"Let’s make this simple: Estrogenic Effects Come from Estrogens. (Duh). NOT from Plastics," By American Council on Science and Health. Of all the garbage “science” topics that we routinely cover, among the worst is the concept that miniscule amounts of so-called “endocrine disruptors”—chemicals that supposedly have an adverse impact on human sexual development—do anything whatsoever. The plastic component BPA and plastic softeners, phthalates, are the two poster children of the movement, but … [Read more...]
WTC-Dust and Cancer Claims
August 4, 2014
"Another Scare Story About Deadly WTC-Dust and Cancer," By American Council on Science and Heatlh. WTC RescuersThe issue of toxic dust and fumes causing a host of diseases and ailments among the heroic workers on 9-11 and subsequently who valiantly tried to find survivors of the terrorist attacks on NYC, is a touchy one. To many, it seemed obvious that breathing in the fumes and dust of that wreckage was bound to cause harm to the workers, despite the rather rapid pronouncement of “no risk” by … [Read more...]
Bee-pocalyse Trap
August 4, 2014
“The Buzz About a Bee-pocalyse Is a Honey Trap”, By American Council on Science and Health. ACSH friend and former trustee, Dr. Henry Miller of Stanford’s Hoover Institution, has another of his typically-erudite and incisive op-eds, this one in today’s Wall Street Journal. This has a wealth of bee-and-neonicotinoid-related information, all of which points to these twin dangers: Read more. … [Read more...]
Green Building Junk Science
July 16, 2014
"Are Healthy Buildings Built On Lies?" By Josh Bloom. The fad du jour (and I defy you to find a non-du jour day) is something that sounds like an absolute win-win. It has all the correct buzzwords—green, sustainable, environmentally friendly, endocrine disruptors, bioaccumulation. And many more. Today it's buildings. This is exactly what we at ACSH deal with every day in different forms. There is more than a passing similarity to the very successful promotion of organic foods, dietary … [Read more...]
Nutrition of Conventional Crops v. Organic
July 16, 2014
"Fewer Pesticides and More Antioxidants on Organic Crops: So What?" By American Council on Science and Health. A multi-center, international group of scientists culled the world’s literature and found several hundred studies which they then analyzed (a meta-analysis) to discern significant differences between conventionally-grown crops and organic crops (and foods made from them). They found, on average, a 17 percent higher level of “antioxidants” and a lower rate of detection of various … [Read more...]
Enjoy Those Fries: Acrylamide Fears Unwarranted
July 11, 2014
"Europe and Australia/New Zealand Buy into Misguided Acrylamide Scare," By American Council on Science and Health. Hasn’t the European Union’s European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ever heard the (very) old adage that “the dose makes the poison”? From what they say in their latest report on acrylamide, it does not appear so. Basing their decision to post a warning solely on animal studies, they warn that dietary acrylamide is a carcinogenic hazard to humans. And toeing the line with its … [Read more...]
Should We Fear Flames or Flame Retardants?
July 11, 2014
"Be Very Afraid of Flame-Retardants: NY Times Blog. Why? They Don’t (can’t) Say," By American Council on Science and Health. Another in the very long line of toxic terrors comes your way in today’s “Science” section of the paper of record, the New York Times. One of their favorites from their stable of scaremongers, Deborah Blum (writing, quite appropriately, in her “Poison Pen” blog), has taken the trouble to warn us, again, about the omnipresence of [insert the word “toxic” here as needed] … [Read more...]
Lawmakers Offer Foolish BPA Bill
July 10, 2014
“Senator Chemophobe” Again Tries to Ban BPA from Food Packaging," By American Council on Science and Health. He’s back at it again. Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts (along with two of his acolytes in the House) is now introducing a bill that would ban BPA from food and beverage containers. The Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2014, as the bill is named, would also give waivers to those manufacturers who want to seek “safer” alternatives to BPA, while requiring them to label their … [Read more...]
Chemical Misperceptions
July 7, 2014
"Debunked: Five Chemical Misconceptions, by American Council on Science and Health." Chemicals pervade all aspects of our daily lives — independent of the setting. Whether you are a city dweller or reside in a rural area, synthetic (as well as natural) chemicals encompass and sustain everyday life. Mark Lorch, senior lecturer in biological chemistry at the University of Hull emphasizes the impossibility of leading a chemical-free life as he debunks five common myths popularized by media and … [Read more...]
Pesticides and the West Nile Virus
July 7, 2014
"Killer sand, WMD Insect Spray, and other Idiocy," by American Council on Science and Health. Last year we at ACSH were instrumental in getting the village of Ocean Beach, located on Long Island, to overturn its decades-old chemophobic policy of refusing to participate in the mosquito control program that was routinely used in most of Long Island, as well as wide areas of New York City. We were prompted to do so after ACSH friend Jim Capuono—a six year survivor of colon cancer—nearly died from … [Read more...]
EU Stops Unscientific Ban on Phthalates
July 7, 2014
"Phthalates Given a Reprieve by the EU — Surprisingly, Given European Devotion to the Precautionary Principle," by American Council on Science and Health. Plastics! Nothing to Fear...In a surprisingly pro-science stance, the European Commission has swatted away a rebellion by the Danish environmental authorities to race ahead of the science and institute a ban on 4 types of phthalates. These plasticizer chemicals have been targeted by many “environmental” and “consumer” NGOs over the past 15 … [Read more...]
Few Docs Express Concern about “Chemicals” to Expecting Moms
July 7, 2014
"Survey of Ob. Docs Fails to Find Many Who Discuss “Chemicals” with Moms-To-Be, by American Council on Science and Health. A survey sent to thousands of regional Ob-Gyns by a group from the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California-San Francisco revealed an intense lack of concern among those specialists about environmental chemicals as impacting their pregnant patients. The authors, led by Dr. Naomi E. Stotland, sent out a 64-question survey to over 20,000 California … [Read more...]
Pesticides and Autism Link?
June 23, 2014
"UC-Davis Group Links Pesticides to Autism — Without Measuring Pesticides. What?," by American Council on Science and Health. There they go again: a group of “academics” long-devoted to finding pesticide toxicity by any means necessary has accomplished their goal! What goal, you ask? They have attained a vast amount of media attention (sure, mostly in the “enviro-blogosphere,” but many mainstream folks have swallowed this whole as well, thanks to the PR folks at UC-Davis and that font of … [Read more...]
BPA Politics
June 9, 2014
"Politicizing Livers: No, We Are Not Kidding," by American Council on Science and Health. An op-ed by Merrill Matthews in Investors.com, the online blog of Investors Business Daily would seem to say no. The piece entitled Left Wants EPA To Ban Chemical FDA Says Isn’t Harmful describes how a common and harmless chemical—bisphenol A, aka BPA— has turned into a political rallying point for groups that have nothing better to do than to try to ban it. They may be misguided, but at least you have … [Read more...]
Chemical Scare Stories Debunked
June 2, 2014
"Popular Chemical Misconceptions Debunked," By American Council on Science and Health. Our environment is a mosaic of chemicals that add to our everyday living. Despite their ubiquitous presence and essential role in society, chemicals continue to be vilified by the media and interest groups. Making Sense of Chemical Stories is a consumer friendly 16-page guide stripping the negative impressions surrounding chemicals and their relationship to human health and the environment as a whole. The … [Read more...]
Friends of the Earth’s Phony Science
May 30, 2014
"Espousing Phony Science? You Better Hope Hank Campbell Doesn’t Find Out," By American Council on Science and Health. ACSH friend (and the creator of the enormously popular Science 2.0 website) has the uncanny ability to sniff out bad (and hypocritical) science, and when he does, he is not shy about speaking his mind. This time he goes after the radical environmental group Friends of the Earth, and by the time they read his piece they will not be “Friends of Hank.” His message is about the … [Read more...]
“Pesticide-Free” Claim Debunked
May 16, 2014
"Organic ‘Pesticide-Free,’ and Other Claims Debunked," by American Council on Science and Health. Now that the claim that organic foods are more nutritious than conventionally-produced ones is rarely espoused by responsible writers, organic producers and adherents have fallen back on the “fewer pesticides” claim. But is that really accurate? Blogger Steven Savage says no, not really. In his essay on why organic farming is less than optimal from an environmental point of view, Mr. Savage points … [Read more...]
Endocrine Disrupters in Your Backyard?
May 12, 2014
"The Newest 'Endocrine-Disruptor' Can Be Found in Your Backyard, Claims a NY Times Op-ed," by American Council on Science and Health. It’s starting to feel a little bit like summer on the East coast now, which means people are clean up their yards and gardens. And that means using “chemicals”, which according to an op-ed by physician Diane Lewismay in the NY Times, can end up in drinking water. Is that true? And if so, are these chemicals (generally pesticides and weed-killing herbicides) … [Read more...]
DDT and Malaria
May 12, 2014
"DDT Research is “Biased and Erroneous” If You’re Gonna Screw Up, You Might As Well Do It Really Well," by American Council on Science and Health. Screen Shot 2014-05-09 at 1.58.22 PMIf there is a more obvious case of bad science, and its impact on human health, we’d like to see it. Because it turns out that DDT, the evil chemical blamed by Rachel Carson in her 1962 book Silent Spring for thinning of bird eggs, does no such thing. And the consequences of this “error” are tragic—one million … [Read more...]
Feeding the World with the Help of Herbicides
May 12, 2014
“'Atrazine and The Forever War on Science' Makes for Scary yet Incisive Reading," by American Council on Science and Health. In a brilliantly-written perspective piece on his Science 2.0 blog, Hank Campbell skewers a lot of folks who really need skewering. His scythe and rapier draw blood from his targets, and his insights accrue to the reader: the rampant chemophobia pervasive in America, where “chemicals” are feared when they are recognized at all; the pandering of pseudo-journalists giving a … [Read more...]
Rodent Tests Don’t Justify Proposition 65 Listing
May 5, 2014
"DINP’s Placement on Prop 65 List is not Warranted," By American Council on Science and Health. Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP) was added to California’s ever-growing Proposition 65 list of “known carcinogens” late last year. However, Elissa Sterry, VP for ExxonMobil’s Intermediates Global Business, told the Consumer Products Safety Commission that the rodent studies upon which this decision was based were essentially meaningless. She says, “the relevant mechanisms of cancer development are not the … [Read more...]
Butterworth On Target Regarding BPA Research
May 5, 2014
"Trevor Butterworth and (butter)worthless claims about BPA," By American Council on Science and Health. The always dead-on Trevor Butterworth once again hit the bullseye in his op-ed in Forbes.com. And in his unique way, he makes the perennial critics of BPA—a component of the plastic that seals canned foods—look rather foolish. ACSH’s Dr. Josh Bloom is in complete agreement: “After reading this piece, it would seem rather obvious that the dozens of studies and papers on the ‘health effects’ … [Read more...]
World Malaria Day
April 25, 2014
"World Malaria Day: April 25, 2014," by American Council on Science and Health. Today marks the 8th annual official recognition, via World Malaria Day, of the horrendous toll taken by the mosquito-born infection. ... Read more. Watch the Video: … [Read more...]
Organic Mommy Mob
April 25, 2014
"The Beliefs of the ‘Organic Mommy Mafia’ Are on Trial," by American Council on Science and Health. “‘Am I going to be an outcast?’ A friend, who recently moved to an upscale neighborhood in Madison, Wis., called me last week to ask if she would be able to make mommy friends if she continued feeding her children — gasp! — non-organic food.” This is how Naomi Schaefer Riley begins her piece in the New York Post, in which she very accurately describes the emergence of a group of parents called … [Read more...]
More Chemical Scares
April 10, 2014
"It’s Whacko Wednesday: Two More Asinine Chemical Scares," by American Council on Science and Health. Screen Shot 2014-04-09 at 1.05.06 PMAt ACSH we shout a lot. Sometimes even at each other. But most of the time it takes the form of shoutouts to like-minded writers and websites (and there aren’t that many) that believe that real science, not agenda-driven nonsense, should actually be used to guide public health policy. Today’s shoutout #1 goes to the prolific (and brilliant) Trevor … [Read more...]
More NYT Alarmism About Plastics
March 31, 2014
"It Never Stops. Monday: Phthalates, Tuesday: BPA, Wednesday: Phthalates, Thursday: BPA, Friday: Phthalates …." by American Council on Science and Health. It’s a good thing there aren’t more days in the week, cause this could get awfully tiresome. But on March 21st (a Friday) those of us who were unfortunate enough to stumble upon Deborah Blum’s piece “A Plastic Threat to Male Fertility” were treated to a world-classless tutorial on (of course) phthalates—which come across as one of the most … [Read more...]
Autism and Environmental Toxins
March 17, 2014
"Just When You Think Science Can’t Get Any Junkier, This Comes Along," by American Council on Science and Health. We at ACSH are sure that you have heard us comment repeatedly that nothing surprises us anymore, because we’ve already heard it all. Yet, we must once again eat crow, because we STILL can’t get this right. Just when we think (or are maybe even sure) we’ve seen it all, it turns out we haven’t. Not even close this time. Today’s “How in god’s name can you publish this and keep a … [Read more...]
Anti-Public Health: Green Agendas
March 17, 2014
"Essay Attacks “Environmentalists” for Anti-Public-Health Agendas," By American Council on Science and Health. Richard Tren has long been well-known as a fervent proponent of the more widespread use of public-health insecticides, especially DDT, to prevent the scourge of malaria in Africa. He co-founded “Africa Fighting Malaria,” and co-authored several tomes and articles on this subject. His current op-ed in Forbes.com, “Anti-Science Environmentalists Ban ‘Neonic’ Insecticides, Imperiling … [Read more...]
“Food Babe” Wrong About Chemicals
March 17, 2014
"The Food Babe Hath Spoken, And Subway Bread Will Still Suck," By Josh Bloom. I would like to nominate Arvind Mahankali to be the next head of the USDA. Why? He is obviously very smart, has an outstanding work ethic, and a superb vocabulary. He may have even reached puberty. And if he hasn’t, give it a year or so. Arvind is 13. But if you are concerned that he may not yet have what it takes to run an agency with a $24 billion budget and the responsibility of protecting us from unsafe foods, … [Read more...]
Yellow Journalism, PCBs, & Environmental Health Perspectives
February 24, 2014
"Another Chemical Scare: Yellow Dye this Time. Yawn," by American Council on Science and Health. Public health concern about polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) had, we believed, been laid to rest in 1979 when 1976’s Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) was used to ban commercial use in manufacturing. Since PCBs do not occur naturally, and remain in the environment for many years, most environmentally detectable sources of PCB have been attributed to “legacy” sources. However, an Environmental … [Read more...]
Myth: Chemicals Affect Sperm Counts
February 24, 2014
"Stupid story of the day— The War On Men: 10 Ways Masculinity is Under Attack," by American Council on Science and Health. Here we go again. Mixing science with politics. We all know how well that works. Yet, Paul Joseph Watson, writing on Infowars.com manages to do just this—with a side order of chemical scares tossed in, and the result is predicable—a big mess. Watson “identifies” ten ways that men are being emasculated. The first two have to do with the “seismic shift” in the balance between … [Read more...]
Dopey Messages and Chemical Risk
February 17, 2014
"The Dopes Make The Poison," By Josh Bloom. Wherever he is, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim a/k/a Paracelsus must be doing the Foxtrot in his grave. Because somehow a bunch of dopes have managed to “correct” something he got absolutely right 600 years ago. You know what it is. Unfortunately, the dopes are not so dopey when it comes to spreading their message: Because a chemical is toxic or carcinogenic in high doses (usually in rodent experiments) that it poses a danger … [Read more...]
Subway Restaurant Bows to Alarmist Nanny State
February 10, 2014
"The Latest Example of a Company Bowing to Consumer Pressure: Subway," By American Council on Science and Health. Here is yet another example of one of the nation’s largest brands responding to pressure from American consumers and activist groups. Subway has chosen to remove the chemical azodiacarbonamide from its bread. According to a statement made by the company, “We are already in the process of removing Azodiacarbonamide as part of our bread improvement efforts despite the fact that it is … [Read more...]
Beepocalypse or Not?
February 7, 2014
"To Bee or Not to Bee? What is Behind the Bee Colony Collapse? Or is There One?" By American Council on Science and Health. The discussion about the reasons behind the so-called “beepocalypse” has been entirely focused on its cause. Some suspects have been cell towers, pesticides, and infectious diseases—Tobacco Ringspot Virus being the latest theory. But if you follow some of the references in Jon Entine’s recent Forbes op-ed, entitled “Bee Deaths Reversal: As Evidence Points Away From Neonics … [Read more...]
Phthalate Plasticizers Now Safe
February 7, 2014
"Several Types of Phthalate Plasticizers, Used for Decades but Once Shunned, Now Safe Again!" by American Council on Science and Health. Posted on February 5, 2014 by adminPhthalates — pronounced THAL-ates — are a family of chemicals, many of which are have been added to PVC plastic to make the firm product softer and flexible. Over the course of the past decade-plus, no chemical group in common use has taken such vitriolic attacks on its safety as have phthalates.In recent years, a distinction … [Read more...]
Europe’s Precautionary Junk Science
January 27, 2014
"Junk Science Rules in the EU, says Parliamentarian," by American Council on Science and Health. A Wall Street Journal Op-ed by a member of the EU Parliament decries the direction being taken by science there: it’s back to the dark ages as fear trumps evidence. In a recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, MEP Julie Girling, a Brit on the Parliament’s Environment (and Agriculture) committees, issues a warning about the direction EU chemical food regulation is headed: smack-dab into a … [Read more...]
NYT Promotes Foolish Fears About Nail Polish
January 13, 2014
"Be Afraid of Your Nail Polish, says the NYTimes’ 'Ask Well' Column. Really?" by American Council on Science and Health. This is what happens when you let your “health” advice column be taken over by an “environmental writer.” This week’s Science section of the New York Times included an advisory about cosmetics entitled, “Is nail polish harmful?” So what sort of answer would you expect? What if you substituted “artichokes” for “nail polish”? Certainly too much H2O can be harmful: more people … [Read more...]
Federal Regulators Inquire about Antibacterial Soap
January 6, 2014
"What’s in That Soap? Inquiring Federal Regulators Want to Know," by American Council on Science and Health. The FDA, after years of evading activist and scientific inquiries into the actual benefits and risks of certain chemicals in “antibacterial” soaps, has finally taken action, demanding data showing efficacy and safety of these ingredients (this has nothing to do with hand sanitizers, by the way). The issues involved here are, however, more complex than it seems at first glance. As for … [Read more...]
New York Times, DDT, & Malaria
December 16, 2013
"Is the NYTimes Rreverting to the Bad Old Days of DDT Denial?" by American Council on Science and Health. Over the 51 years since Rachel Carson’s poetic attack on DDT in her “Silent Spring” novel, the chemical pesticide became the poster child for the nascent environmental movement’s inchoate wrath. The victims: millions of African and Asian children and pregnant women who succumbed to malaria in the absence of DDT. (Note: the discoverer of DDT’s potent insecticidal prowess, Dr. Paul Mueller, … [Read more...]
Ignore Alarmism: Common Sense Advice to Parents
December 16, 2013
"Advice for Parents: Common Sense, Moderation and Ignore those Alarmist Warnings," by American Council on Science and Health. Julie Gunlock, the director of the Independent Women’s Forum Culture of Alarmism Project, has written a new book, “From Cupcakes to Chemicals: How the Culture of Alarmism Makes Us Afraid of Everything and How to Fight Back,” based on the premise that “It’s critical that moms be able to discern between false alarmism and real risks.” She discusses her book in a recent … [Read more...]
Phony Phthalates Scare
December 9, 2013
"What Started the Phony Phthalates Scare? Utterly Inept Science, by American Council on Science and Health." Phthalates, a group of ubiquitous chemicals that are perennial darlings of the anti-chemical movement, have been accused of being responsible for just about everything from birth defects to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Well, now they may be going onto California’s chemical wastebasket called “Proposition 65”, ostensibly a list of chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive … [Read more...]
California Wrongly Lists Plasticizer, Phthalate DINP, on Prop. 65
December 9, 2013
"California’s Prop 65 Bandwagon Rolls Over Another Safe, Useful Chemical," by American Council on Science and Health. Yesterday, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the mega-brains deciding on which chemicals need to be labeled under Proposition 65’s dictum, “known to the State of California” to be a carcinogen or reproductive toxicant, announced that the phthalate DINP (diisononylphthalate) would be included on the list. … [Read more...]
EPA Appoints “Science” Official
November 27, 2013
"In the mood for some nice government-speak? EPA appoints new 'Scientific Integrity Official,'” by American Council on Science and Health. Well, we can all rest a little uneasier today: thanks to a new EPA appointee, there will be a sudden and profound uptick in the environmental agency’s integrity when evaluating research and formulating scientific policies. Not. In announcing the creation of a new Orwellian-sounding position called the “scientific integrity official,” EPA administrator Gina … [Read more...]
Anti-Flame Retardant “Toxic Hot Seat”
November 25, 2013
"HBO’s “Toxic Hot Seat” is Toxic All Right: It Seems to Have Addled Kristof’s Brain," By American Council on Science and Health. 1181213_88625943New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, in his latest opus entitled Danger Lurks in That Mickey Mouse Couch — wait, did he really say that? Anyway, Nick has gone off the rails again, intoxicated by the siren song of an HBO special on tonight (Monday, November 25th), similarly entitled Toxic Hot Seat. The producers of that documentary have the … [Read more...]
Statistical Shenanigans: JAMA “Study” on Phthalates
November 20, 2013
"Results First, “Study” Later: JAMA Dredges up More Junk against Phthalates," by American Council on Science and Health. An article published in today’s JAMA Pediatrics purports to link premature birth to exposure to the group of chemicals known as phthalates. These are plastic softeners-plasticizers, and are also found in numerous household products and cosmetics and shampoos. In fact, this so-called study is a typical product of those researchers whose goals are — rather than the advancement … [Read more...]
BPA Critics Wrong Again
November 11, 2013
"Bumbling BPA Critics Actually Manage to Prove Themselves Wrong. Not Easy," By American Council on Science and Health. We at ACSH are rarely surprised by anything we see published. Since it is our job to debunk bad science, we get a steady diet of it. But we got a special dessert dropped in our laps, and this one takes the cake. Although the study in question is from July, it is so jaw-droppingly awful that we decided to include it today. And when you read it, you may want to discontinue your … [Read more...]
Cosmetics Regulation
October 30, 2013
"Another Non-Problem Distracting the FDA: Cosmetic 'Safety,'" by American Council on Science and Health. Cosmetics funWhat’s up with our Federal government these days? Now that the government has un-shutdown, we find the FDA, our regulator with oversight over about one-third of all the goods and products in our commerce, dealing with many important issues. As if they didn’t have troubles enough assessing drug safety, how to deal with the supplement industry, food safety inspections, medical … [Read more...]
Protect the Kids with Flame Retardants
October 22, 2013
"Does Your Halloween Costume Contain Flame-Retardants? It should!" by American Council on Science and Health. Halloween is right around the corner and we’re sure you’ve been thinking about costumes and candy, pumpkins and haunted houses. However, safety is also something that can be forgotten on Halloween. But here’s one way you can make sure to keep you and your kids safe: Make sure your costumes are made from materials containing flame retardants or use material that will not set on fire … [Read more...]
Nick Kristof Flunks Chemistry
October 18, 2013
"Nutty Nick Kristof Flunks Chemistry Again, and Again…Nothing New Here. We’ve Written About this Before," by American Council on Science and Health. Once the esteemed New York Times columnist Nick Kristof gets out of his comfort (and knowledge) zone he goes from a really great commentator to an ignorant scaremonger. Sort of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydrogen. But even he has outdone himself this time. In an effort to be seen as a superhero against the evil chemical industry he is grabbing for straws … [Read more...]
BPA Scare for Expectant Moms
October 18, 2013
"Another Unnecessary BPA Scare for Expectant Moms," by American Council on Science and Health. If you thought you’d seen all the putative risks to health from the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), think again. It’s been one of the most frequently cited supposedly dangerous chemicals in fear-mongers’ armamentaria. Their drumbeat of alarmism persists, although study after study has failed to find a valid link between BPA and dangers to human health. In fact, the FDA (among numerous scientific and … [Read more...]
Chemicals & Breast-Cancer-Awareness Month
October 4, 2013
"Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Also be Aware of Quackery," by American Council on Science and Health. The recent updated re-revision of the Women’s Health Initiative data on hormone replacement therapy reminds us, as if we needed reminding, that October is breast cancer awareness month. Even without the new information — which didn’t actually say much different from the prior re-revision, i.e. HRT is safe for menopausal symptom control — the awareness of BCA Month is inescapable for sentient … [Read more...]
Tackling BPA Junk Science
October 4, 2013
"Environmental Group Tries to Save Face, but Falls on It," by American Council on Science and Health. We at ACSH have written countless pieces on the absolute garbage science surrounding BPA—a chemical that has been in use for more than 50 years, and is used in the manufacturing process of various plastics. So, it is only natural that we give a huge shout-out to Trevor Butterworth, a journalist and master junk science (especially statistics) debunker, who has an impressive pedigree of editorial … [Read more...]
Walmart Goes Green
September 23, 2013
"Even Retail Giant Walmart Caves to Anti-Chemical Activists," American Council on Science and Health. 138829_6871In fear of getting left behind, Walmart — the world’s largest retailer — followed in Procter & Gamble’s footsteps last week in deciding to require full disclosure of chemicals used by companies selling cosmetics and cleaning products. Ironically, that list is undisclosed, but if it’s anything like the one produced by Procter & Gamble recently to rid the industry of long-used, … [Read more...]
Dr. Oz’s Hype on Arsenic in Rice
September 16, 2013
"Arsenic and Old News," by American Council on Science and Health. In today’s “Let’s Worry About Nothing” news, there is a story that will either make people feel better, worse, or simply confused about a non-problem—tiny amounts of arsenic in rice. For the first time ever, the FDA published data on arsenic levels in rice and rice products, and the results should enable people to cross one needless worry off their list (except for Dr. Oz followers, who have far more to worry about than this. … [Read more...]
Backpacks & Other School Supplies–Not “Toxic”
September 16, 2013
"No Case for “Toxic” School Supplies," by American Council on Science and Health. It’s that time of year again. Summer’s over, and school is starting again. And with this new year comes another (predictable) chance for activist groups posing as scientific experts to scare parents about “toxic” chemicals found in children’s school supplies. Some take it further as well, warning consumers about cosmetics, cleaning supplies and furniture. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) even … [Read more...]
Surprising Facts about PCBs
September 6, 2013
"PCBs: Not What You Thought," by American Council on Science and Health. The always-brilliant Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry (among other things) at McGill University in Montreal, has hit another one out of the park — as can be discerned from his latest “Dr. Joe” column in the Montreal Gazette. Dr. Schwarcz is one of the great skeptics and rebutters of junk-science scares, especially those based on the often-intentional misinterpretation of chemistry. This time he takes on … [Read more...]
Bisphenol A Science
September 6, 2013
"ACSH Advisor Nails It: Bad Studies About BPA," American Council on Science and Health. Dr. Geoffrey Kabat, in his blog on Forbes.com, elegantly reinforces a core ACSH message: That poor science is the basis for many of the scares promulgated by various activist groups. Dr. Kabat, a cancer epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, has a history of debunking phony cancer scares, as he did in his recent book, Hyping Health Risks (Columbia University Press, 2008). Read the full … [Read more...]
Healthy Foods, Bad Advice
August 26, 2013
"Four Foods You Should Probably Eat," by American Council on Science and Health. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviewed David Jack, an editor from Men’s Health about five foods one should supposedly never eat. And the ridiculous claims made by Jack were soaked right up by Gupta. James Cooper sums up the poor science behind each claim made by “nutrition expert” Jack in an on-point editorial in the Examiner entitled “Sanjay Gupta bats 1 in 5 on foods you should never eat.” The five foods were … [Read more...]
Chemophobia and Food Safety
August 26, 2013
"Food Fears Continue to Plague Americans, Whipped by Chemophobia," by American Council on Science and Health. In a recent issue of the journal Food Security, Dr. Gordon Gribble, Professor of Chemistry at Dartmouth College (and a long-time ACSH advisor) writes about Food Chemistry and Chemophobia. The latter is a term meaning an irrational fear of chemicals in the environment: that no matter how tiny an exposure one faces, it is to be avoided at all costs. Dr. Gribble points out how unnecessary … [Read more...]
Judge Cans Prop. 65 Label
August 6, 2013
"California Judge Rules on the Side of Sound Science – No Warning Labels Required," by American Council on Science and Health. In the culmination of a five-week trial, California’s Judge Brick ruled that health warnings would not be necessary on various fruit and vegetable products, 100% juices and baby foods, from companies including Del Monte, Dole, Gerber, Hain-Çelestial, J.M. Smucker, Seneca Foods and Welch’s. Read the full story on the American Council on Science and Health's website. … [Read more...]
Do We Need TSCA Reform Reform?
August 5, 2013
"Is TSCA Reform Reform Necessary?, by American Council on Science and Health. No, that’s not a typo. With “reform” of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) almost a reality, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, has decided that the revised law was itself in need of revision, threatening its very existence. Here’s the backstory: for what seems like decades, environmental activists have been calling for “reform” of the 1976 chemical safety bill, … [Read more...]
Greens Exploit Accident for Anti-Pesticide Agenda
July 29, 2013
"Anti-Pesticide Group Deplorably Exploits Tragedy in India to Promote Their Agenda," by American Council on Science and Health. Last week, 25 children in India died — and many others sickened — as a result of organophosphate pesticide poisoning which contaminated the children’s school lunches. It is suspected that the rice or cooking oil used to prepare the food contained lethal levels of the neurotoxin. This is even more of a tragedy given that this school lunch program was developed by the … [Read more...]
Precautionary Politics Attack Plastics, Medical Devices
July 16, 2013
"European Descent into Dark Age Ignorance Continues Apace," by American Council on Science and Health. When the EU adopted the anti-science “precautionary principle” as its guiding paradigm a decade or more ago, we don’t think anyone (except perhaps its anti-progress advocates) had any idea how low the regulatory process would stoop in service of its ideology. This misguided concept asserts that any process or substance which has not been “proven safe” should be restricted or banned out of an … [Read more...]
Call for Mosquito Spraying on Long Island
July 15, 2013
"ACSH Sets Ocean Beach Straight: Mosquito Spraying is the Right Thing to Do," by American Council on Science and Health. When ACSH’s Dr. Josh Bloom, a long time resident of Ocean Beach on Fire Island, learned that his close friend Jim Capuano— a six year survivor of stage-4 colon cancer— nearly died last year from West Nile encephalitis, he knew he had to at least try to do something. The problem was a counterproductive policy that was instituted by the village decades ago—opting out of the … [Read more...]
Greens Attack Pepsi
July 10, 2013
"4-MEI Under Attack Again," by American Council on Science and Health. Those chemical alarmist groups are at it again, and as is so often the case, they are being aided and abetted by their pals in the regulatory state. Just before the long July 4th weekend, the anti-chemical activist group Center for Environmental Health released a report asserting that Pepsi is continuing to sell soda made with 4-MEI (4-methylimidazole) despite it being added to the list of carcinogens regulated under … [Read more...]
Risks Overblown on Chemicals in Food
June 28, 2013
"Shout out to Derek Lowe’s ‘A little Chemical Education,’" by American Council on Science and Health. In a world dominated by the click of a button, where bad news seemingly travels at the speed of light, while science-based good news barely makes it into the media at all, it should come as no surprise that an article titled “Eight Foods That We Eat In The U.S. That Are Banned In Other Countries” would get a half million hits on BuzzFeed. Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Pesticide Exposure and Low Cancer Rates
June 21, 2013
"For Longer Life and Less Cancer: Pesticides!?" by American Council on Science and Health. A large, U.K. government-supported study, The Pesticide Users’ Health Study, 1987-2005 (PUHS) was released this week. This huge evaluation of various health outcomes focused on mortality and cancer incidence data collected from 59,000 male and 4,000 female certified pesticide commercial users over almost two decades. The results, which are sure to come as a welcome surprise to those who are truly … [Read more...]
Pesticides and Parkinson’s
June 7, 2013
"Exposure to “Pesticides” a Risk Factor for Parkinson’s? Not so Fast!," by American Council on Science and Health. A new study published in the journal Neurology tries to suggest that there may be an association between exposure to pesticides and solvents and Parkinson’s disease. Even the study authors are blatantly aware of the shortcomings of their study when they say, the evidence is “limited, or at least inconclusive,” because of “lack of definitive agreement between cohort and case-control … [Read more...]
Ground Zero Cancer Claims
April 24, 2013
"Ground Zero Cancer: Cynical Manipulation of Statistics Rather than Science," by American Council on Science and Health. This week’s announcement from Mount Sinai Hospital’s World Trade Center Health Program that Ground Zero workers have been found to have a “15 percent higher rate of cancer” than expected set off cries for more compensation for the heroic WTC victims of the toxic dust at the site of the terrorist destruction over 11 years ago. Read the full story in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
ACSH Scientists Speak on BPA
April 23, 2013
"BPA added to California's Proposition 65 list" by American Council on Science and Health. … [Read more...]
BPA Listing on Proposition 65 Halted (for now)
April 23, 2013
"BPA on Prop 65 list: Now You See it, Now You Don’t, Thankfully," By Gil Ross. After the politically-motivated listing of the plastic hardener Bisphenol-A (BPA) was at last squeezed onto California’s nefarious Proposition 65 list of allegedly toxic chemicals, a local Sacramento judge kicked it off, correctly stating that the chemical’s listing flew in the face of scientific and regulatory evidence. A division of California’s environmental agency finally figured out a way to list BPA, a … [Read more...]
TSCA “Reform” Advocates Hollow Logic
April 22, 2013
"It’s Time to 'Reform TSCA,'Again: N.Y.Times," By American Council on Science and Health. According to the latest New York Times editorial, the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act must be “reformed,” since it’s “toothless.” How did the expert scientists writing the Times‘ editorial know how ineffective TSCA was? Well, here’s their irrefutable logic: “The failure of the law can be read in these dismal statistics: since 1976, [out of 85,000 chemicals], the EPA has issued regulations to control … [Read more...]
BPA Listing on Proposition 65
April 12, 2013
"Another Chemical Misadventure," by American Council on Science and Health. Yesterday’s Dispatch took note of the new momentum (or lack thereof) for “reform” of the chemical law known as TSCA, which if enacted would needlessly tighten already protective regulations about chemical safety. Now we learn that, in the same spirit of hyper-precaution based on nothing other than political agenda, the powers-that-be in the high levels of California Health (actually the Office of Environmental Health … [Read more...]
Misguided Ideas Behind “TSCA Reform”
April 12, 2013
"TSCA 'reform': Looking for Toxics in all the Wrong Places," by American Council on Science and Health. It’s that time of year, the season when “reform” of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rises from the ashes, and stroller brigades and anti-technology “environmental” groups remind us that without a new chemical law, the sky will fall — again. The main proponent of this annual silliness is the 88-year old senior (literally) Senator from New Jersey, Democrat Frank Lautenberg. Each year … [Read more...]
Study on BPA and Asthma Questioned
March 6, 2013
"Maybe the Worst Paper Ever?," By Josh Bloom. A paper (BPA.pdf) published in the March issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology about the association between bisphenol A (BPA) and childhood asthma is nothing short of mind-boggling. Possibly enough so to create a new acronym of data interpretation-- GIMBIO--garbage in, mind-blowing idiocy out. Read the full article in Medical Progress Today. … [Read more...]
Fracking and Health
February 13, 2013
"To Frack or not to Frack: Governor Cuomo, Make Up Your Mind!" By American Council on Science and Health. Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo yet again delayed making a decision on whether to allow hydraulic fracturing — fracking — in the state of New York. Fracking has been under review by state regulators since before Mr. Cuomo took office in January 2011. Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Environmental Causes of Breast Cancer
February 13, 2013
"Should breast cancer research be redirected? by American Council on Science and Health." In a recent New York Times article, reporter Denise Grady sheds light on a report stating that too little of the money spent on breast cancer research goes toward finding “environmental causes of the disease and ways to prevent it.” Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Study on Smog and Birth Weight
February 13, 2013
"New Study Finds a Link between Smog and Birth Weight — Maybe," by American Council on Science and Health. A new international study is suggesting that pregnant women exposed to smog have a greater risk of having a baby with low birth weight. Researchers led jointly by Tracey J. Woodruff, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at University of California San Francisco and Jennifer Parker, of the National Center for Health Statistics at the US Centers for Disease … [Read more...]
Chemical DDT Saving Lives in S. Africa
February 7, 2013
"South Africa Using its Smarts — and DDT — to Prevent Malaria," by American Council on Science and Health. Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) continues to be used in South Africa in the hopes of eliminating the spread of malaria in the country by 2018. DDT has proved to be a vital tool in working to reach this goal, and South Africa was praised for its efforts in dealing with the spread of malaria at an African Union event. Read the full story in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Hype about Chemicals in Cosmetics Hits New York Times
February 7, 2013
"NY Times’ Bittman: The Chemical Hitman," by American Council on Science and Health. New York Times columnist Mark Bittman isn’t content just to scare people on food issues — he’s now branched out into other topics. Today he writes in “The Cosmetics Wars,” about how American consumers are purportedly covering their faces, lips and hair with a long list of toxins. Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Atrazine Study: No Cancer Risk
February 7, 2013
"Atrazine: Still not a Carcinogen," by American Council on Science and Health Experts have looked at the evidence condemning the weedkiller atrazine as a “carcinogen” and found it wanting. The four researchers were affiliated with the Tisch Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Harvard University and the University of London. Read the full story on ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Pepsico Caves: Removes Chemical from Gatorade
January 29, 2013
"Pepsi Caves to a Baseless Chemical Scare," by American Council on Science and Health. Sigh. It’s another victory for the scaremongers. PepsiCo. is removing brominated vegetable oil from its citrus-flavored Gatorade drinks after “hearing rumblings” from consumers concerned about the emulsifier. Read the full article on ASCH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
BPA on California’s Prop 65 List
January 29, 2013
"Scientists Worldwide: BPA is Safe; CAL-EPA and NRDC: No, It’s Not," by American Council on Science and Health. Were we surprised or even disappointed that the California EPA just ruled that the plastic hardener bisphenol-A (BPA) would be subject to warning labels according to their Prop 65 law, or that the Natural Resources Defense Council would be jumping with joy over it? Not really — given the chemophobia of both of those groups, the surprise is that it took Cal-EPA this long; and that the … [Read more...]
BPA and Cash Register Receipts
January 4, 2013
"More Nonsense About BPA," by American Council on Science and Health. Sometimes the latest junk-science news makes us want to bang our heads against the wall. New York’s Suffolk County has just passed the “Safer Sales Slip Act,” banning the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal cash register slips. Fox 5 News in New York did interview ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross about the ban — for a few moments, we guess to “balance” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s claims that BPA is an “endocrine … [Read more...]
NYS Report: Fracking is Safe
January 4, 2013
"New York State Health Department: Fracking is Safe, but Don’t Tell Anyone," by American Council on Science and Health. According to an analysis conducted last year, the New York state Health Department found that hydrofracking could be conducted safely in New York. This much-debated procedure, formally known as high volume hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting sand, water and chemicals underground at high pressure to extract natural gas from rock formations. Read the full article in ACSH … [Read more...]
Air Quality Researcher Targeted for “Politically Incorrect” Findings
January 4, 2013
"Epidemiologist Blows Whistle, UCLA Responds by Firing Him," by American Council on Science and Health. ACSH trustee Dr. James Enstrom is getting some support in his legal battle against the University of California at Los Angeles, which last year fired the epidemiologist from his post at the UCLA School of Public Health, a position he had held since 1976. Enstrom and many others contend UCLA’s actions seem clearly related to his “politically incorrect” research on fine-particulate air … [Read more...]
Study on 9/11 Chemicals
December 21, 2012
"Link Between Cancer and 9/11 Exposure Found to be Baseless," by American Council on Science and Health. Only a few months after cancer was added to the list of ailments covered by the World Trade Center Fund, a study conducted by the New York City Health Department has found no clear link between cancer and the environment to which those present at the world trade center on 9/11 were exposed. This study is the largest to date, examining 55,700 individuals, including rescue and recovery … [Read more...]
Pesticides Applied to “Organic” Crops
December 14, 2012
"Organic Pesticides: Ask Someone who Knows," by American Council on Science and Health. As you may recall, yesterday’s Dispatch covered a distorted, alarmist story on the harms of pesticides. Will Westerling, a licensed Pest Control Advisor in the State of California, wrote in with his views. "As a licensed Pest Control Advisor in the State of California who manages several thousand acres of both conventional and organic fruits and vegetables I can assure you that there is no shortage of … [Read more...]
Pesticide and Cosmetics
December 14, 2012
"The Pesticide and Cosmetic Pests are Back," by American Council on Science and Health. As the year comes to an end, the scares keep coming, today — as often before — in the form of pesticides and cosmetics. These alarmist stories are simply baseless and raise needless consumer concerns based only on the precautionary principle. Read the full story in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Proposition 65 and Flame Retardants
December 10, 2012
"Another Notch in Prop 65’s Belt, Against Infants’ Flame-Retardant," by American Council on Science and Health. Last year, chlorinated Tris — a fire retardant chemical — was added to California’s ever-expanding list of “carcinogens and reproductive toxins” According to the state’s Proposition 65, products containing a certain level of chemicals on this lengthy list must carry a warning label. Starting in October, the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland bought and tested about 25 … [Read more...]
Pesticides and Food Allergies
December 4, 2012
"Bogus study tries to link pesticides with food allergies," by American Council on Science and Health. No matter how many scientists explain that there is no real evidence suggesting that pesticides are harmful when used appropriately, they continue to be the subject of a number of health scares — the most recent linking pesticides to food allergies. Researchers led by Dr. Elina Jerschow of Albert Einstein Medical College used existing government data to see whether people with more … [Read more...]
NRDC Misinformation on Breast Cancer
December 4, 2012
"For cynical manipulation of science, NRDC never disappoints," by American Council on Science and Health. Last week, the respected scientific journal Nature published a superb editorial castigating the Breast Cancer Coalition, a nonprofit ostensibly devoted to reducing the toll of breast cancer. The editorial pointed out that the goal put forward by the BCC, to “cure breast cancer by 2020” was irresponsible, given the complexity of cancer in general and breast cancer specifically. Read the … [Read more...]
Media Hype and Flame Retardants
December 4, 2012
"CBS presents hype as news," by American Council on Science and Health. Does anyone remember when CBS used to be a respected news organization that did its own research — or at least quoted independent experts? Or even conducted interviews? When it comes to health and science news, alas, it seems like they’ve been reduced to rewriting alarmist or sensationalist press releases. Last month there was the magic “cancer bra” which the network claimed might detect breast cancer … then there was last … [Read more...]
Cancer Agency Questioned
December 4, 2012
"Respected cancer agency maybe shouldn’t be," by American Council on Science and Health. Based in Lyon, France, the International Agency for Research on Cancer is a widely respected body that produces assessments of carcinogens for use by regulators and researchers. But reputable scientists are now disassociating themselves from IARC and its research methods, a cancer epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine writes in Forbes. Read the full article on ASCH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
More Perspective on Autism Junk Science
November 27, 2012
"Autism and Junk Science," by American Council on Science and Health. As many as one in 88 children — and one in 54 boys — have a form of autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A new study attempts to pin the rise in autism to exposure to air pollution during pregnancy — but it’s a statistically invalid junk study, ACSH experts say. The researchers, led by Dr. Heather Volk of the University of Southern California, looked at the records of 279 children with autism and 245 … [Read more...]
Greens Ready to Regulate — As Always
November 9, 2012
"Environmental Working Group at it Again," by American Council on Science and Health. The Environmental Working Group is wasting no time in trying to influence policy now that the election is over. The group issued a statement Wednesday saying it “look[s] forward to working with the administration to advocate more effective regulation of oil and shale gas drilling” and overhauling the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the Safe … [Read more...]
EU Potential Ban on Chanel No. 5
November 8, 2012
"Don't Touch my Shalimar," by American Council on Science and Health. The iconic 90-year-old perfume Chanel No.5 is one of the most well known perfumes worldwide. Now, this world-famous perfume along with other famous brands — such as Shalimar — may soon be banned by the European Union after scientists found that some of the ingredients may cause allergies. The proposed ban was brought to attention after an EU advisory committee identified 100 allergens regularly included in fragrances. Tree … [Read more...]
Australian Government’s Phthalates Study
October 3, 2012
"Australian Government Sticks to the Science on Phthalate Ruling," by American Council on Science and Health. In 1999, ACSH assembled a Blue Ribbon Panel of physicians and scientists, chaired by former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. The panel, after a thorough review of the literature, gave two members of the family of chemicals known as phthalates a clean bill of health. Phthalates (pronounced thal-ates) are used to soften plastics, which would otherwise be hard and brittle. REad the … [Read more...]
Fraud Science on the Rise
October 3, 2012
"Publish and Perish: Scientific Fraud on the Rise," by American Council on Science and Health ACSH often reports on junk studies that employ dubious statistical methods — including our favorites: GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) and “data-dredging” — in order to produce valid-appearing studies crafted to yield predetermined results. But it seems like some researchers are actually engaging in not just junk science, but conscious fraud. Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch. … [Read more...]
ACSH’s Ross Brings Perspective to Flame Retardant Debate
September 21, 2012
"Dr. Ross Debates Flame Retardants with NPR Guests," by American Council on Science and Health. As we reported just last week, fear of flame retardants is back in the news once more. While we always do our best to explain why the various flame retardants found in furniture do not, in fact, pose a toxic threat, just yesterday, ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross took on the issue in a more public — and resistant — forum: National Public Radio’s Diane Rehm Show. We encourage you to head over to ... Read the … [Read more...]
