Market research from German consumer organization Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (VZBV) finds consumers are concerned about food packaging safety but have little understanding of chemicals in packaging; consumers assume all food contact materials and their components have been tested for safety
New York Times investigates PFAS and pregnancy
Publishes second article in three-part series on hazardous chemical exposure at home; provides overview of research on toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to developing fetuses, young children; profiles US families with high PFAS concentrations in drinking water, efforts to restrict uses
Scientist renounces anti-BPA crusade
Richard Sharpe from the University of Edinburgh argues in an interview that public funds should be spent on more harmful environmental health concerns than BPA
Non-allergic asthma not well understood
Wall Street Journal reports on new study linking phthalate exposure to asthma; researchers slowly unveil the mechanisms of non-allergic asthma
Childhood obesity and other chronic diseases
Obesity, asthma, autism, ADHD among U.S. children have continuously increased over past decade, new studies find; Mother Jones article discusses nutrition, chemicals and physical activity as key factors in childhood obesity
US EPA removes PFAS from Safer Choice Program
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removes the last two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the agency’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List; Safer Choice Program products to be PFAS-free by March 2023; issues letter to handlers of fluorinated polyolefin containers raising awareness for presence of unintended PFAS that may violate Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
New FPF report: Hormone active chemical identified in bottled waters
German researchers publish chemical identity of antiandrogen found ubiquitously in commercial water samples
2018 retailer ranking published
Non-profit organization Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families releases annual retailer report card; restaurant chains make insufficient efforts to remove hazardous chemicals from food packaging
Webinar: Substitution of hazardous chemicals
ECHA hosts webinar on safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals on September 22, 2015; registration now open
Chemicals harm brain development
New report by the non-profit organization CHEM Trust summarizes the effects of environmental chemicals on child brain development; calls for phasing out harmful chemicals as groups, not removing them one by one