Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

Photo from the Associated Press of a necklace, purchased at an Ohio Wal-Mart, that contains high cadmium levels.

Yesterday, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum advised parents to take metal jewelry away from “children who will swallow, suck or chew on it” and that parents should “not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised”.

On September 5th, the federal government announced that the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane was not “toxic”. 1,4-Dioxane readily penetrates through skin and is an International Agency for Research on Cancer Group 2B carcinogen, on California’s Prop 65 as a chemical known to cause cancer, and a European Commission Category 3 carcinogen. It is a common impurity in consumer products, including those used by children (e.g., shampoo), even though it can be easily removed.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, My Toxic Baby follows director and new mother Min Sook Lee as she searches for “safe, sane and affordable ways” to raise her daughter in a toxic world.

Sunoco, a Philadelphia-based gas and chemical company, announced earlier this month they will refuse to sell bisphenol A (BPA) for use in children’s products. They will be the first global manufacturer to act on safety concerns surrounding the controversial chemical.

The company is requiring its customers to guarantee that bisphenol A will not be used in food and beverage containers for children under the age of three. They will not sell the chemical compound to customers unable to meet this requirement.

Testing carried out by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has revealed the presence of two cancer-causing chemicals in a number of popular kid’s bath products on the market.

Two studies published this week in Environmental Health News are giving scientists greater insight into the levels of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure in newborns, as well as possible sources and health impacts resulting from the controversial chemical. Both papers conclude that infants, especially those that are premature or under the age of two, are more vulnerable to the effects of BPA exposure.

Trying to figure out what toys to buy for your children this holiday? A report issued by the Ecology Center, a Michigan-based Environmental Group, reveals that it might be more difficult than you think.

The group tested over 1,500 toys for traces of dangerous chemicals including lead, cadmium, arsenic, and PVC. Results of their research show that one third of toys tested, many of which can be found in popular chain stores such as Toys R Us and Wal-Mart, contain medium to high levels of toxic chemicals.

A study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has linked a genital defect in babies with the exposure of mothers to hairspray in the workplace. Study results indicate that exposure to hairspray may double the risk of children being born with hypospadias, a condition where the urinary tract is found away from the penis.

The study involved interviews of 470 women with babies born with hypospadias, and the same number of women with children that did not have the birth defect. All women gave birth between 1997 and 1998.

A new study found some 92% of people tested between 2003 and 2004 had measurable amounts of bisphenol A in their urine. Findings are published in the January Environmental Health Perspectives. The concentrations were in a few parts per billion in urine, and were substantially higher than levels that have triggered birth defects and other diseases in animal studies. Researcher Antonia M.