What is ethylene oxide? It is a colorless, odorless gas that can be found in aerosol sprays, paints plus petroleum-based products like oil and lubricants. It is also used as an industrial fumigant and sterilization agent in medical supplies. Additionally, it is widely used by the food industry to make polyester resins and as a …
Aromatic amines are chemical compounds that are commonly used in the production of rubber, plastics, dyes, pharmaceuticals and other products. Unfortunately, they are also considered to be carcinogenic, meaning they could potentially cause cancer. In this article, we’ll discuss what we know about the carcinogenic properties of aromatic amines and what safety measures you should …
Last week, the California Safe Cosmetics Program launched a new website and searchable database that documents the presence of ingredients known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm in cosmetics and personal care products sold in California. Mandated by the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005 (championed by the Breast Cancer …
We sent face paints and kids’ cosmetics to the lab to find out what might be lurking in these products. After extensive label reading, we tested 48 Halloween products for the presence of heavy metals and 65 kids’ makeup products—collected by 14 partners across the country—for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We found the widespread presence …
When Meaghan Campbell found a lump in her breast, she thought there was no way it could be cancer. She was only 32, with no breast cancer in her family, and her life was on a positive trajectory–she had recently gotten married, bought a house, and loved her job as a program officer in ocean …
We know BPA is all around us, and the CDC tells us the chemical is in almost 95 percent of us. And we know that laboratory studies have linked BPA to breast cancer, along with a whole host of other serious health problems. But what is the leading source of the BPA that contaminates our …
Firefighters put their lives on the line to save people. What many people don’t know is that firefighters may also be facing risk from an entirely different source: the chemicals they encounter on the job. In San Francisco, which has many female firefighters, there is concern about elevated rates of breast cancer, particularly in younger …
Being a firefighter has always required bravery and fire safety smarts. But fighting fires in today’s modern buildings, which are filled with chemicals, has increased the health risks to firefighters exponentially. Essentially, the chemical industry has made firefighters’ work environment even more dangerous and unsafe than it was 40 years ago. For decades, pounds of …
The Breast Cancer Fund recently spoke with Center for Public Integrity Reporter Kristen Lombardi, whose recent exposé, Benzene and worker cancers: ‘An American tragedy’ focused on the petrochemical industry’s efforts to counteract damning science on the carcinogen benzene. BCF: How did you get interested in this issue? Lombardi: I’m on the environment team at the …
Do you know the chemicals that are lurking in your cosmetics bag? How about the ones hiding in the suds of your shampoo? What’s in the deodorant that seeps into your sweat glands? Okay, I’ll admit it. These are unfair questions. I can’t possibly imagine you read the labels of every product you use, because …