Reproductive Harm

November 3, 2014
Client Paul Wozniak has negotiated a settlement with Eze-Lap Diamond Products in regards to allegations that the company sold diamond sharpeners in California that contained the toxic heavy metal lead.  Proposition 65 requires companies selling products in California that contain lead to provide consumers with a health hazard warning stating that the product may expose...
February 25, 2014
A study published this month in The Lancet Neurology and reported by Forbes identified eleven chemicals strongly related to brain development disorders in children such as reduced attention span, delayed development, and learning disabilities.  Despite the fact that some of these chemicals are banned, they are present in our everyday lives and may contribute to a rise in...
January 21, 2014
According to a study conducted by the University of California San Francisco, the levels of banned phthalates in people’s bodies have decreased; however, similar and potentially toxic compounds are appearing in their place.  The findings were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.  Phthalates are chemical compounds that are used to soften...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
December 26, 2013
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study finds that blood mercury levels of women of childbearing age have dropped 34 percent from surveys conducted over 10 years ago. Many people are exposed to mercury in the form of methylmercury often found in fish and shellfish that live in mercury-contaminated water.  Mercury builds up in people that eat fish containing...
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”...
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....