posted on January 17, 2014
The three-year transition period after the passage of the federal Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act in 2011 has now ended, meaning that a new, much stricter standard is now in place for pipes, fittings, solder, and flux in water-contact surfaces.
The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by reducing the amount of lead allowed in plumbing that is used for drinking water. The old requirement was not more than 8 percent lead content; the new... full text
posted on January 15, 2014
What is Lead?
Lead is number 82 in the periodic table and is classified as a "heavy metal." In its pure form, it is soft and malleable. It is a shiny silver-white when recently cut or melted but quickly turns dark gray after being exposed to air.
For thousands of years, lead was used in a variety of applications--pipes, paints, weights, alchemy, decorative objects, and cookware, just to name a few--because it was widespread and easy to work with, and occurred as a... full text
posted on January 13, 2014
On a recent episode of his television program, Dr. Oz highlighted the pervasive presence of toxic flame retardant chemicals in our homes and our bodies.
Samples of furniture padding were taken from the homes of several mothers and sent to Duke University to be tested for the presence of toxic flame retardant chemicals. The mothers and their children were tested as well. All the foam samples tested were found to contain flame retardant chemicals. The children tested also... full text
posted on January 10, 2014
Earlier this week, a federal judge ordered paint companies Sherwin-Williams, ConAgra, and NL Industries to pay the State of California $1.15 billion to remove lead paint from the interior surfaces of pre-1978 homes in 10 California cities and counties, the Los Angeles Times reported. The money will go into a fund administered by California’s Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch and will pay for inspections and lead abatement on the inside walls of... full text
posted on January 8, 2014
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held their fourth hearing on the federal Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), the long-awaited reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). During a nearly three-hour hearing, representatives from chemical companies, environmental groups, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), testified before the subcommittee.
The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 authorizes the EPA to regulate certain... full text
posted on January 6, 2014
Several studies have found chemicals and other environmental toxicants in breast milk, the San Francisco Chronicle reported last weekend. The high fat and protein content in breast milk attracts heavy metals and other contaminants that have been ingested or absorbed into the mother’s body, which are then passed on to their infants.
The article referenced one recent study in Environmental Health Perspectives, which studied mothers who lived in a community on the border of West... full text
posted on January 3, 2014
Earlier this year, Gov. Gerald “Jerry” Brown signed into law AB 711, banning lead in hunting ammunition. Lead is a known carcinogen and reproductive toxin, and is also harmful to the environment and wildlife. According to the Washington Post, there is little doubt that lead poisoning is the main cause of death and illness for the extremely endangered California condors.
When used in ammunition, lead breaks apart easily, leaving fragments behind in animals killed by hunters.... full text
posted on December 31, 2013
Russell Brimer and Whitney Leeman--clients of The Chanler Group--served sixteen new 60-Day Notices of Proposition 65 Violation last week. The notices were served to companies offering products such as hand tools, bags and accessories and musical equipment for sale in California containing chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm, without the required health hazard warning. TCG's citizen enforcers allege that the companies' products contain the phthalate DEHP and... full text
posted on December 30, 2013
A new study shows that fetal deaths in Washington, D.C. increased during 2000-2003 and 2007-2009, when the city’s tap water was highly contaminated with lead.
Lead is an extremely toxic heavy metal, long known to the State of California to cause birth defects and reproductive harm. While the study does not prove that the District’s “lead crisis” caused the miscarriages, it does show a significant correlation between the events. Fetal death rates spiked in the... full text
posted on December 27, 2013
The majority of public drinking water wells tested on Cape Cod, Mass. are contaminated with pharmaceuticals, consumer product chemicals, and other contaminants, according to a recent report by Silent Spring Institute. Septic systems are likely the main source of the contamination.
Researchers found contaminants in 15 of 20 public wells and two distribution systems. The most frequently found contaminants were an antibiotic, sulfamethoxadole, and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a... full text
