A silent chemical assault is underway. A new nationwide study has revealed that children in the United States — especially toddlers aged two to four — are regularly exposed to dozens of industrial chemicals during their most vulnerable developmental years. Many of these chemicals are not even on the radar of public health monitoring systems.

The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, tested urine samples from 201 young children as part of the NIH-supported Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. Researchers screened for 111 chemicals commonly found in household items, plastics, food packaging, cosmetics, and furniture.

Related: why glass is emitting more microplastics than plastic bottles

What they found is deeply unsettling: 96 chemicals were detected in at least five children. 48 were found in more than half. 34 were found in over 90% of the children — including 9 not tracked in national health databases like NHANES.

“These are not rare or accidental exposures,” said Deborah H. Bennett, the study’s lead author and professor of public health at UC Davis. “This is a daily, invisible flood of chemicals entering the bodies of children at a stage when their brains and immune systems are still forming.”

The Toxic Alphabet of Modern Childhood

Phthalates and phthalate alternatives – Found in toys, food wrap, vinyl flooring, and shampoo

Parabens – Used in creams, cosmetics, and even medications

Bisphenols (BPA, BPS) – Found in plastic containers, canned food linings, and receipts

Benzophenones – Common in sunscreens and cosmetics

Pesticide residues, flame retardants, and combustion byproducts – Lurking in food, furniture, and air

Children are especially vulnerable. Their smaller bodies mean higher exposures per kilogram, and behaviors like crawling, mouthing toys, and touching floors mean they are constantly in contact with contaminated surfaces. In some cases, the children’s chemical loads were higher than their mothers’ levels during pregnancy, pointing to postnatal environmental sources — the home, the daycare, the playground.

Related: the problems of Dollar Store plastic

The data also revealed disturbing patterns: Chemical exposures were highest among younger toddlers and racial/ethnic minorities, reflecting systemic environmental injustice. While some older chemicals like triclosan and certain phthalates are decreasing (likely due to public pressure and reformulations), new unregulated substitutes like DINCH and emerging pesticides are on the rise.

Swapping out banned chemicals for understudied alternatives is what scientists call “regrettable substitution.” It’s regulation on a delay — and children are paying the price.

What Can Parents Do to Reduce the Toxic Burden?

While we can’t control every exposure, there are concrete steps caregivers can take:

Avoid plastics labeled #3, #6, and #7, which may contain bisphenols and phthalates

Buy “paraben-free” and “fragrance-free” personal care products. Buy or make your own food wraps from fabric scraps and beeswax. Package lunches and food in steel, not plastic containers.

Ventilate homes, dust with a damp cloth, and consider buying air cleaners with HEPA filters

Wash hands before meals, especially after outdoor play or contact with plastic items

Limit pesticide exposure — wash produce well and consider organic options when possible

A Call for Chemical Accountability

Ultimately, this is not just a parenting issue. It’s a policy failure. Most of the 40,000+ chemicals used in consumer products in the U.S. are poorly regulated, with minimal long-term health data.

As Green Prophet has reported before, environmental chemicals are linked to declining fertility, disrupted hormones, obesity, and neurodevelopmental disorders — all of which are now rising in childhood populations.

“This study should sound the alarm,” said Jiwon Oh, postdoctoral scholar and co-author of the study. “We urgently need better biomonitoring, stronger chemical safety laws, and corporate transparency. Our children shouldn’t be the test subjects for industrial shortcuts.”

This is a pivotal moment. Conscious parents and policymakers alike have the opportunity — and the obligation — to push for a healthier future. Because these chemicals aren’t just in the air or water — they’re in our children. And that makes this not just a science story, but a moral one.

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Girls exposed to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be more likely to start puberty early, according to new research published in Endocrinology, the flagship basic science journal of the Endocrine Society.

EDCs mimic, block or interfere with hormones in the body’s endocrine system.

There has been an alarming trend toward early puberty in girls, suggesting the influence of chemicals in our environment. Early puberty is associated with an increased risk of psychosocial problems, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer.

Related: formaldehyde in your lipstick

“We conducted a comprehensive screen of 10,000 environmental compounds with extensive follow-up studies using human brain cells that control the reproductive axis, and our team identified several substances that may contribute to early puberty in girls,” said study author Natalie Shaw, M.D., M.M.Sc., of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, N.C.

Look out for musk ambrette

Those substances include musk ambrette, which is a fragrance used in some detergents, perfumes, and personal care products, and a group of medications called cholinergic agonists.

“More research is needed to confirm our findings,” noted Shaw. “But the ability of these compounds to stimulate key receptors in the hypothalamus — the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor [GnRHR] and the kisspeptin receptor [KISS1R] — raises the possibility that exposure may prematurely activate the reproductive axis in children.”

According to the research team, musk ambrette is potentially concerning because it can be found in personal care products, and some rat studies have suggested it can cross the blood-brain barrier.

Children are less likely to encounter cholinergic agonists in their daily lives.

Related: your sunscreen is killing coral reefs

Canadian and European regulations restrict musk ambrette use because of its potential toxicity, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the fragrance from its “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS list. Yet it is still available on the market in some personal care products.

“This study suggests that, out of an abundance of caution, it is important for parents to only use personal care products for their children that are federally regulated,” Shaw said.

As part of the study, the research team screened a Tox21 10,000-compound library of licensed pharmaceuticals, environmental chemicals and dietary supplements against a human cell line overexpressing GnRHR or KISS1R. They conducted follow-up analysis using human hypothalamic neurons and zebrafish, finding that musk ambrette increased the number of GnRH neurons and GnRH expression.

“Using human hypothalamic neurons and zebrafish provides an effective model for identifying environmental substances that stimulate the KISS1R and GnRHR,” said co-author Menghang Xia, Ph.D., from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) in Bethesda, Md., which is part of NIH. “This study was a multidisciplinary team effort, and it showed that we can efficiently reduce the time and cost of assessing environmental chemicals for their potential effects on human health.”

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Like the microplastics found from plastic teeth aligners, new research on tampons reveals hidden dangers of arsenic and lead. There are no safe exposure limits for lead and the trace metals found in tampons may be originating from the forests and fields in which the raw materials for the tampons are grown.

A new study published this week in the environmental sciences journal Environment International showed small amounts of toxic metals were found in all tampons tested.

In the study researchers from Columbia, Berkeley and Michigan State universities used acid to break down and analyze commonly used tampons to test for the presence of these toxic metals.

“Tampon use is a potential source of metal exposure,” the researchers report. “We detected all 16 metals in at least one sampled tampon, including some toxic metals like lead that has no “safe” exposure level. Future research is needed to replicate our findings and determine whether metals can leach out of tampons and cross the vaginal epithelium into systemic circulation.”

Related: Toxins to avoid in make-up

It is well known in medicine that the delicate tissues of the vagina are a very useful and effective way to absorb medications, with several birth control and hormone replacement therapy products utilizing this technique. The most popular is the NuvaRing, where birth control hormones are absorbed vaginally instead of a daily pill.

Although the study points out that there is no “safe” levels of lead or arsenic that humans should be exposed to, the metals were found in very small amounts, which needed to be measured in nanograms. Toxic levels in humans are measured in micrograms which are 1000x higher. For comparison, some tampons were found to contain 2.5ng of arsenic per gram. The toxic level of arsenic in humans is about 2.5mcg per gram, which is 1000x that amount. So should we be worried?

Tampons are made from cotton and sometimes from rayon, which is a product developed from natural wood cellulose. As both cotton and trees grow in soil, and all of the metals found in this study naturally occur in soil, that most likely explains the origin of the metals found in these tampons.

Alternatives to tampons could be organic cotton pads. There are also moon cups but made from plastics we wonder about exposure to plastics.

We’ve written here about toxins in tampons, and offer some ways to eco your moon or menstrual cycle.

We can’t vouch for the science or trace metals and minerals, but here are five eco-friendly, organic tampon brands:

1. Natracare – Offers certified organic cotton tampons free from synthetic materials, dyes, and perfumes.
2. Seventh Generation – Known for its organic cotton tampons that are free from chlorine bleaching and fragrances.
3. Organyc – Provides 100% organic cotton tampons that are hypoallergenic and biodegradable.
4. Cora – Features organic cotton tampons with a BPA-free plastic or cardboard applicator, designed with sustainability in mind.
5. L. – Delivers organic cotton tampons with a focus on transparency and ethical production practices.
6. Menstrual sponges are made from natural sponge from the sea. They are a new concept based on old ideas. Simple, effective, reusable.

Do you have a brand or practice you’d like to recommend? Drop it in the comments below.

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Like fast food, Dollar Store and Dollar Tree items are cheap, feel good and offer a temporary fix. Dollar Stores and the concept of buying low quality throwaway plastic goods resonates with everyone but especially with lower income families and people with people of color. A new report finds that 54% of all the products tested at Dollar Stores contain hazardous chemicals linked to cancer, learning disabilities and serious illnesses.

On the eve of the Dollar Tree/Family Dollar annual shareholder meeting, the Campaign for Healthier Solutions – a group of over 200 health, science-based, environmental justice organizations in the United States – released a report about toxic chemicals in products at discount retailers, including Dollar General, Dollar Tree/Family Dollar, 99 Cents Only and Five Below.

The report — Toxic Chemicals in Dollar Store Products: 2021 Results — contains test results from over 200 products such as toys, jewelry, school supplies and other household items. Over half – 54% – contained at least one chemical of concern.

“Once again we have tested products at discount retailers and we are still finding the same harmful chemicals every time. These chemicals disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. Many of these communities already have multiple exposures because they are located in heavily industrialized areas,” said Jose T. Bravo, National Coordinator for the Campaign for Healthier Solutions.

“Fortunately, Dollar Tree/Family Dollar has expressed interest in cleaning up their supply chain, but Dollar General who this year reported 33 billion dollars in net sales, will not even respond to our requests to discuss the issue.”

BPA in canned foods

The following concerns were identified in the products tested in the new report:

Canned food contained toxic interior coatings that included BPA – a chemical associated with hormone disruption – and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can contain plasticizers that are linked to asthma and other lung problems.

Pans and cookware were coated with BPA-based epoxy as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), linked to cancer, low infant birth weights, and immune system problems.

100% of microwave popcorn tested positive for PFAS coatings inside the packaging.

We thought this was behind us 10 years ago, but no. One hundred percent of store receipts contained Bisphenol S (BPS), an unfortunate substitute for BPA with similar health risks. Imagine if you are working at these shops as a cashier?

Consumer electronics contained lead in the solder, a toxic metal that harms brain development and could impact the workers who put these products together. These electronics also contained toxic flame retardants and phthalate plasticizers, linked to birth defects, reduced fertility, cancer, learning disabilities, diabetes, and other health issues.

A variety of products contained other chemicals of concern, including antimony compounds, associated with respiratory irritation and organotins associated with hormone disruption.

Earlier this year, the fifth annual Mind the Store report card was released, ranking 50 companies according to their level of chemical safety in products. Dollar Tree/Family Dollar was one of the most improved, going from a D+ in the last report to a C+ in 2021. Dollar Tree/Family Dollar has met with the Campaign for Healthier Solutions and recently expressed a commitment to clean up their supply chain.

They have also publicly released a chemical policy, a commitment to eliminate priority chemicals, and a pollinator protector policy, and have stated in private that they plan to expand the number of chemicals that they are phasing out, as well as the number of products they will be cleaning up.

“We’re very encouraged with the communication that we’ve had with Dollar Tree/Family Dollar,” said Bravo. “We’ve made a lot of inroads with their chemical policy to protect customers, workers and the company’s bottom line, and encourage other dollar store chains to be just as transparent in their chemical policies and commitments to improve.”

Dollar General, which received a C- grade in the 2021 report card, has not responded to any recent communication from the Campaign for Healthier Solutions about expanding their list of restricted substances and product categories that they are focusing on.

Although Dollar General received positive attention last week for selling fresh groceries at some stores, they halted communication with the AgriCultura Network (ACN) in Albuquerque, a partner of the Campaign for Healthier Solution. During a face-to-face discussion between ACN and Dollar General in 2019, some parameters were set around certifications that ACN needed to become a local vendor. The project has since come to a standstill. This is an important pilot project because it would potentially give Dollar General a source for locally-grown produce and shelf-stable products directly from community gardens.

“Dollar Stores are often the most convenient places for busy families to purchase snacks and meals,” said Helga Garcia-Garza , Executive Director of the AgriCultura Network. “We will not stop fighting until we know these stores are not selling toxic products, including food, especially products targeted for children.”

99 Cents Only Stores have done nothing to phase out toxic chemicals. They have earned an F grade with zero points on the Retailer Report Card for the third year in a row, landing them in the Toxic Hall of Shame.

Many of the products in Five Below stores are targeted toward children. Still, 66% of the products in the new report from Five Below tested positive for at least one chemical of concern. Although Five Below is a new target for the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, the group’s members are hopeful that they will soon be ready to begin eliminating hazardous chemicals from their products.

The good news is that there was some improvement from the Campaign’s 2015 product testing report – A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Discount Retailers are Falling Behind on Safer Chemicals. At that time, 164 products were tested and over 81% contained at least one chemical of concern, including lead in children’s jewelry, which was not found in the latest round of testing.

“We hope discount retailers will phase out these harmful chemicals once and for all,” said Bravo. “Until then, we will continue testing and releasing the results.”

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Is laminate wood flooring a sustainable option?

The short answer: it depends. The easy answer, probably not. The likely answer no way. Laminates are bonded together with toxic glues and made to look like wood. 

They look like wood and feel like wood but many of today’s low cost wood floors are laminate. That means they are made with crushed up wood and mixed together with glue, much in the same way magical cardboard bikes or bamboo plates and furniture are put together. Taking a natural material and then bonding it all together with plastic glue does not make a product green. Remember the ramen noodle guy? He can fix anything with ramen noodles and crazy glue. That’s what laminate flooring is and basically most bamboo products. Don’t get bamboozled. 

One one hand manufacturers use renewable resources but on the other hand, everything is held together with petrochemical-based glues which contain neurodisruptors and toxins.

The most eco way to make a wooden floor is to use reclaimed wood from building sites. Or from sunken logs brought to the surface and processed. With a little hunting around you can find gorgeous ancient wood that you can replane at a carpentry shop and you have an ancient 100% eco floor. Or maybe when you dig up the old tiles in your house you might find a perfectly gorgeous old wooden floor or another set of tiles. 

Another wooden floor option is to buy new planks from sustainably farmed wood. Look for the FSC stamp but that’s not perfect either. And the cost of wood since Covid hit the world has made reflooring or home improvements right now a not so sustainable option. 

Rcycling old wood into new laminate with veneeer is an option. In fact, most laminate flooring manufacturers now explicitly point out how sustainable and eco-friendly this flooring option is and use it as a major selling point for their product. I’d look at their safety and materials data sheets before buying laminate of any kid because it might contain formadehyde and all sorts of other toxins you’d be living and sleeping with. 

Most laminate products are flasely labelled. And if you seacrh on Google they will scream for your attention. That means that we need to perform our due diligence and proper research before we can truly walk away knowing we’ve done what’s best for the planet.

As laminate flooring is made from a mixture of potentially toxic resin (glue) and fiber-board, how the materials made can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

It is possible to find eco-friendly laminate flooring, but the chance is doubtful that it will be unless you find a very specific company. Look around. Ask your friends. Although, even the most sustainable of practices surrounding production aren’t worth much if the product itself isn’t very sustainable, further complicating the issue. You’d need to look into greenhouse gas emissions and life cycle of the product. 

Laminate Materials & Their Harvesting Checklist

To understand the ecological impact of laminate flooring, it should be understood exactly what it is made out of and where those materials are made from.

Sustainable laminate flooring that comes from FSC & PEFC sustained forests is essential to long term sustainability of this textile. About three ingredients make up the bulk of laminate’s four layer design. The topmost layer is typically made from aluminum oxide as a way to protect each individual plank while the rest of a plank is made primarily from fiberboard and resins.

The fiberboard needs to come from a sustainable place, as it is primarily made from wood. When laminate flooring is FSC & PEFC certified, it means that the wood used in the construction of each board comes from a forest that adheres to strict sustainability rules when it comes to how many trees and cut and in what configuration.

If laminate doesn’t carry this certification, there’s a risk that it was harvested from forests where clear-cutting and other bad environmental practices are in place. When harvested properly from forests that adhere to conservation rules laid out by governing bodies, the harvesting of the wood itself is eco-friendly.

Laminate Is Recyclable

When it comes to tile flooring and hardwood, very seldom are the materials recycled to be used in further building developments. The tiles often go to the dump and the hardwood will either suffer the same fate or become wood pulp at best, assuming whoever is disposing of the hardwood planks cares enough to make sure it goes to a recycling facility.

Laminate however is completely recyclable (in theory) though doubtful because of the toxins and glues in them. and there are many facilities equipped to separate the individual ingredients for reuse. The particle board interior layers are easily repurposed to give these materials a second life. If you have the energy for that.

Even the most battered and beaten laminate flooring can be sent to a chipboard center and properly converted into wood chips and fibers. Since only the top layer needs to be aesthetically pleasing, it doesn’t matter the condition of the individual planks being recycled. More often than not the new material used in the production of laminate flooring is the new layer close to the top with the design picked out by the customer. Check before you buy that your laminate is recyclable.

Waste From Other Industries Can Be Used

The wood fibers and chips that make up individual fiberboards present in laminate flooring don’t just have to come from other laminate floors, many other industries create massive amounts of bark, sawdust, or miscut wood, all of which can be sold to a laminate floor company for a fraction of the price and at a fraction of the environmental impact of felling new trees. You can make laminate from any sort of material, probably even ramen noodles. Remember: it’s not the material they are selling that you need to look at carefully. It’s how it’s all held together.

If you think about the sheer volume of industries that make use of wood and end up with lots of scraps at the end of the day, it is easy to see how the laminate flooring business can help put those scraps to better use. Very few products have the distinction of being able to deal with waste from other manufacturing processes, making this kind of flooring in a class of its own. That is a positive step.

Sustainable Creation Practices

The resins that keep laminate board together and at their strongest is primarily melamine, a resin recreated by a reaction of formaldehyde with a few extra toxic ingredients.

The overall amount of formaldehyde used in each board and at the factory as a whole has been on the decrease over time but it is a risky and toxic material. Laminate flooring that uses less formaldehyde is often marked with a CARB, P2, E1, or E0 designation that signifies a lower overall formaldehyde level. Think about whether you want to expose your office workers to this material before you cover the office in laminate.

When laminate flooring comes from FSC & PEFC certified forests, consumers can rest assured that no pesticides were used and that no heavy metals are present in any of the boards.

Even at the manufacturing plant most laminate flooring producers are tending towards equipment that has lower overall emissions to take advantage of the many different government incentives for doing so. This means that the manufacturing process is as environmentally friendly as possible, with new leaps in sustainability occurring on a very frequent basis. Again, look for materials data before you buy.

Installation Is Easy

No special adhesives are required to keep laminate flooring in place, this reduces the overall use of volatile organic compounds that are bad news for the health status of any living things nearby. This is true but if you are actually trying to isolate sounds in your home between floors you will need layers of plastic padding and piles of off gassing glue.

Laminate flooring can eliminate the need for VOCs altogether assuming you have purchased the variety that doesn’t need any adhesives whatsoever, which in today’s market is nearly all varieties. 

Laminate can be LEED Certified

In response to poor practices in design that lead to deforestation and pollution of the environment, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program was created in 1993 to work as a watchdog in the building sector that wishes to ensure sustainable practices.

Building materials and techniques are ranked based on their overall impact on the environment, with everything from emissions during production to ramifications of installation & use taken into account. Most laminate flooring holds a LEED certification of at least certified, with some even going as far as silver and above in overall sustainability. Again look at the materials in the resins.

This burden hinges on the manufacturer, as it is their responsibility to ensure that they conform to all of the requirements of LEED as well as only obtaining their materials from FSC certified forests.

Any manufacturer that has done so will display this fact prominently, so if you can’t find these certifications from a certain manufacturer then it is best to keep shopping around until you find one that you can confirm without a shadow of a doubt contributes to sustainable building practices.

Cork might be the better option if you can find cork board that’s glued together with a natural resin. Or tile, or upcycled old wood. Or maybe just keep living with the old floor. 

The post Can Laminate Floors Be Eco-Friendly? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Eating meat products anywhere is under fire recently, including fears that humans are destroying the planet for beef. Even poultry products are under increased scrutiny, with all kinds of growth hormones, antibiotics, and even poisons like arsenic being fed to chickens raised in commercial poultry farms. Wost of all, processed meat products people buy in their favorite supermarkets are chock full of questionable ingredients, including the notorious transglutaminase otherwise known as “meat glue”. Read on to consider some very good reasons for buying a whole animal or meat from organic sources. Much “fresh” meat in supermarkets is actually thawed from frozen cuts

Israel’s commercial meat processing industries are also coming under fire, despite the strict dietary or Kasruth food laws  that many Israelis follow as part of their daily lives. The issues surrounding commercial beef and poultry farms and slaughter houses in Israel were featured recently in a very informative and eye-opening feature article in the Haaretz  weekend magazine.

Entitled “Meat your maker: What’s really inside an Israeli steak “ focused on the reality of the meat products industry in this country was revealed in a very graphic and thought provoking way.

The article covered both red meat (mostly beef) and poultry, which Israelis consume in amazing quantities due mainly to price considerations rather than for health reasons.

In regards to beef products, the 1994 Meat and Meat Products Law stipulates that only kosher meat can be imported into Israel. This means that after the kashering process has been done to the meat after slaughter, it arrives in Israel partially dehydrated due to the amount of salt used to rid it of blood.

Water is then added to the meat which often is far more than the 10 percent allowed by law (sometimes as much as 40 to 50 percent, according to the article).

Frozen beef is often sold in supermarkets as fresh cuts, as revealed in a previous Green Prophet article written almost two years ago.  Mind you, all of these issues come even before talking about ones as adding all types of antibiotics, hormones and other additives into cattle food while the beasts are being fattened for slaughter. The use of the previously mentioned meat glue was not mentioned in the Haaretz article, but other types of flavor and texture enhances were, as said by Keren Hod, a clinical dietician:

“The substances involved include fillers (water, vegetable protein ), thickening and stabilizing agents (phosphates, gelatin, cellulose), leavening agents (sodium bicarbonate, yeast) and processed starches (monosodium glutamate, spices ). Accordingly, it’s worth taking note of the two words ‘water added’ on packaged meat.”

Chickens  make up the bulk of meat Israelis eat and are divided into two main categories: the type raised in cages in commercial poultry farms and “free running” or organic ones which are fed less growth stimulants and (supposedly) no antibiotics.

The growth stimulants and other concoctions fed to cage raised chickens result in  their reaching full growth of around 2 kg  in only 38 days as compared to over 50 days for free running fowl.

According to the article, the use of antibiotics in poultry raising has been banned by many countries, including most EU countries, Australia and New Zealand. This also holds true for pesticides such as arsenic, which were used to rid the poultry of various parasites.

The anti-parasitic additive known as roxarsone which contains arsenic is still being marketed to poultry growers, while the Israel Agricultural Ministry “preferred the stand taken by the farmers who were guided by economic considerations.”

Toxic metals, especially cadmium, are found in high quantities in commercial poultry feed as well.

Although turkeys are raised in large numbers, they are still not as preferred like chickens. That doesn’t mean these larger foul are healthier, however, as they are also fed large quantities of hormones and other growth stimulants as well as other questionable ingredients.

Both cattle and poultry have often been given feed composed of “organic remains” of animals, which often include feces or “poop” to put it more bluntly.

Organic chickens are required to be fed food made form organic grains, which result in their meet being much more expensive for consumers: NIS 38 per kg as compared to prices as low as NIS 9 per kilogram for commercially raised foul sold in large supermarket chains.

The brutal treatment that animals receive during their wretched lives is another matter, however. Specifically mentioned were cattle raised in commercial “feed lots” where overcrowding and filthy conditions are often the norm. We talked about this in the article on swine farms where pig abuse is rampant.

The bottom line to this story appears to be the profit motive of raising “factory farm” animals instead of those raised on organic food and kept in more sanitary conditions: “The supermarket expects to make a profit of 30% on my chickens,” an organic poultry grower told the Haaretz reporter. This is why his products cost so much more.

Judging from what is usually seen at  supermarket meat counters, most consumers appear to pass up the more expensive natural brands for the cheaper chemical laced ones, poop and arsenic and all.

Word of caution: if these atrocities are happening in Israel where the government is fairly authoritative we wonder what can possibly be happening in other Middle Eastern countries with little regulation over meat.

More about commercial meal issues in Israel and elsewhere:
Arsenic Fed Chickens – Watch Out!
The Meat You Eat May Not be What You think
Meat glue: Is Anybody talking About It?
Pig Abuse Rampant in Kosher Israel

Chicken Farm in Taiwan from Shutterstock

The post Israeli Meat Fed With Feces and Pumped With Toxic Contaminants appeared first on Green Prophet.

I’ve never understood the desire to chemically straighten one’s hair, perhaps because my wavy locks can go either way, and natural tricks for my hair type work just fine. Even so, many curly-haired friends have paid a bundle for this service, which promises to leave your tresses looking lovely for months. As the popularity of the treatment has grown, so too have the concerns. Some of the chemicals found in the products are linked to not so eco-sexy health risks including birth defects and spontaneous abortions.

A growing body of scientific evidence indicates there is reason to worry about chemicals found in salon products. According to Women’s Voices for the Earth, an activist organization in the US, there is an ‘ugly side to this kind of beauty’.

“One recent study has shown that nail salon workers have higher levels of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a reproductive and developmental toxicant, than the general population. Another study found that beauticians and hairdressers are likely to have significant exposure to solvents that are linked to birth defects. Other studies have found cosmetologists are at a higher risk for having spontaneous abortions and low birth weight babies.”

Part of the problem is that many of the products like the Brazilian Blowout are unregulated in the United States and other countries. It is banned in Canada, France, Germany, Australia and Ireland.

The Brazilian Blowout company settled with the California Attorney General in 2011, and it is now required to state on package labels that the product contains formaldehyde. However, the products remain on the shelves and a class action lawsuit by salon workers has been filed both in the U.S. and Canada.

We were unable to find any references to similar concerns in the Middle East.

Image of beautiful hair by Shutterstock

Read More Health and Beauty News:
RECIPE: Eco-Sexy Summer Solstice Lip Balm (Natural)
Sage Advice on Natural Deodorants (7 Tips)

The author is a regular contributor to Greenprophet.com and blogs at www.tinamariebernard.com.

The post Are Brazilian Blowouts Putting Kinks in Health? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Among those sweet baby scents have lurked not so sweet ingredients like formaldehyde, claim activists.

If there is a signature scent associated with babyhood, Johnson & Johnson’s baby shampoo could win that prize. It’s a longstanding favorite with parents around the globe and has been for decades. Though the consumer products giant shut down their Israeli offices in 2009, the company’s cosmetic brands in Israel netted them close to $50 million that same year, reported Ynetnews.com. Their products are sold throughout the Middle East including Israel, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, according to the website.

That means babies have been exposed to what activists have referred to as the ‘toxic tub problem.’ Fortunately, a concerted effort by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has led to a activist victory. Johnson & Johnson, makers of Aveeno, Neutrogena, and Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, announced this month that it will be removing some of these toxins from its baby and adult products globally.

“This is a major victory for public health,” said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast Cancer Fund, a co-founder of the campaign. “We applaud Johnson & Johnson for its leadership in committing to remove cancer-causing chemicals from its products. We will be vigilant in making sure it meets its commitments and will continue to encourage it to remove other ingredients of concern.”

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a US coalition of more than 175 nonprofit organizations working to protect the health of consumers and workers by eliminating dangerous chemicals from cosmetics.

Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest companies in the world, told the Campaign it will reformulate its hundreds of cosmetics and personal care products in all the markets it serves in 57 countries around the world. Specifically, it will:

•    Reduce 1,4 dioxane to a maximum of 10 parts per million in adult products;
•    Phase out formaldehyde-releasers in adult products;
•    Limit parabens in adult products to methyl-, ethyl- and propyl-;
•    Complete phase-out of triclosan from all products;
•    Phase out Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) from all products (no other phthalates are currently used);
•    Phase out polycyclic musks, animal derived ingredients, tagates, rose crystal and diacetyl from fragrances.

Johnson & Johnson’s announcement follows the company’s November 2011 commitment to globally reformulate its baby products. This coincided in part with the release of two reports called Toxic Tub and Baby’s Tub is Still Toxic, which showed Johnson & Johnson baby products contain  carcinogens.

Read More Toxic News:
BPA Chemical Banned From Baby Bottles, Cups in the US
BPA Disrupts the Quality of Eggs Retrieved in IVF Treatment
US Study: Toxins in Kids Costing Billions
The author is a regular contributor to Greenprophet.com and blogs at www.tinamariebernard.com.

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Car and home air conditioning units provide a cooler internal environment, and may also be a possible source of drinking water in emergency situations . But there is another side to air conditioning, especially car AC units, if turned on immediately after the car has been parked for a period of time on a hot summer’s day. This is especially worrying in Middle East countries where it’s hot almost year round.  Consider the following scenario:

You’ve left your car in the parking lot of a shopping mall on a scorching July or August day; and now after returning to it, and with an inside temperature is more than 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit) and you immediately turn on the car’s AC unit. Turning on the AC Unit without first opening the car windows for a few moments can result in  your body receiving dangerous benzene fumes from plastic and other synthetic materials in the car’s dashboard, linings, and upholstery.

This possibility was explored on the myth-busting website Snopes:

Benzene is a toxin that is released from these parts of the car’s interior, and if large amounts of it are ingested, a number of serious health problems can occur including anemia, bone diseases, and cancers like leukemia.

Studies made concerning the levels of benzene released in this manner indicate levels reaching 2000 – 4000 mg or 40 times normal acceptable levels. This is even more true in super hot Middle Eastern locales such  as the UAE and Saudi Arabia where daytime summer temperatures can reach 130 degrees or more in Fahrenheit terms.

The American Cancer Society, warns that over exposure to benzene fumes increases risks to become infected with leukemia and other blood -related diseases. Studies conducted on benzine emissions found that older cars emit more benzene toxin emissions on hot days, ending the myth that these toxins may also be caused by the “new car smell ” of newer models.

To avoid such dangers, it is advised to roll down the car windows for a few moments before turning on the AC. This enables these toxic fumes to escape and will result in them not being absorbed by the body’s lungs and circulatory system.

Even waiting as long as 5 to 8 minutes before turning on the car AC unit could be life saving in regards to preventing the absorption of Benzene and other toxic fumes, including those of plastics like polyethylene and polystyrene that make up parts of the car’s interior.

At high temperatures, these plastics emit quantities of alkyl benzenes and benzoperylene, which may cause cancer, Snopes ascertains.

A second article, by urbanlegends.about.com does disprove a good deal of the warnings noted in the Snopes article, in a second study that states:

Despite the detectable presence of volatile oganic compounds (VOCs), reaching a total of 10.9 mg per cubic meter in a new car and 1.2 mg per cubic meter in an old car, no toxic effects were observed. Apart from noting the slight possibility that allergy-prone individuals might find their condition exacerbated by exposure to such compounds, the study concluded there is “no apparent health hazard of parked motor vehicle indoor air.”

In 2011, a Cancer.org MD refuted the claims made on the circulating email:

“We found no published studies that confirm the claims of this e-mail. Benzene levels that exceed recommendations for chronic workplace exposure have been observed in some moving cars, but these levels seem unlikely in properly maintained cars.

“Still, if you’re concerned about benzene levels in cars (especially in cars with the engine running), there’s no harm in opening the windows periodically or using an air-conditioner setting that circulates air from outside the vehicle.”

The jury is out. To be on the safe side, when in doubt, open your car windows prior to turning on the AC.

Photo: toofasteddie.com

More on AC Units and record summer temperatures:

Time to Drink Water from Air Con Units
Linum Systems Makes Cool from the Heat of the Sun
Record High Summer Temperatures are also Scorching the Middle East

The post Can Air Con Fumes In Hot Cars Cause Cancer? appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you live in the west or the east, in an economically advanced country or a repressed one, getting a blood test is always a good way to know if you have been exposed to heavy metal toxins. If you live in a large city, you can ask your own doctor about the possibility in testing your blood, but there are also a number of companies that offer mail-in and online results. Try bloodtest.org. This particular company is based in the US, but you can always call them via Skype if you live in another country to see if their nurses can help you understand what tests you might need. 

Some heavy metals can be tolerated by the body, or even necessary for survival. But exposure to high levels of some heavy metals can easily become toxic. Sometimes we get exposed to metals in our diet, from the local environment, the workplace or home. Knowing more about what’s in your body can help you appeal to local authorities where you can demand better living and working conditions. Consider the case in Turkey where one researcher discovered scary levels of contaminants in newborns and breastfeeding mothers. Local industry will need to answer to these pollutants in some way or another.

What heavy metals you can track and trace

Mercury which is often found in polluted fish and near industrial areas is very toxic to human beings and wildlife. Cadmium found in the toxic waste dumps near where e-waste is rotting is another way kids and adults in the Middle East get poisoned. Arsenic and lead are two others to watch out for.

Other heavy metals that can lead to toxic exposures include chromium, copper, fluoride, zinc, and xylenes.

According to http://bloodtest.org, “Patients who have had heavy metal exposure may have no symptoms or symptoms that vary according to the type and severity of the exposure. Some signs of metal poisoning include pain in the abdomen, vomiting and nausea, tingling or weakness in the hands and feet, organ damage, memory loss, behavioral changes and breathing problems. Anemia may also occur, and children with this problem often develop weak bones.”

Others lead to physical, muscular and neurological damages which can cause Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and possibly allergies down the road. Exposure to some can cause cancer.

We often associate blood tests with pathological conditions, but knowing what’s lurking in the blood can help you and your community better protect its future.

:: www.bloodtest.org

Image of blood test from Shutterstock

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