"The Toxic Substances Control Act Amendments May Do Little to Relieve California Headaches for Businesses," By Morrison & Foerster LLP. Business groups largely supported the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Amendments―recently signed into law by President Obama—in order to address concerns about the emergence of varying state-by-state requirements that regulate the chemicals used in consumer products (see prior client alert). For businesses that wish to avail themselves of California’s … [Read more...]
Should Your Worry About PFOAs in Drinking Water?
July 12, 2016
"Teflon, Other Chemicals Receive Greater EPA Scrutiny," By Michael McGrady. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has instituted new health advisories for chemicals used in the manufacture of Teflon cookware, plastics, and fabrics. EPA’s action came in response to the discovery of traces of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) being found in groundwater sources in New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. EPA’s May 19 guidelines reduce the acceptable level of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and PFOA … [Read more...]
Teflon Decision More Emotional than Scientific
July 12, 2016
"DuPont Loses Bellwether C8 Teflon Case," By American Council on Science and Health. Professor David Freeman, Chair of Petroleum Engineering at Marietta College, has been awarded $5.1 million in a lawsuit against DuPont, which he blames for his testicular cancer. A jury of four women and three men in the U.S. District Court in Columbus agreed with him, and said the company acted with malice because it dumped water containing what it calls C8 (perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA) into the Ohio River … [Read more...]
Message to Harris Teeter: Ignore Alarmists
July 11, 2016
"Dear Harris Teeter Manager: Normal Moms Don’t Believe Chemicals Are Evil," By Julie Gunlock. Dear Harris Teeter Manager, I heard you got harassed the other day. I know this because last week I received an email from a group called Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (SCHF). The group’s name might not be very creative, but they are effective at reaching moms with their overwrought claims that affordable food and everyday products are destroying the earth and threatening human health. The SCHF … [Read more...]
Glyphosate Politics
June 10, 2016
"Rounding Up the Cowards: EU Leaders Block Glyphosate," By Angela Logomasini. As reported in the Wall Street Journal this week, yet another valuable pesticide product may eventually be removed from the market place. But despite the Journal’s assertion that the controversy stems from uncertain science, the real source is politics. Too many European lawmakers are afraid to take a stand that might offend environmental activists, even though inaction will raise food prices and hinder … [Read more...]
Greens Would Starve Africa
June 10, 2016
"How to Starve Africa: Ask the European Green Party," By David Zaruk, the RiskMonger. There is a commonly shared neo-colonialist expression: The Europeans have the watches; the Africans have the time. Today, the European Green Party, with the support of countless environmentalist NGOs, proposed an initiative in the European Parliament to make Africa wait for at least another generation to be able to lift itself out of poverty. The report tabled by Green MEP, Maria Heubuch, is as vile as it is … [Read more...]
Prop65’s Absurd Warning Labels
June 10, 2016
"Should California Put a Warning Label on Your Penis?" By Josh Bloom. A few years ago, my mother gave me a Christmas present (nice Jewish family, right?). I had no idea what it was, and I was a bit puzzled by the package — a plain cardboard box with the following on the label: WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. This got me wondering why my mother would get me weapons-grade uranium as a gift. … [Read more...]
Dioxin Update
June 10, 2016
"Doomsday Chemical’ Update: Whatever Happened to Dioxin?" By Gordon Gribble. Dioxin, once proclaimed by the environmental community as the “doomsday chemical” of the 20th century and the “deadliest substance ever created by chemists,” has faded from the media spotlight. Why? Why did the EPA official who recommended the evacuation of Times Beach, Missouri, admit that he made a mistake and that the evacuation of this community following the spraying of dioxin-contaminated oil on roads, and a … [Read more...]
BPA’s Alleged Impact on Teeth
June 10, 2016
"Study on BPA and Hypermineralisation Makes us Almost Drop our Teeth," By BPA Coalition. Medical Research (INSERM) presented a study at the 18th European Congress of Endocrinology claiming that exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) could weaken teeth development in children. More specifically they link BPA exposure to Molar Incisor Hypermineralisation (MIH); it affects 18% of young children between 6 and 9, as their permanent first molars and incisors are more sensitive and prone to cavities. While the … [Read more...]
TSCA Reform Paused
May 31, 2016
"One Enlightened Statesman: Sen. Rand Paul Pauses TSCA Bill," By Angela Logomasini, Ph.D. Three cheers to Senator Rand Paul for actually caring enough to read legislation before voting on its passage. Last week, he held up legislation that will vastly expand the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate chemicals. As I pointed out recently, this legislation to amend the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been moving along without proper consideration from most members of … [Read more...]
EWG Deception on Herbicide Risk
May 23, 2016
"EWG’s Latest Glyphosate Flop," By The Center for Accountability in Science. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) claims to fight for the public interest, yet rarely does so using solid science. A day after we laid out the facts on glyphosate, EWG was out in the media trying to keep people afraid of it. Claiming “a growing body of research” is linking the herbicide glyphosate (known by the brand name Round Up) to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, EWG failed to highlight that it really only found one … [Read more...]
Scientist Rebuke Pseudoscience on “Endocrine Disrupters”
May 23, 2016
"Well-known Scientists Ready to Stem the Onslaught of Pseudoscience in the EU," By PRNewswire. A meeting was held between Dr. Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioner of Health & Food Safety and well established and respected scientists (Prof. Sir Colin Berry, Prof. Alan Boobis, Prof. Wolfgang Dekant, Prof. Daniel Dietrich, Prof. Helmut Greim, Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison and Prof. Richard Sharpe) in the fields of human risk assessment and endocrine active compounds ("endocrine disrupting chemicals" … [Read more...]
Non-Pesticide Related Honeybee Losses
May 23, 2016
"3 Non-Pesticide Reasons Beekeepers Lost 44 Percent Of Bees In 2015-16," By Hank Campbell. The Bee Informed Partnership takes an annual survey of commercial and backyard beekeepers in order to track health and survival rates of honey bee colonies. The latest results show that colonies declined 44 percent during the year spanning April 2015 to April 2016. That sounds alarming, and it is in contrast to studies showing that bee numbers are not in decline, they were instead at a 20-year high last … [Read more...]
EPA “Inadvertently” Admits: Glyphosate “Not Likely” a Carcinogen
May 9, 2016
"EPA (sort of) Admits: Glyphosate Not Likely Carcinogen," By The Center for Accountability in Science Team. A few days ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a report concluding glyphosate is unlikely carcinogenic to humans. The EPA pulled the report not long after, telling Reuters it was “because our assessment is not final”— it had been published “inadvertently.” Reuters noted, however, that the accompanying memo was labeled “Final.” The report is expected to be … [Read more...]
Plastics Alarmism
May 6, 2016
"Calling TIME Out on Plastic Alarmism," By The Center for Accountability in Science Team. There’s no shortage of news reports and websites with scary messages about chemicals, but two articles this week caught our attention. First, TIME magazine engaged in a bit of click-baiting this week with a health article warning about common plastics: “That Plastic Container You Microwave In Could Be Super-Toxic.” Next, an article at the Philadelphia Inquirer’s website, although written by two Ph.D.’s, … [Read more...]
A Smart Approach to Fight Zika
May 6, 2016
"We Don’t Need Billion$ To Prevent Zika," by Paul Driessen and Robert Novack. The Zika virus is increasingly linked to serious neurological complications for pregnant women and microcephaly in newborns: smaller than normal heads and brains. It also affects areas of fetal brains that control basic muscular, motor, speech and other functions, leading to severe debilities that require expensive care throughout a person’s life. The disease is becoming a crisis in Brazil, site of this year’s Summer … [Read more...]
Glyphosate Safety Report Disappears
May 5, 2016
"EPA Magically Makes Glyphosate Safety Report Disappear," Julianna LeMieux. Glyphosate does not cause cancer … if you read about it over the weekend. That was the conclusion of a report published online by the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, April 29, 2016, finally shutting down a 30-year debate by giving a definitive answer to a hotly contested topic. But, by Monday, May 2, it was gone. The report, “Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Potential of Glyphosate,” was published by the Cancer … [Read more...]
Pesticides and Autism
May 2, 2016
"3 Reasons Aerial Pesticides Are Not Causing Autism," By Hank Campbell. Steven Hicks, M.D. PhD, pediatrician at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, looked at autism rates in a swampy region of New York and saw higher developmental delay and autism diagnoses in some areas where and thinks he knows why; pyrethroid pesticides being sprayed by airplanes to kill mosquitoes. Scientists, toxicologists, and public health officials certainly appreciate some attention … [Read more...]
UK Citizens Sour About “Natural Herbicide”
May 2, 2016
"Britiots Using Salad Dressing to Kill Weeds," By Josh Bloom. True or false: It is a good idea to use a more dangerous chemical to replace a safer one? Before you answer, take a look at a couple of videos that the folks in Bristol in the UK should have watched before they decided to “go organic” and substitute vinegar (acetic acid plus water) for glyphosate — a supernaturally safe herbicide, which has been used for more than 40 years in the United States. The first shows what happens when you … [Read more...]
On Bacon and Cancer
May 2, 2016
"Does Eating Bacon Really Cause Cancer?" By The Center for Accountability in Science. Bacon lovers in California can breathe a sigh of relief—for now, at least. The state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which manages Proposition 65 warning labels, has announced it will not require warnings on bacon or other processed meats following news last fall that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer had classified these meats as carcinogenic. When … [Read more...]
TSCA Consensus May Prove Toxic
April 25, 2016
"TSCA 'Reform': Consensus May Again Prove Toxic," By Angela Logomasini. According to a story in Bloomberg BNA, a final vote on legislation to reform the nation’s chemical law—the Toxic Substances Control Act—may be imminent. The story quotes Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who explained at a congressional hearing the other day, “It looks like now we’re [the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee] just a matter of hopefully hours away of having an agreement with the House.” The … [Read more...]
Questions about Microbead Policies
April 25, 2016
"Are Microbeads Really Bad?" Julie Gunlock. Environmentalists have long been on a tear about microbeads and their campaign to ban them has been successful. Not only has President Obama banned the beads (starting in 2017), Congress is doubling up, introducing their own microbead ban which would also ban use of the plastic abrasives by 2017. Activists that promoted the restrictions on microbeads often say that banning microbeads will clean up the waterways and help marine life. Will it? It’s … [Read more...]
Scaremongering and Nonsense on Glyphosate
April 25, 2016
"Breaking Down Bullshit: How Clever Activists Make You Afraid!," By The Risk-Monger. In my last blog I stated how the organic industry lobby openly lies, spreads fear and attacks its competition – all activities that any organisation or company with an ethical code of conduct would forbid. I’d like to demonstrate how one organic lobbying organisation, USRTK, desperately needs such a code (… and a lot of integrity). As I have had quite a few personal attacks this week from people who take … [Read more...]
Fast Food and Phthalates
April 25, 2016
"Do People Who Eat Fast Food Have Higher Levels of Phthalates?" By Center for Accountability in Science. You may have seen the headlines, “If You’re Eating Fast Food, You’re Probably Also Eating Phthalates.” A new study published today in Environmental Health Perspectives finds that teens and adults who reported eating more “fast food” had slightly higher levels of two types of phthalates in a urine test. But before you start to worry about the safety of your burrito or burger, let’s break down … [Read more...]
Another Flawed BPA Rat Study
April 25, 2016
"A Study is Rotten in the State of Denmark, and Here’s Why," by Josh Bloom. We need another BPA study like we need root canal. For many years, hundreds (thousands?) of them have been published just about everywhere except on bus shelters, desperately hoping to find something wrong with the chemical, which is used to make a variety of plastic products, such as can liners. The studies are are mostly terrible. But that hasn’t stopped a Danish group from publishing a laughably-flawed paper on the … [Read more...]
