Baby bottles leaching chemical, study finds

A new report is warning about the dangers of popular plastic baby bottle brands sold in Canada, noting that when heated, the bottles can release potentially harmful chemicals.

The study, commissioned by the Canadian group Environmental Defence, found that the bottles ooze bisphenol A (BPA) into the beverage inside in levels that surprised even the researchers.



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Siloam Springs playgrounds still closed

Ominous yellow caution ribbons flutter in the wind at two local playgrounds forcibly abandoned after school district officials received results from recent arsenic tests on Tuesday. Samples from pressure-treated wood taken from the Koala Community Playground at Northside Elementary School and the playground at Southside Elementary School came back from the laboratory positive for the toxic element.
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Kmart Items Marked Safe Had Lead

Kmart said yesterday that it would remove all jewelry advertised as “lead free” from its shelves after workers at lead monitoring programs who tested the pieces found that some actually contained high concentrations of the metal. (read more)

Study: Chemicals from household plastics found in volunteers' blood

Compounds used in a vast array of everyday products that range from plastic microwaveable containers, toys and medical devices were found in the blood and urine of participants in a nationwide monitoring program sponsored by a coalition of environmental health groups.
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Choose Your Lipstick Wisely - Lead Contamination Widespread

Reports about lipstick containing lead are flooding the media, since the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted a study of 33 lipsticks from store shelves among four U.S. cities and found that over 61% contained lead. Tests revealed levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits lead levels in candy to be less than 0.1 ppm, but does not regulate the level of lead in lipstick.
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Toxic chemicals contribute to weight gain?

During the past 20 years there has been a significant increase in weight gain and obesity in the United States. In most developed countries, current estimates suggest that women, in particular, are gaining weight on an average of 450g per year despite the plethora of low fat, no fat products and multitude diets and weight loss gadgets. Could it be that our modern day, chemical-laden lives are making us fat?
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Pennsylvania parents grow wary of vaccines

Many parents believe vaccinations against diseases such as measles, diphtheria, mumps and chicken pox pose a danger to children because the serums contain ingredients such as mercury and aluminum. More Pennsylvania parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children. (read more)

NY County Recalls Lead - Laced Lunch Bags

NEW YORK (AP) -- Lunch bags made in China and distributed for a program meant to encourage healthy eating are being recalled because they may contain lead, a suburban county health department says.

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GE hopes to cut mercury in "green" light bulbs.

NISKAYUNA, New York (Reuters) - General Electric Co is working to cut the amount of mercury in energy-saving fluorescent lightbulbs which have soared in popularity.

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Recycling Of E-waste In China May Expose Mothers, Infants To High Dioxin Levels

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2007) — With China now the destination for 70 percent of the computers, TVs, cell phones, and other electronic waste (e-waste) recycled worldwide each year, a new study has concluded that Chinese recycling methods significantly increase dioxin levels in women and their breast-fed infants. (read more)

Arsenic Poisoning a concern.. The other side of the story.

I recently brought a story to you entitled "Arsenic Poisoning a Concern on Australian Playgrounds". The article started like this_ THE state is still riddled with playgrounds containing timber play equipment laced with arsenic, three years after the federal regulatory body found its safety could not be assured, particularly for young children.

Such is the concern about copper chrome arsenate-treated timber that the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority banned its use in new playgrounds and picnic areas from March last year, prompting a costly rush by local councils to remove old equipment.

It has always been my experience that there are 2 (or more) sides to EVERY story, and sensationalism sells newspapers. It is my pleasure to bring you the other side of this story, as brought to my attention by Mr. Peter Carruthers.
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Tests reveal high chemical levels in kids' bodies.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Michelle Hammond and Jeremiah Holland were intrigued when a friend at the Oakland Tribune asked them and their two young children to take part in a cutting-edge study to measure the industrial chemicals in their bodies.


Tests showed Rowan's blood had high levels of a chemical that can cause thyroid dysfunction in rats.

1 of 3 "In the beginning, I wasn't worried at all; I was fascinated," Hammond, 37, recalled.

But that fascination soon changed to fear, as tests revealed that their children -- Rowan, then 18 months, and Mikaela, then 5 -- had chemical exposure levels up to seven times those of their parents.

"[Rowan's] been on this planet for 18 months, and he's loaded with a chemical I've never heard of," Holland, 37, said. "He had two to three times the level of flame retardants in his body that's been known to cause thyroid dysfunction in lab rats."



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Arsenic poisoning a concern on Australian playgrounds.

THE state is still riddled with playgrounds containing timber play equipment laced with arsenic, three years after the federal regulatory body found its safety could not be assured, particularly for young children.



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Plastic bottles get the eco-boot

In light of new research, metal bottles are the 'safer,' greener -- and cooler -- way to hydrate.

Louisa Morris, a 29-year-old Vancouver lawyer, recently ditched the Nalgene water bottle she once carried every single day to the University of Calgary law school. In July, she traded up, forking over $30 for a sexy new stainless steel version. The high-polished metal bottle looks sharp. But Morris's decision had nothing to do with style. Two years ago, the Ontario-born family lawyer was diagnosed with cancer after finding a pea-sized lump in her breast.

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Autism and Mercury

In a 1991 memo, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of the fathers of Merck's vaccination programs, warned his bosses that 6-month-old children administered the shots on schedule would suffer mercury exposures 87 times the government safety standards....

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