We know that long lists of cancer-causing chemicals, ingredients, and even lifestyle choices, can be overwhelming (and seemingly endless). But thanks to the American Cancer Society, there’s a new report out that makes identifying everyday carcinogens just that much easier.

The article, Top 5 Suspected Everyday Carcinogens, lists the author’s “favorite” new suspects, identifies where they are most commonly present, and explains how to avoid them. Suggestions range from moving to “the motorless city” of Mackinac Island, Michigan, to some slightly more plausible lifestyle changes, such as changing cosmetics.

So while Mackinac Island may see a small surge in population, the rest of us will probably opt to pay closer attention to the chemicals listed in our cosmetics and food packaging. To view the article, click here!

A while back we promised to keep you posted as news of the oil spill's effect on reproductive health emerged.

Well, here we are.

There was a terrific piece published by Kimberly Ines McGuire of RH Reality Check that doesn't speak specifically to the oil spill (though it is mentioned), but gives a cumulative and frightening history of oil refinery and chemical industry in the Gulf Region, and its effects on the health of residents.

One snippet in particular is rather haunting:

"Residents have tested positive for exposure to some of the worst reproductive toxicants—chemicals that have been linked to infertility, miscarriage, low birth weight, low sperm count, and developmental and respiratory disorders for children exposed in utero. This contamination of the air, water, and soil is so severe, and its effects so widespread, that the 100-mile stretch of Louisiana communities between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is known by residents as 'Cancer Alley.'"

You can read the entire piece here. 

Debbie Robins has written an insightful piece on the possible dangers lurking in feminine hygiene products for the Huffington Post.  She not only addresses the pesticide residue in tampons and the dioxin used to bleach them, but gives some astounding facts about the amount of chemicals we could prevent from entering the environment with even a small change in consumption behavior.

If we are so careful about what we eat, shouldn't we be holding everything we put in our bodies to the highest of standards?

While you check out letstalkperiod for more information, I am going to clean out the medicine cabinet.

Today at the New Hampshire Statehouse, a committee is discussing the health effects of children’s exposure to pesticides.  Planned Parenthood of Northern New England is a part of the conversation, urging legislators and opinion leaders to stop using pesticides at public play spaces such as school play grounds, and to use safer alternatives.  Let’s take a minute to answer some questions (pay attention, there might be a quiz):

What exactly are pesticides?
Pesticides are used to control or kill weeds, bacteria, rodents, fleas and ticks, mosquitoes, and other insects or pests. They are made up of more than 1,000 active chemical ingredients and come in different forms: liquids, aerosols, baits, powders, concentrates, and fumigants.

Who makes sure pesticides are safe? 
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating pesticide use, but their regulations have weaknesses that allow hazardous chemicals on the market. These exposures are often sufficient enough to cause illness.

How do I become exposed to pesticides?
You can encounter pesticides in your everyday activities: residue in water, food, dust, homes, schools, commercial buildings, parks, and other recreation areas. Chemicals may be eaten, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. You can also be exposed at work especially if you are an agriculture worker (farmer), landscaper, exterminator, or livestock breeder. (more…)

We are a  blog dedicated to informing you about environmental health issues and, as such, we would be negligent not to mention the BP oil spill.

An examination of petroleum products is alarming enough, with links to breast cancer, etc. before this environmental tragedy. What this oil will do once it enters the food chain and remains there for decades and decades is unfathomable. Equally scary is how helpless we are in finding resolution and stopping the devastation from continuing.

As news rolls in about the affects on reproductive and womens' health, we promise to keep you posted. In the meantime, we leave you with some gallows humor:

...and here is an awesome video by UVM students about why this needs to happen: (if this doesn't display properly, just click here to view directly at youtube.)

Tell your lawmakers you don't want BPA in your life and click here to fill out a simple form that goes directly to your representative.

Sometimes it takes a little trash-talk to spark a revelation. This morning I dutifully snapped a new garbage bag, put in the garbage can, and then bent over to pick up the  sippy cup that had rolled across the floor.  Moments later, I noticed a really strong scent and a white powder floating in the air above the garbage can.  I realized the garbage bag is scented and my two year old and I were inhaling the powdery substance.  The crazy-neurotic-mommy in me wondered if the powder is hazardous to my son’s health.  Then I looked at the sippy cup with the chewed straw, and I wondered what unknown chemicals were lurking in the plastic.  All this worry on Earth Day, nonetheless – how’s that for irony.  Then came the revelation.  I should not have to worry about the chemical make-up of garbage bags and plastic cups  - especially before I’ve had a chance to finish my morning coffee.  I should not have to worry if my everyday products contain toxic chemicals that have been linked to infertility, early puberty, low sperm counts, miscarriage and cancer.  My family and I deserve better.  We deserve legislators who protect our health and the health of other families.  We deserve the passage of the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010.

Today is Earth Day and what better way to celebrate by writing a letter to the editor urging Congress to pass Safe Chemicals Act of 2010?  Last week, members of Congress introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010, a necessary first step towards protecting our families and our communities from harmful and untested chemicals found in our homes and workplaces.

Here’s a quick summary of the Safe Chemicals Act:

• Provides EPA with sufficient information to judge a chemical’s safety.
• Requires manufacturers to develop and submit a minimum data set for each chemical they produce, while also preventing duplicative or unnecessary testing. EPA will have full authority to request additional information needed to determine the safety of a chemical.
• Prioritizes chemicals based on risk. Calls on the EPA to categorize chemicals based on risk, and focus resources on evaluating those most likely to cause harm.
• Ensures safety threshold is met for all chemicals on the market and places the burden of proof on chemical manufacturers to prove the safety of their chemicals. All uses must be identified and determined safe for the chemical to enter the market or continue to be used.
• Takes fast action to address highest risk chemicals and requires EPA to take fast action to reduce risk from chemicals that have already been proven dangerous. In addition, the EPA Administrator is given authority to act quickly if any chemical poses an imminent hazard.
• Creates open access to reliable chemical information and establishes a public database to catalog the information submitted by chemical manufacturers and the EPA’s safety determinations. The EPA will impose requirements to ensure the information collected is reliable.
• Promotes innovation and development of green chemistry and establishes grant programs and research centers to foster the development of safe chemical alternatives, and brings some new chemicals onto the market using an expedited review process.

So on this Earth Day, let’s ask – no, let’s demand -- that our legislators protect our health and the health of our families by writing a letter to the editor!

Great news! Last week the Vermont Senate passed S.247, An Act Relating to Bisphenol A (BPA)--a  bill that would phase out BPA in reusable food and beverage containers and in infant formula or baby food that is stored in a plastic container, jar or can in favor of safer alternatives.

S.247 is an important step in providing much needed information about which products contain the harmful chemical BPA, so that all men and women have the ability to plan a safe and healthy pregnancy and family.

Chamber of the Vermont Senate. Photographed by Jim Hood, August 2007.

An amendment that would have weakened S.247 was proposed, but luckily it was defeated by a bipartisan vote of 16-14.  Here’s the list of Senators who voted against weakening the bill: Ashe of Chittenden, Ayer of Addison, Brock of Franklin, Carris of Rutland, Choate of Caledonia, Cummings of Washington, Doyle of Washington, Flanagan of Chittenden, Giard of Addison, Illuzzi of Essex-Orleans, Kitchel of Caledonia, Lyons of Chittenden, MacDonald of Orange, McCormack of Windsor, Racine of Chittenden, and Snelling of Chittenden. Special shout out to Senator Ginny Lyons who is the lead sponsor of this bill and has been working really hard to keep the momentum going.

The next stop for the S.247 is the House Human Services Committee.  PPNNE will be working hard to keep this bill moving along with our coalition partner the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Vermont. If you want to learn more or get involved, email grassrootsvt@ppnne.org.

The Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee is currently hearing testimony on S.247, a bill that bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of reusable food or beverage containers, and infant formula or baby food, that is stored in a plastic container, jar, or can that contains Bisphenol A (BPA).

PPNNE’s Medical Director, Dr. Cheryl Gibson, testified in support of this legislation, strongly urging the committee to vote in support of the bill. 

Dr. Gibson’s testimony really dove into the science and health implications of BPA.  Here’s an excerpt of her testimony:

"BPA is found in the lining of metal food cans and in some plastic food containers, including some baby bottles, water bottles, microwave ovenware and eating utensils.  Because BPA is an unstable polymer and is fat-seeking, it can leach into infant formula and other food products, especially when heated.  Once in food, BPA can move quickly into people - a real concern for women of childbearing age and for young children."

"At PPNNE’s fall conference on women’s environmental health, Janet Gray, editor of the Breast Cancer Fund's State of the Evidence, illustrated how BPA in food containers can affect our health. Please take a moment and picture three petri dishes in a laboratory.  When estrogen was added to breast cancer tumor cells in a petri dish, the tumor cells divided and grew.  When BPA was added to breast cancer tumor cells in a petri dish, the tumor cells divided and grew.  When liquid from a BPA-lined can of string beans was added to breast cancer tumor cells in a petri dish, the tumor cells divided and grew." To read all of Dr. Gibson’s testimony, click here.

The real answer to eliminating BPA lies in chemical reform and policy change. That is why it's so important to contact your elected officials and ask them to support this bill.

In the meantime, here are a few ways to reduce your exposure to BPA.

The Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Vermont, an organization in which Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is a member of, released the first Body Burden study to be done in Vermont.  Body Burden studies test to find what chemicals we have in our bodies.

The report, Toxic Exposures in the Green Mountain State, tested the bodies of six Vermonters for a variety of common chemicals found in the environment and consumer products.  These chemicals - including bisphenol A (BPA), mercury, organochlorine pesticides, and flame retardants known as Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) – have all been linked to harmful health impacts ranging from cancer to neurological damage to birth defects.

The amount of each chemical found in the bodies of participants varied widely.  According to the study:

• BPA was found in every participant and levels of the chemical in three of the participants exceeded the national norm;
• Levels of mercury were found in four participants, each time equaling or exceeding the national norm;
• Seven types of organochlorine pesticides were found in the blood of all participants, and DDT – banned in 1972 – was found in the bodies of five of the six Vermonters; and
• Twenty different types of flame retardants were present in all of the participants, and Deca was found in all but one of the Vermonters.

“We participated in this study because as one of the largest providers of reproductive health care in our region, we believe it’s our responsibility to help our patients and communities understand the link between their health and the products they put in and on their bodies.   It is part of our role as health care providers to educate our patients about how to reduce their exposure to harmful contaminants,” said Ellen Starr, V.P. of PPNNE Health Center Operations. (more…)