MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN -- JOURNAL SENTINEL

                                                                                                                                                1-24-2009
Assessment of toxic risks inadequate, says new EPA chief

Chemical Fallout: A Journal Sentinel Watchdog Report

Warning: Chemicals in the packaging, surfaces or contents of many products may cause long-term health effects,
including cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other reproductive
system defects; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism. A decade ago, the government
promised to test these chemicals. It still hasn't.

Chemical Fallout | Update

EPA a failure on chemicals, audit finds
The Government Accountability Office has released a report saying the Environmental Protection Agency lacks
even basic information to say whether chemicals pose substantial health risks to the public. >> Read Full Article

The Series

BPA leaches from 'microwave safe' products
Products marketed for infants or billed as "microwave safe" release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when
heated, an analysis by the Journal Sentinel has found. »Read Full Article

EPA veils hazardous substances
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency routinely allows companies to keep new information about their
chemicals secret, including compounds that have been shown to cause cancer and respiratory problems, the
Journal Sentinel has found. »Read Full Article

Plastics industry behind FDA research, study finds
A government report claiming that bisphenol A is safe was written largely by the plastics industry and others with a
financial stake in the controversial chemical, the Journal Sentinel found. »Read Full Article

Donation raises questions for head of FDA’s bisphenol A panel
A retired medical supply manufacturer who considers bisphenol A to be "perfectly safe" gave $5 million to the
research center of Martin Philbert, chairman of the Food and Drug Administration panel about to make a pivotal
ruling on the chemical's safety. »Read Full Article

EPA fails to collect chemical safety data
A few blocks from St. Josaphat Basilica on Milwaukee’s near south side, a company called Milport Enterprises
makes more than a million pounds a year of a chemical that no one knows much about, not even the company
executives. This is despite a decade of promises by the federal government to provide safety information about
just such chemicals. »Read Full Article

Hazardous flame retardant found in household objects
A flame retardant that was taken out of children's pajamas more than 30 years ago after it was found to cause
cancer is being used with increasing regularity in furniture, paint - even baby carriers and bassinets - and
manufacturers are under no obligation to let the public know about it. »Read Full Article

EPA drops ball on danger of chemicals to children
The Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to evaluate compounds in products such as flame retardants in
mattresses and car seats to see if they are especially harmful to children. But it doesn't. »Read Full Article

Warning: Bisphenol A is in you
The federal government's assurances that a common chemical is safe are based on outdated U.S. government
studies and research heavily funded by the chemical industry. »Read Full Article

Guide:  What you can do to minimize your chemical exposure

Are your products safe? You can't tell.
Congress ordered the federal government in 1996 to begin testing and regulating certain chemicals suspected of
causing cancer and a host of developmental problems. Eleven years later, not a single compound has been put to
that test. »Read Full Article

Audio slideshow:  A chemical home audit
Graphic:  Room by room chemicals abound (pdf)