Research
In California, Latinos More Likely To Be Drinking Nitrate-Polluted Water
In California's San Joaquin Valley, the nation's leading agricultural region, Latinos make up the great majority of farmworkers.
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Research
Food Additives State of the Science
A new EWG guide brings attention to food additives, commonly found in many processed foods, that can increase the risk of cancer, harm the nervous system, change the body's hormonal balance and affect the immune system.
At Conference of Top Cancer Researchers, EWG Presents New Analysis Showing Nitrate-Polluted Tap Water Could Cause 12,500 Cancer Cases a Year
Drinking water contaminated with nitrate could be responsible for more than 12,500 cases of cancer each year, according to a peer-reviewed study by Environmental Working Group presented today at a...
Research
Drinking water: New frameworks needed to account for multiple contaminants and protect public health
To make sure all communities have better and safer drinking water, EWG research strives to push federal agencies to increase public health protections and invest in drinking water infrastructure. Our recent work shows how important it is to update federal legal limits that make public health the priority. Drinking water in communities across the U.S. contains mixtures of contaminants – including
As Okla. Attorney General, EPA Nominee Did Nothing to Protect Oklahomans from Toxic Swine Waste
Oklahoma has a dangerous and widespread groundwater pollution problem caused by illegal discharges of toxic swine waste from industrial-scale swine Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs...
Wisconsin’s Big Ag lobby threatens clean water rule
Wisconsin’s proposed nitrate pollution rule, critical to protecting the health of more than 1 million residents, is in danger of being blocked by a group of lawmakers beholden to industrial...
California Drinking Water Pollution Traced to Fertilizers and Animal Waste
Animal waste and fertilizer from farming operations in California's Salinas Valley and Tulare Lake Basin are the source of 96 percent of the nitrate contamination in the area's groundwater, a new...
Low-Cost Solutions Can Clean Up Farms’ Toxic Water Pollution
Low-tech, low-cost prairie strips on farms – buffers of grass, trees or other permanent vegetation planted along the banks of rivers, streams, lakes and other waterways – can reduce toxic farm...
Minnesota Legislator Who Believes ‘Water Cleans Itself’ Defends Potato Giant’s Irrigation Expansion in Fragile Pineland Sands
From November 2019 to February 2020, Minnesota environmental regulators met several times behind closed doors to fabricate a rationale for not holding the nation's largest potato grower accountable...
EWG water atlas links water pollution to heavy fertilizer use in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin
The Environmental Working Group today unveiled its innovative water atlas, which shows a close link between heavily fertilized cropland in four Upper Mississippi River Basin states – Illinois, Iowa...
EWG’s Tap Water Database Drives Research, Public Awareness
Since 2005, Environmental Working Group's Tap Water Database has been the authoritative source for consumers, journalists and researchers who want to know about contaminants in the nation's drinking...
Des Moines Just the Tip of the Iceberg for Iowa’s Nitrate-Contaminated Tap Water
In 2015, Des Moines Water Works sued upstream counties to reduce manure and fertilizer runoff into the city's drinking water supply, drawing attention to nitrate pollution. But nitrate contaminates...
EWG News Roundup (12/11): EWG VERIFIED® Diapers Launches Nationwide, Tom Vilsack as Biden’s Top Pick for Ag Secretary and More
EWG News Roundup (12/11): Here's some news you can use going into the weekend.
Iowa’s Private Wells Overrun With Agricultural Contaminants
Private wells across Iowa are contaminated with unsafe levels of two agricultural contaminants, according to an investigation by the Environmental Working Group and the Iowa Environmental Council.
Research
Case Study: Iowa Cities Struggle to Keep Farm Pollution Out of Tap Water
The Raccoon River in central Iowa runs through one of the most intensely farmed regions of the nation. Agriculture is vital to the area's economy, but polluted runoff from farms poses an acute threat to residents' tap water – and a daunting challenge to utilities struggling to keep the water clean.
Lawsuit Dismissal Spells Bad News for Iowa Water Quality
Central Iowans got bad news about the quality of their drinking water on Friday when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works against three northern Iowa drainage districts.
Unregulated Farm Pollution Dirties Calif. Air and Water
A study released this week by the University of California, Davis, found that farming is the biggest source of nitrogen pollution in California, contributing harmful pollutants to the state's air and...
EWG Investigation: Manure Overload Threatens Water in Minnesota’s Farm Country
Manure from Minnesota's 23,000 animal feedlots threatens to overload nearby cropland with chemicals that can pollute lakes, streams and aquifers, including drinking water sources, a new Environmental...
Nearly 100 Cancer-Causing Contaminants Found in U.S. Drinking Water
EWG's just-released Tap Water Database shows that a startling number of cancer-causing chemicals contaminate the nation's drinking water. Of 250 different contaminants detected in tests by local...
More Ethanol Means More Toxic Water Pollution
Some corn ethanol lobbyists are pushing to triple the amount of ethanol American fuel makers put into gasoline, moving from the current blend, called E10, or 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent corn...
Corn Lobby Offers Flawed Data To Deflect Blame for Dead Zone
A new study released today by the US Geological Survey shows that efforts to reduce nitrate levels in the Mississippi River Basin are having little impact. Nitrates come mostly from the over...
Research
U.S. drinking water infrastructure needs large federal investment
Congress may soon spend billions to upgrade our aging drinking water infrastructure, which would significantly improve the safety of our drinking water and create tens of thousands of jobs. The following EWG reports and maps detail the health threats posed by chemicals and contaminants in our water and the benefits of new investments.
Taking a Stand Against Those Who Pollute Drinking Water
Keeping water clean and safe enough to drink is a tough job, especially when there are forces that sabotage this vital public health goal.
Research
Dead in the Water
It is one of the toughest environmental problems facing America. For over 20 years, scientists have documented the appearance of a summertime "Dead Zone" that all but obliterates marine life in what is arguably the nation's most important fishery, the Gulf of Mexico. Each year the Dead Zone grows to an area that is roughly the size of New Jersey - ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 square miles.
