EWG researchers found that two-thirds of sunscreen products still offer inferior sun protection or contain worrisome ingredients, like oxybenzone.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics
Consumer Products
Sunscreens
Cosmetics

Pressure Mounts on NC Lawmakers To Reject Duke Energy Rate Increase Bill

Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Calls grew today for North Carolina lawmakers to reject a bill backed by Duke Energy that would allow the utility to increase rates on consumers and move forward with expensive infrastructure projects paid for by its captive ratepayers.
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Key Issues: 
Energy
Renewable Energy
Utilities
Clean Energy and You
Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear
Federal and State Policy

Bill To Ban PFAS Chemicals From Food Packaging Would Eliminate Major Source of Exposure

Friday, May 17, 2019
A bill introduced today in Congress would ban the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS from use in a primary source of exposure to the compounds.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Food
Chemicals in Food

Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Set Legal Limit for PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

Wednesday, May 15, 2019
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Shelley Capito (R-W.V.), introduced legislation today to require the Environmental Protection Agency to set a health-protective legal limit for toxic fluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, in drinking water.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Jury Slams Bayer-Monsanto in Latest Roundup Cancer Trial

Monday, May 13, 2019
Plaintiffs awarded more than $2 billion in damages.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics
Glyphosate
Pesticides
Food

Duke CEO Threatens Action Against South Carolina Customers After Officials Vote Down Steep Rate Hike

Friday, May 10, 2019
The head of Duke Energy, the largest investor-owned electric utility in the country, threatened to pull back future investments in customer services in South Carolina after state regulators voted to cut the steep rate hike proposed by the utility.
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Key Issues: 
Energy
Utilities
Clean Energy and You

Bipartisan Bills Would Require Coordinated Cleanup of PFAS Chemicals at Federal Facilities

Friday, May 10, 2019
A bipartisan group of senators and representatives introduced legislation today to improve cooperation between state regulators and federal agencies, including the Pentagon, to address PFAS contamination near government facilities and military installations.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Gov. Newsom Bans Use of Brain-Damaging Pesticide In California

Wednesday, May 8, 2019
In a major move to protect California children, farm workers and their families, the administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today it will ban the use of a toxic pesticide shown to cause brain damage at even low levels of exposure.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics
Farming
Food

NYT: EPA Brass Ignored Agency Scientists’ Calls for Asbestos Ban

Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Top political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency ignored calls by agency scientists and lawyers to implement an outright ban of asbestos, according to internal memos obtained by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. The memos and the EPA’s actions were reported today by The New York Times.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Asbestos
Consumer Products

Mapping the PFAS Contamination Crisis: New Data Show 610 Sites in 43 States

Monday, May 6, 2019
The known extent of contamination of American communities with the toxic fluorinated compounds known as PFAS continues to grow at an alarming rate, with no end in sight. As of March 2019, at least 610 locations in 43 states are known to be contaminated, including drinking water systems serving an estimated 19 million people.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Duke-Backed Bill That Could Jack Up Rates for NC Ratepayers Passes State Senate

Friday, May 3, 2019
Legislation pushed by Duke Energy that could relax North Carolina regulators’ oversight of electricity rates passed the state Senate Thursday, sponsored by lawmakers who have received hefty campaign contributions from the powerful utility.
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Key Issues: 
Energy
Clean Energy and You
Renewable Energy
Utilities
Federal and State Policy

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Use of Monsanto’s Weedkiller, Glyphosate on Oats Used in Foods Marketed to Kids

Friday, May 3, 2019
The Environmental Protection Agency is formally requesting feedback on a petition submitted by EWG and food companies seeking to significantly limit the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer/Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, on oats that are used to make a wide array of children’s foods, like breakfast bars and cereals.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Glyphosate
Pesticides
Consumer Products
Farming

Why Duke, America’s Biggest Electric Utility, Is Also the Worst for the Environment

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Duke Energy is the largest investor-owned electric utility in the U.S. But a new report by Environmental Working Group reveals another distinction: Its puny investments in renewable energy, schemes to penalize customers who want to go solar, and environmental record make Duke public energy enemy No. 1.
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Key Issues: 
Energy
Renewable Energy
Utilities
Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear

Trump EPA Sides With Bayer/Monsanto Over Science, Claims Cancer-Causing Weedkiller ‘Safe’

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
The Environmental Protection Agency said today the active ingredient in Bayer-Monsanto’s carcinogenic weedkiller Roundup is safe, ignoring a growing body of independent research showing a strong connection between glyphosate and cancer in humans.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics
Glyphosate
Pesticides
Farming
Food

Federal Data: In a First, Renewable Energy Passes Coal as Source of Electricity

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
In a historic tipping point, renewable energy sources this month will generate more electricity in the U.S. than coal-fired power plants for the first time, new federal data show.
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Key Issues: 
Energy
Renewable Energy
Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear

EWG: A Novel Method for Assessing Combined Risk of Multiple Tap Water Pollutants

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
The array of toxic pollutants in California drinking water could cause more than 15,000 cases of cancer, according to a peer-reviewed EWG study that is the first ever to assess the cumulative risk from all contaminants in the state’s public water systems.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics
Arsenic
Chromium-6
Water

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