Healthy World Watch - July 4th

Friday, July 04, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen

• Does your sunscreen work? Probably not. An investigation of nearly 1,000 brand-name sunscreen products finds that 4 out of 5 contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don't adequately protect skin from the sun's damaging rays. Some of the worst offenders are leading brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena.  The Environmental Working Group offers their top ten sunscreen picks.
• Fireworks are fun, but those lingering clouds of smoke are bad for the Earth and us. Scientists are finding new ways to make the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air more eco-friendly.
• Popcorn bags face possible new rules. A state senator is proposing that California become the first state to ban a class of potential carcinogens used in some popcorn bags, pizza boxes and other grease-resistant food packaging.
• Believe it or not, Chicken is Dunked in Chlorine. You’d better know where your meat comes from if you want to avoid unwanted chemicals.
• Save The Planet, Lose The Guilt. Just because we all sin against the environment doesn't mean we should believe every "green" idea.
• Your Laptop’s Dirty Little Secret. Phones and computers contain dangerous metals like lead, cadmium and mercury, which can contaminate the air and water when those products are dumped. The U.S. is by far the world's top producer of e-waste, but much of it ends up elsewhere — specifically, in developing nations where the poor, often including children, dismantle dumped PCs and phones, stripping the components for the valuable — and toxic — metals contained inside.
• A look back at the last 50 years of studies reveals how phthalates in PVC can lead to asthma and allergies.
• After years of denying there was anything even resembling an issue of concern here, the Food and Drug Administration has had an abrupt change of heart on mercury dental fillings.
• The US EPA just launched a new website exploring how Climate Change may impact the Health of Children.
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