BPA found in 16,000 foods and beverages

EWG now has a database showing 16,000 foods contaminated with the endocrine-disrupting chemical BPA. BPA (bisphenol A) can disrupt hormones in the human body creating a host of problems. BPA is a one of a class of chemicals called "phthalates". BPA makes plastics softer so they don't crack. So they are used in plastics for can liners, plastic containers, and just about every plastic. Plastic without phthalates is brittle and breaks easily. Plain plastic is simply not usable in everyday life.

Containers that are BPA free are not safe. Manufacturers simply replace one phthalate with another, which would be even more damaging to people and animals.

How to avoid exposure to BPA

1. In most cases it's impossible to completely avoid exposure to BPA. Food ingredients are shipped to factories in plastic wrap or plastic containers. But the longer the food sits in contact with the BPA, the more BPA it likely has.
2. Buy food sold only in glass jars. 
3. Store food in glass jars. The resealable glass jars with a latching lid and rubber seal are more and more common in the US these days. 
4. Most cans have plastic liners, but especially for acidic foods like tomatoe products and green beans. Avoid canned foods.
5. Avoid freezing food in plastic bags unless the food is wrapped in waxed paper. 
6. Do not allow food to come into contact with plastic for long periods of time. 
7. Plastic syringes and IV drip bags also contain BPA.

Poisons in US drinking water

EWG has launched it's US drinking water database. The database even has an interactive map of the US. EWG testing of tap water has found 250 toxin in US tap water, and they organized it into a database.

EWG found the unregulated cancer-causing contaminant 1,4-dioxane in the water supply of 90 million Americans and thousands of personal care products.

Some tap water has toxins that are at 1000 time the EPA limit. Children's brains are especially sensitive to toxins while the brain is still growing and making neuron connects. The human brain does not stop growing until age 25, on average, and some are not even finished growing at that age.

Here's a PubMed search for studies on dioxane. You can even create an RSS feed from your search! So with an RSS reader you can have the studies ready at your fingertips. Mozilla Thunderbird, an email client, supports RSS feeds.

More links
EWG database page for dioxane.

News briefs: DuPont, Teflon, EWG, Michael Dourson and EPA, alachlor, acetochlor

Walmart pushes companies to get verified by EWG... for personal care products. More about EWG verified is here. The EWG Skin Deep program rates products based on the safety of their ingredients. Many lipsticks contain lead, which causes irreversible brain damage.

Marion Nestle presents a round up of sugar industry reports. Fat isn't the biggest problem, sugar is. Read the reports and look for things like them minimizing the dangers of sugar, or focusing on the "good points". "Sugar gives you energy! But don't worry about it being an inflammatory agent."

Attorney who exposed the dangers of DuPont's Teflon wins alternative Nobel Prize called the Right Livelihood Award. Info on Teflon and studies here.

Trump's chemical safety nominee, Michael Dourson, could be bad for consumers. The EPA is already pro-poison, and frequently downplays the dangers of Roundup and other pesticides, even as farmers complain about the failure of Roundup, so this is a bad move.

Dourson was also paid by Dow and Monsanto to propose safe exposure levels for breakdown products of two widely used herbicides, alachlor and acetochlor, in an attempt to counter water standards developed by Wisconsin and Minnesota. Both chemicals are associated with higher cancer rates in male agricultural worker...

And the CDC is not much better.

EWG launches US tapwater database.

Quick start:

1. Enter your zip code or state, no account required. 
2. Click your city and get a report on the city water quality. 

The results show the number of pollutants above healthy recommendations, and "other contaminants". EWG also provides a link to filters to filter these out. The Berkey filters have the best filtration ability, but no filter takes all amounts of all contaminants out.
Here is where National News also tested the tap water of 239 cities.

More info

1. EWG tapwater database. 
2. Learn about pharmaceuticals in US streams.
3. How to filter out poisons from your water. Comprehensive article and link to Berkey filter results.