The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services added 12 substances to their list of known human carcinogens, including formaldehyde and styrene, this month. Styrene is a precurser to the plastic polystyrene, or PS (#6), which is one of the most commonly produced plastics in the world. Several billion kilograms of the stuff is produced [...]
Archive for the ‘Chemicals’ Category
10 Jun
Roundup causes birth defects
I live in a community filled with wonderful parks and open spaces. However, since having children, I have enjoyed these spaces with some hesitation, knowing that they may be sprayed with herbicides and insecticides. I have even seen the Parks and Recreation department of my city spray the natural grasses areas of the parks, not [...]
7 May
American Academy of Pediatrics calls for Toxic Substances Control Act to be revised
It has long been known that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 is outdated and ineffective. Most notably, the TSCA does little to protect our most vulnerable–pregnant women and children–from dangerous chemicals in the environment. A company that wants to use a chemical in a product can do so without first testing for, [...]
4 Nov
Precaution and prevention
It is clear that in America, we do not take a preventative approach to our health. Rather than use precaution and limit the use of materials that may pose a risk to our health, we mass produce products and insist they are safe until proven otherwise. Essentially, we are using ourselves and our children as [...]
30 Sep
Slow Death
The book Slow Death by Rubber Duck doesn’t sound like a pleasurable read, but it is! Well, at least as much as could be given the subject matter of toxins that are slowly poisoning us and our environment. The two Canadian authors, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, decide to experiment with phthalates, BPA, mercury, and [...]
5 Jun
Toxic America
CNN just aired a couple episodes of a show they called Toxic America. I found the Toxic Towns episode depressing, but enjoyed the Toxic Childhood one. There really wasn’t any additional information shared by Dr. Sanjay Gupta about toxic chemicals that can’t be found on this blog, but I was really pleased to see this [...]
8 May
Environment and Cancer
Cancer is a subject near and dear to my heart. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago and one of my dearest friends with brain cancer last year. The fear of my children developing cancer or some other disease because of chemicals in their environment that I could have protected them from [...]
28 Apr
Cleaning the shower safely
Our master bathroom shower is all white tile. It was a cost-effective choice when building our home, but man is it a pain to keep clean! The minerals in our water supply leave a pink residue in the shower and black mildew is very obvious on the white tile and light grout. I’m ashamed to [...]
19 Feb
Buying an organic mattress
We have been in need of a new crib mattress. While we are expecting our third baby (and you’d think we already had a crib mattress), we have decided to keep our 2 year old on it in his crib for now. We bought a second hand crib from a neighbor but didn’t want to [...]
16 Feb
Sign the petition to support the Kid Safe Chemical Act
The Environmental Working Group wants to collect 75,000 signatures to show that Americans support the Kid Safe Chemical Act. We don’t think that current chemical legislation is adequate (see my letter) and believe that all chemicals should demonstrate safety before they can be sold. The EWG has already gotten 40,000 signatures in one week. Consider [...]
