Gordon Plaza in New Orleans is a sad example of the environmental injustice that can make us so sick. This was a housing subdivision that was built on top of a garbage dump in the 1970s that eventually became a Superfund site, but no one told the Black homeowners that were encouraged to move in. In the untreated soil, the EPA found 149 toxic contaminants, 49 of them linked to cancer. Read more.
Get Informed on Issues Related to Chemicals
More Reason to Worry about Plastic Pollution
New research shows that plastic waste creates a perfect breeding environment for disease-carrying mosquitoes. The ubiquity of plastics, particularly microplastics, and their effects on human health make this an issue of pressing public health concern, both in the developing world and in the industrialized world. Microplastics have been shown to accumulate in the lungs, increase cancer risk, cause inflammation and oxidative stress, and adversely affect the immune system. Read more.
Big Farms, Empty Food, Chronic Disease
Modern agriculture has made food plentiful and abundant—but not healthy. Half of the American population have chronic diseases, utilizing 86 percent of health care dollars. Oftentimes the blame is placed on those who are ill for their lifestyle choices. But the numbers tell a different story: as small farmers started getting squeezed out of food production and agriculture became dominated by a smaller number of huge agribusinesses, the quality of our food dropped precipitously. Read more.
Microplastics Found in Lung Tissue of Living Humans for First Time: Study
Scientists at Hull York Medical School in England published their findings in the journal Science of the Total Environment, the first such study to show microplastics in the lung tissue of live people. Microplastics are extremely small plastic particles composed of mixtures of polymers and functional additives that measure less than five millimeters in size and are generally unintentionally released into the environment because of the disposal and breakdown of larger consumer products or industrial waste. Read more.
Strawberries, Spinach, Leafy Greens Top ‘Dirty Dozen’ List of Pesticide-Contaminated Foods
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) today announced that strawberries, spinach and leafy greens are again the top offenders on its 2022 Dirty Dozen — a list of the most pesticide-contaminated fresh fruits and vegetables, based on the latest tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read more.
Top Five Tips to Avoid Dangerous Chemicals
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are linked to cognitive deficits, obesity, diabetes, male and female reproductive dysfunction, birth defects, cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Read more.
What Happened When I Stopped Drinking Caffeine for a Month
I love coffee. Maybe too much. I used to drink up to four cups of Nespresso a morning—the darkest roast I could find. I looked forward to my first cup, and by the third, I knew I shouldn’t head to the kitchen to make the fourth, but I don’t always listen to my better judgment. Read more.
Contamination of U.S. Food Supply Worsens as 50% of Foods Tested Contained Cancer-Causing Glyphosate Herbicide
The Detox Project recently published their latest results from the most comprehensive glyphosate testing of food products ever conducted in the U.S., showing that the contamination of the U.S. food supply with the cancer-causing herbicide glyphosate is becoming significantly worse since their first report published 5 years ago. Read more.
When Seeds Become Toxic Waste
Agrichemical companies won’t say how they’re disposing of seeds coated with hazardous pesticides, and the EPA isn’t tracking it. Read more.
New Study Shows Microplastics Found in Human Blood for the First Time in History
A new study conducted by Dutch scientists found tiny plastic particles in human blood for the first time in almost 80% of the people tested, The Guardian reported. The study was funded by the Dutch National Organisation for Health Research and Development and Common Seas and published in Environment International. Read more.
