New Benchmarking Project Aims To Rate Companies’ “Chemical Footprint”

Major retailers, health insurers and sustainability groups are embracing a new initiative aimed at comparing companies’ policies for managing chemicals used in their products and supply chains, and whether they seek safer alternatives to dangerous substances.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron

\Loann Tran, co-owner of Happy Nails in Salinas, Calif., holds up a bottle of nail polish that was tested and found to contain toluene and formaldehyde, despite being labeled as free of those toxic chemicals, after a news conference at the Laney College School of Cosmetology in Oakland, Calif.  Photo: Jeff Chiu/AP WASHINGTON --- A group of

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EPA Finally Updating Pesticide-Use Guidelines For Farm Workers

Advocates say a draft of the updated Worker Protection Standard is imperfect, but still offers greater protections to laborers in one of the country’s most hazardous industries.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
pesticide

WASHINGTON --- U.S. regulators are moving into the final stages of a major update to guidelines on the use of pesticides by agricultural workers, changes that labor advocates have been urging for more than a decade. Indeed, it’s been almost a quarter-century since the Environmental Protection Agency updated the guidelines, known as the Worker

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A Third Of Schoolchildren Vulnerable To Hazardous Chemicals Facilities

While the conversation on hazardous chemicals facilities tends to revolve around risks to the general public, nearly 20 million schoolchildren go to schools located in vulnerability zones. Many of these schools lack plans in case of a chemical emergency.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
Moscow OH 2 coal-fired power plant 2010 Blog

WASHINGTON --- One in three U.S. students attends school within the formally designated “vulnerability zone” of facilities involved in the manufacture or storage of large amounts of hazardous chemicals, according to new research. That would translate into nearly 20 million schoolchildren spending near-daily time within the vicinity of at least

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How Chemicals In Everyday Products Accelerate Every Disease You’ve Heard Of

Last week’s March Against Monsanto proves that our awareness of chemicals has ballooned over the years, but do we truly understand how many chemicals we put in our bodies and just how unavoidable many of them are?

Eco Watch
By Eco Watch
chemicals

Last week’s March Against Monsanto proves that our awareness of chemicals has ballooned over the years, but do we truly understand how many chemicals we put in our bodies and just how unavoidable many of them are? This Earth Focus report discusses the “soup of chemicals” our bodies take in every day from food, cosmetics or simply breathing. Even

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Common Insecticides On The Rise In Your Home And Body: Report

Growing research on prevalent chemicals raising alarm over safety

Common Dreams
By Common Dreams
chemicals

A class of insecticides known as pyrethroids used inside the home is increasingly found in the human body, a team of researchers from UC Davis has discovered, raising alarm over the long-term effects of the chemicals on people. The study also found that children in particular are still widely exposed to an insecticide that was banned for

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Corporations’ ‘Trade Secrets’ Trump Public Health

New database created to let consumers know if personal care products contain carcinogens, but ‘trade secrets’ claim lets companies skirt transparency

Andrea Germanos
By Andrea Germanos
Pfizer products are displayed at the Pfizer plant in Montreal, Thursday, July 12, 2012. Pfizer Canada announced a major investment in its Pfizer Global Supply (PGS) Montreal manufacturing facility, representing a financial commitment of $31.7 million to upgrade technology and increase capacity to accommodate growth from new export mandates. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Corporate power seems to be thwarting the public's right to know if the personal care products they use contain potentially harmful ingredients. As a result of the California Safe Cosmetics Act, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) earlier this month rolled out a searchable database through which consumers could see if their

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