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Research

Across U.S., Eruptions of Toxic Algae Plague Lakes, Threatening Drinking Water and Recreation

Microcystins are poisonous toxins that can form in blooms of blue-green algae. In recent years, algae blooms – actually microscopic bacteria called cyanobacteria – have erupted in hundreds of lakes nationwide, putting at risk Americans whose drinking water comes from those lakes, or who swim, ski or fish in them. If ingested, microcystins can cause adverse health effects in people and animals
Research

Pouring It On

Nitrate in drinking water at levels greater than the Federal standard of 10 parts per million (ppm) can cause methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal condition in infants commonly known as blue-baby syndrome. According to Dr. Burton Kross, of the University of Iowa's Center For International Rural and Environmental Health, nitrate poisoning via drinking water contamination "certainly contributes to
Food & Water
Water
Household & Consumer Products
Family Health
Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals
Regional Issues
California

Calif. bill would ban ‘forever chemicals’ in products for children

State legislation that would ban the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS from a wide range of children’s products passed out of the California Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials...
Research

Freedom to Farm

The "Freedom to Farm" legislation, approved by a partisan vote of the House Agriculture Committee, will be taken up by the House of Representatives soon after it reconvenes on Tuesday, February 27. The Senate has already passed a version of the bill. In its current form, the "Freedom to Farm" bill will be one of the most generous Federal farm subsidy programs ever considered in the U.S. House of

EWG news roundup (4/9): Clean energy jobs on the horizon, key California bills advance past committee and more

EWG news roundup (4/9): Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.

Consumer Guides

EWG's tips to avoid flame retardants

For decades, foam furniture, baby products and electronics have been loaded with needless flame retardants that migrate out of products and into our bodies. These chemicals have been linked to cancer and hormone disruption, as well as deficits in motor skills, attention and IQ in children. Though the most toxic ones have been phased out in the United States, they were replaced with poorly studied
Baby with toy
Research

Deal Breaker

Since 1985, agricultural lawmakers have defended payment of more than $108 billion in federal subsidies to farmers by arguing that the payments help to protect the environment. In order to receive subsidies, farmers must abide by soil and wetlands protections. This "deal" between farmers and taxpayers would be broken by the "Conservation Consolidation and Regulatory Reform Act" (H.R. 2542). As
Research

Pesticides in Baby Food

To determine the extent of pesticide contamination of baby food, we tested eight foods (applesauce, garden vegetables or pea and carrot blend, green beans, peaches, pears, plums, squash and sweet potatoes) made by the three major baby food producers that account for 96 percent of all baby food sales -- Gerber, Heinz, and Beech-Nut. All samples were purchased at retail from grocery stores in three
Food & Water
Food

Study: Additive found in Skittles and Starburst no longer considered safe

An additive used in Skittles, Starburst, Hostess’ Donettes and thousands of other foods should no longer be considered safe for human consumption, according to a new study from the European Union’s...
Skittles
Farming & Agriculture
Farm Subsidies

Do farmers need more federal welfare?

Every year, the American Farm Bureau Federation and other Big Ag lobby groups demand more federal subsidies for farmers. Before that happens this year, with the farm economy white-hot, it’s time to...

Children’s Health

EWG news roundup (5/14): How the Biden administration should address the nation’s lead pipe problem, EWG calls on produce industry to support chlorpyrifos ban and more

EWG News Roundup 5/14: Here's some news you can use going into the weekend.

Food & Water
Water
Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals
Regional Issues
Defense Communities
North Carolina

At the most contaminated military sites, little to no progress in cleaning up ‘forever chemicals’

The Pentagon has made almost no progress in cleaning up the military installations that are some of the most contaminated with the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to an EWG review...
Personal Care Products
Household & Consumer Products
Cookware & Food Containers
Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals
California
Defense Communities

EWG applauds bill to end Defense Dept. use of ‘forever chemicals’ in household items

The Environmental Working Group today applauded Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) for introducing legislation to end the Defense Department’s purchase, procurement and...
Personal Care Products
Cosmetics
Toxic Chemicals

Bipartisan Senate bill would help protect consumers from toxic chemicals in personal care products

A bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to ensure that the chemicals used in cosmetics and...
Woman putting on face cream
Food & Water
Food

Organic sales soar in 2020 to over $61 billion

Sales of organic food and other organic products in the U.S. surged to nearly $62 billion in 2020 – up more than 12 percent from the year before, according to a new survey by the Organic Trade...
Food & Water
Water
Toxic Chemicals
Lead
Regional Issues
California

California Assembly approves bill to sharply reduce lead leaching from water faucets and fixtures

Today a bill to sharply reduce lead leaching from water faucets and fixtures passed the California Assembly. If it becomes law, it will create the nation’s most legally stringent lead leaching limit...
Toxic Chemicals
Pesticides

Bayer may end sales of toxic weedkiller Roundup for residential use

After a federal judge rejected a proposed $2 billion settlement for all future claims that Roundup causes cancer, the maker of the widely used weedkiller said it will consider whether to end its sale...

EWG news roundup (6/4): Maryland cosmetics bill becomes law, FDA budget targets food safety and more

EWG news roundup (6/4): Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.

Research

City Slickers

American taxpayers are sending hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal farm subsidy checks every year to a handful of absentee owners, corporations and other "farmers" who live smack in the middle of the country's biggest cities. Over the past decade, taxpayers wrote 1.6 million agriculture subsidy checks worth more than $1.3 billion to "city slickers" whose permanent mailing address is in the
Farming & Agriculture
Climate & Agriculture
Conservation
Farm Subsidies

Cover crops, touted as a climate crisis solution, planted on only 1 in 20 acres of Corn Belt cropland

Cover crops, which help control water pollution from farm runoff, remain a little-used tool on Midwestern farmland, despite almost 100 years of science showing its value, according to a new...

EWG news roundup (6/11): What FDA should do to address toxic chemicals in food, PFAS in Great Lake region rainwater and more

EWG news roundup (6/11): Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
Food & Water
Food
Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals

FDA test results again downplay risks of ‘forever chemicals’ in food

The Food and Drug Administration’s release today of tests for the presence of the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in food once again downplays the risks that the substances pose to consumers, with...
Takeout food

EWG news roundup (8/27): ‘Forever chemicals’ taint military sites across the nation, FDA downplays PFAS risks in food and more

EWG news roundup (8/27):Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.

EWG weekly news roundup
Food & Water
Water
Farming & Agriculture
Farm Pollution
Toxic Algae

Avoid potentially toxic algae during Labor Day weekend: Almost 400 outbreaks already in 2021

At least 39 states are suffering potentially toxic algae bloom outbreaks this year, with almost 400 news reports of incidents already in 2021 – a 25 percent leap from reports by the same time last...
Person running their hand through an algae bloom