 Stories About: health AND toxics
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The Lawn and Short of It How to green your yard -- even more |
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13 May 2008 |
From A to Green |
| One of the most enduring truisms on earth is that all you need -- aside from love, of course -- is loam. Good dirt and a few seeds can get you a plot of paradise, whether you're nursing daffodils in a window box, planting a native tree, or cultivating carrots, cukes, and Incredible Hulk-sized zucchini in a perfectly preened organic garden. Go a few steps further -- grab a rake, shovel, spade, soaker hose, hemp gardening ... |
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| Topics: advice, From A to Green, gardening, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Flex and Effects On plastic bottles and BPA |
Umbra Fisk |
12 May 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I've been hearing a lot in the news lately about the dangers of certain kinds of plastic bottles. What's the lowdown? Thirstily, Ginger Littleton, Colo. Dearest Ginger, Always happy to be your source for the lowest lowdown around town. Today's lowdown: Don't use plastic bottles, and avoid canned food. All the latest plastics hullabaloo is over bisphenol A, a component of many plastic products. Serious Gristoholic ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Where the Lead Comes Sweepin' Down the Plain Tornado ravages town already ravaged by pollution |
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12 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:41 AM on 12 May 2008 Six people were killed in Picher, Okla., this weekend as a giant tornado swept through. The not-so-bright bright side: It's likely that some fatalities were avoided, since many residents of Picher have already left. Picher is so polluted with mining waste that it's listed as a Superfund site; the town's booming lead and zinc mines closed decades ago, and its population ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, health, mining, news, Oklahoma, placemaking, severe weather, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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SKB and BPA on NPR Everything you wanted to know about bisphenol A, in my dulcet tones |
Sarah K. Burkhalter |
08 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I was on NPR talking about bisphenol A (that nasty chemical all up in our plastics). Audio is here. I expect these questions will be forthcoming: Do you always sound a bit froggy? No, I was a wee bit sick. Do you always make up rhymes on the spot? Yes. Yes, I do. |
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| Topics: green living, health, shameless self-promotion, toxics (all these topics) |
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Tough as Nails A five-fingered review of less-toxic nail polishes |
Sarah van Schagen |
06 May 2008 |
The Bottom Line |
| If you've ever gone in for a manicure and, getting a good whiff of the stuff, wondered what sort of chemicals create a smell like that, you've hit the nail polish issue on the head. Those tiny little glass bottles of paint that we apply so gingerly to our fingernails and toenails -- and unless you're a manicure Michelangelo, often our skin as well -- contain a long list of chemicals, some of th ... |
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| Topics: advice, green living, green products, health, shopping, The Bottom Line, toxics (all these topics) |
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Soiled Again On lead and gardens |
Umbra Fisk |
05 May 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, In your reply to the question about pollution and rooftop gardening, you talked a fair amount about lead pollution. Since gasoline is no longer leaded, and since it's container gardening that wouldn't have any lead paint in it, and surely nobody has lead water pipes any more, why is lead even a concern? Teresa Brenham, Tex. Dearest Teresa, Our ecological history hangs around our necks like a lead weight. Still heavy after al ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, gardening, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Lipstick Bungle An interview with Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics |
Katharine Wroth |
02 May 2008 |
Grist Feature |
| Stacy Malkan. Beauty, they say, is only skin deep. But given the load of toxic chemicals in everyday products like shampoo, deodorant, and makeup, that superficial truth is still cause for concern. With increasing frequency, studies point to hidden dangers in the medicine cabinet: things like lead in lipstick, phthalates in baby lotions, aluminum in deodorant. While the am ... |
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| Topics: consumerism, grassroots activism, green living, health, interview, shopping, toxics (all these topics) |
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Getting Hard to Carrion Wild Asian vultures going the way of the dodo |
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30 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:24 PM on 30 Apr 2008 Wild Asian vultures are likely going to the way of the dodo, a new study says. The white-backed vulture population has plunged by nearly 99.9 percent in India since 1992, and two other vulture species have seen a drop of 97 percent, say researchers publishing in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Researchers blame diclofenac, a drug given to livestock and ingested by the birds ... |
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| Topics: endangered species, health, India, news, scientific research, toxics, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Health Bent EPA chemical-review process sucks, says GAO |
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29 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:32 PM on 29 Apr 2008 U.S. EPA reviews of the health risks posed by ubiquitous chemicals are hampered by extensive nonscientist involvement, says a report from the Government Accountability Office. The EPA review process, rejiggered by the White House in 2004, is cloaked in secrecy, causes years of delay, and has lost credibility, the GAO says. The Defense Department, Energy Department, and NASA, all of which have a vested inter ... |
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| Topics: Government Accountability Office, health, news, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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The Moth-Ban Prophecies Bay Area escapes aerial spraying, for now |
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25 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:48 AM on 25 Apr 2008 A plan to spray Santa Cruz County with synthetic pheromones must be postponed until an environmental review is completed, a county judge ruled Thursday. The spraying, an attempt by agriculture officials to curb the invasion of the crop-gobbling light brown apple moth, was to begin in Santa Cruz County in June and expand to seven other Bay Area counties in August. But many of the 7 million resident ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, California, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Down to the Last Drop Nalgene, Wal-Mart back away from BPA |
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18 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:08 PM on 18 Apr 2008 Bottle manufacturer Nalgene will stop using plastic containing bisphenol A in response to concerns from the National Toxicology Program and the Canadian health department that the chemical probably shouldn't be sucked on by kids. Nalgene says it still believes its clear, hard plastic bottles "are safe for their intended use" but says it's responding to customers who "indicated they preferr ... |
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| Topics: business, food, green living, green products, health, news, shopping, toxics (all these topics) |
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Slurps of joy Nalgene dumps estrogenic ingredient |
Fawn Pattison |
18 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Have you been fretting over the reports of gender-bending pollutants leaching from reusable water bottles? Finally, some good news: Nalgene is dumping polycarbonate plastic, according to a report in The New York Times today. Nalgene made its decision in response to Health Canada's announcement earlier this week that it would list bisphenol A as a toxicant. BPA is the estrogenic plastic additive that makes polycarbonate a dubious choice for food and beverage contain ... |
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| Topics: food, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Ew, Toxins Again? U.S. health agency says ubiquitous chemical may harm kiddos |
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16 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:24 PM on 16 Apr 2008 A U.S. federal agency has declared that there is "some concern" that chemical bisphenol A can harm the development of children's brains and reproductive systems. The National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, issued a draft report following up on an 18-month review of BPA. The agency reported more concern than was suggested by its advisory panel, ... |
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| Topics: food, green living, health, news, parenting, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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Bisphenol, Eh? Health Canada primed to declare bisphenol A toxic |
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15 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:43 PM on 15 Apr 2008 Canada's health department is expected to become the first regulatory body ever to declare chemical bisphenol A a toxic substance that humans should reduce their exposure to. BPA shows up in (and leaches from) hard plastic water bottles, aluminum cans, and other containers that consumers regularly eat and drink from. The chemical, which has been linked to reproductive anomalies, has come under some ... |
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| Topics: Canada, food, health, news, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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Got food? Farmworker Awareness Week is a chance to recognize the people whose labor means we can eat |
Fawn Pattison |
31 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is Farmworker Awareness Week, a time to support the millions of farmworkers whose labor puts food on every American table, and who work and live in some of the worst environmental conditions in our nation. It's estimated that 2 to 3 million farmworkers plant, tend, and harvest American crops every year. Many farmworkers in the U.S. are migrants who move from place to place following the harvest. Where I live, in North Carolina, migrant farmworkers are the ma ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, Big Ag, business, environmental justice, food, grassroots activism, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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If It's Broke, Fix It EPA announces new lead standards for renovation of older buildings |
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31 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:04 PM on 31 Mar 2008 Contractors will have to train workers to follow "lead-safe work practice standards" when renovating or repairing older dwellings that house children or pregnant women, according to new standards introduced Monday by the U.S. EPA. The new requirements are an attempt to keep lead out of the bloodstreams of babes, as structures built before 1978 are likely to contain ... |
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| Topics: green building, green living, health, news, placemaking, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Ash Ask On burning paper |
Umbra Fisk |
19 Mar 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, We heat our house primarily by wood, in an efficient, EPA-rated woodstove. My question is this: We recycle all of our paper, paperboard, cardboard, etc., but would it be better to burn it? As it is, we drive it to the recycle center, they ship it off somewhere, it is then processed, then shipped back out as a product. If we burn it, we get some heat, and ashes to spread on our garden. Which is better for paper -- recycling or burning ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, health, recycling, toxics (all these topics) |
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Got chemical and pesticide residues in your milk? Conventional milk contains toxics, says the USDA |
Tom Philpott |
13 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Organic Center acts as a kind of shadow USDA, digesting the latest peer-reviewed research on organic food, translating it into English, and issuing summary reports. Consumers won't want to miss the center's newest one on pesticide residues [PDF]. It contains one of those handy guides on which conventional fruits and veggies convey the most toxic traces to eaters (here's a handy two-pager [PDF] for the fridge), as well as a blunt and important discussion of the pl ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, health, organic food, toxics (all these topics) |
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Misfortunes of War Gulf War syndrome likely caused by chemical exposure, says research |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:56 PM on 11 Mar 2008 Fatigue, dizziness, rashes, memory loss, and other symptoms of Gulf War syndrome are likely tied to a combination of chemicals that veterans were exposed to during the war, says new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The review of studies on Gulf War syndrome supports the theory that pesticides used around military bases, anti-nerve-gas ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Keep your laws off my germ-resistant hook EPA versus the antimicrobial keychain |
Tia Ghose |
06 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The EPA is deciding whether to class an antimicrobial keychain as a pesticide, according to an article in the New York Times. The product, called the handler, is basically a small, plastic pirate's claw impregnated with nanoscale silver particles. The particles prevent bacteria from getting a foothold on the hook. Have to go to the ATM and come into contact with filthy keys that other flu-ridden people have pawed? No problem, just pull out your hook. No ... |
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| Topics: health, innovation, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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One hell of a company Monsanto uses child labor in its Indian cottonseed fields |
Tom Philpott |
29 Feb 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Photo: iStockphoto Monsanto dominates the global seed industry and churns out $1 billion a year in profit. Investors are so enamored of its market power and profitability that they've bid up its share price by nearly 1500 percent since 2004. So why does Monsanto rely on farms that use child labor to cultivate its genetically modified cotton seeds in India? From Forbes Magazine: Yothi Ramulla Naga is 4 feet tall. From sunup to sundown she is hunched ov ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, business, health, India, toxics (all these topics) |
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A hunk, a hunk of burnin' love Why burning a vinyl album is a bad idea |
Sarah van Schagen |
16 Feb 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Thursday night, a group of us Grist gals headed out to The Stranger's Valentine's Day Bash -- a yearly purge for Seattle's lovelorn wherein the wronged bring in mementos of their failed relationship and host Dan Savage destroys them on stage in some sick and twisted but totally satisfying way. (Fret not, old boyfriends, I didn't destroy anything of yours ...) Weapons of choice include a sledgehammer, a power saw, liquid nitrogen, men's urinals, a high-powered blend ... |
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| Topics: advice, green living, health, music, toxics (all these topics) |
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'Hyde and Shriek CDC confirms FEMA trailers tainted with formaldehyde; residents urged to move |
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14 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:03 PM on 14 Feb 2008 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has confirmed that the trailers used to house Gulf Coast hurricane victims are tainted with high levels of formaldehyde. The Federal Emergency Management Agency urged residents of over 35,000 of the trailers to move out as soon as possible, especially families with kids, elderly folks, and those with chronic illnesses. Formaldehyde ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
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Polyvinyl Want an Attacker? PVC is latest target of folks concerned about toxic toys |
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13 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:57 AM on 13 Feb 2008 Photo: iStockphoto Lead-toy furor is so last year; the source du jour of parental outrage is plastic polyvinyl chloride in toys. Numerous playthings -- balls, dolls, rubber duckies, tea sets, you name it -- contain PVC, which is made with carcinogen vinyl chloride, often softened with phthalates, and frequently contains lead and other heavy metals. While the Toy Industry Associa ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, news, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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My Three Sins On avoiding vinyl |
Umbra Fisk |
13 Feb 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Hi Umbra! I've been in denial about vinyl. Blue Vinyl, the movie, got me thinking, but unfortunately I space out and lie to myself. I even have bought those recently popular adult toys that advertise as being vinyl in large unavoidable proclamations on the front of the box and I still managed somehow to think, "It is probably a different process for toys." After reading your article about the LPs, I realized just how bad I have ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, health, shopping, toxics (all these topics) |
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