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Women's Health

Women’s health is deeply influenced by the environment in which they live, the products they use, and the food they consume.

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More than 10,000 additives are allowed for use in food sold in the U.S. Many food chemicals have not been thoroughly reviewed for safety or have not been re-reviewed for decades with the newest science in mind.
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Woman with curly hair checking her phone while holding a skincare product.

Higher hazards persist in personal care products marketed to Black women, report reveals

Out of 4,011 personal care products marketed to Black women, only 21 percent rate as low hazard in EWG’s Skin Deep® cosmetics database according to this newly updated EWG analysis co-authored with BLK...

February 11, 2025

Young girl looking at a glass of water through magnifying glass

Getting ‘forever chemicals’ out of drinking water: EWG’s guide to PFAS water filters

Taking ‘forever chemicals’ out of drinking water: EWG’s guide to PFAS water filters. Discover the most effective water filters for reducing PFAS contamination in your water. EWG's extensive tests...

July 11, 2023

Young girl eating cereal

Children’s Health

EWG investigation: Dangerous agricultural chemical chlormequat found in popular oat-based products

A new EWG investigation finds for the first time troubling concentrations of the toxic agricultural chemical chlormequat in oat-based products sold in the U.S., including everyday brands marketed to...

January 31, 2023

All Research

Displaying 1 - 24 of 27

‘Forever chemicals’ contaminate nearly 40% of non-organic California-grown produce

March 11, 2026

California is renowned for producing more than half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, and they’re often contaminated with residues from dozens of synthetic pesticides. Some of those pesticides...

Food & Farm Workers

EWG: 2.5 million pounds of PFAS pesticides spread on California farmland annually

November 18, 2025

Every year, California agricultural fields are sprayed with an average of 2.5 million pounds of pesticides identified as the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, a new Environmental Working Group...

Nearly 19M Californians could lose protection from toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in tap water

May 7, 2025

Eliminating federal limits in drinking water on the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS could end a vital safeguard against continued pollution for 18.9 million Californians.

Climate & Agriculture

Most California factory farms, close to irrigation canals, threaten U.S. food safety

July 24, 2024

Almost all of the more than 1,000 large animal feeding operations in California are very close to water sources that are used to irrigate crops, threatening the food supply for the entire country, a...

Food & Farm Workers

EWG: Despite strict use limits, toxic pesticide paraquat often mishandled

June 27, 2024

The toxic pesticide paraquat was often mishandled, violating safety requirements, dozens of times between 2017 and 2022, an EWG investigation finds.

Food & Farm Workers

The Wonderful Company among California’s top users of toxic weedkiller paraquat

April 18, 2024

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

The Wonderful Company, based in California, touts its “iconic, healthy” popular pomegranate juice and other products. But it’s also the state’s second-largest user of paraquat – a...

Food & Farm Workers

Paraquat disproportionately threatens California’s low-income Latino communities

March 27, 2024

Latinos in some of California’s lowest-income communities are exposed to far higher amounts of paraquat – a toxic weedkiller linked to an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease – than other...

Federal & State Energy Policy

Fossil & Nuclear

Outrageous costs, deadly dangers: The real risks of keeping Diablo Canyon open

July 25, 2023

If something costs tens of billions to keep, without any clear financial benefits to ratepayers but with the risk of nuclear catastrophe, prolonging it would be folly. But that’s what supporters of...

EWG: In the intensifying climate crisis, a hotter Southwest spurs rising heat-related crop insurance costs

June 21, 2023

A new Environmental Working Group analysis shows a clear connection between rising temperatures linked to climate change in the Southwest and the region’s growing crop insurance costs for heat-related...

The health risks of pesticides in Stanislaus County

January 31, 2023

The residents of Stanislaus County are at potential risk of health harms associated with the spraying of pesticides on agricultural fields in the region. Stanislaus County is one of 10 counties in...

Federal & State Energy Policy

Renewable Energy

Fossil & Nuclear

Power and profit: How PG&E fails California ratepayers and what to do about it

June 16, 2022

EWG’s utility business model would create a more balanced policy and regulatory regime for PG&E customers. It is designed to hold the company responsible for its investment patterns and shift...

Children’s Health

Food & Farm Workers

Report: 32 million pounds of toxic pesticides sprayed on Ventura County fields from 2015 to 2020

February 3, 2022

Today, from Oxnard to Ojai, people in Ventura County live, work and go to school next to farm fields sprayed with some of the most toxic pesticides used in agriculture.

Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Detected in Drinking Water Supplies Across California

September 25, 2019

Drinking water sources for 74 community water systems serving 7.5 million Californians are contaminated with the highly toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS, according to an Environmental Working...

Children’s Health

One-Third of California’s High-Risk Kids Not Tested for Lead Poisoning

September 19, 2017

Despite federal and state laws requiring blood tests for all young children most at risk for lead poisoning, year after year California falls far short of its responsibility.

Cancer-Causing Pesticide ‘Garbage’ Taints Tap Water for Millions in California

April 11, 2017

TCP is just one example of the widespread contamination of drinking water from agriculture chemicals.

Federal & State Energy Policy

Toxic Chemicals May Contaminate Oil Field Wastewater Used to Grow Calif. Crops

October 26, 2016

In the last three years, farmers have irrigated 95,000 acres of food crops with billions of gallons of oil field wastewater possibly tainted with toxic chemicals.

Federal & State Energy Policy

California’s Fracking Fluids

August 12, 2015

The fluids used in hydraulic fracturing of oil wells in California contain dozens of chemicals that are hazardous to human health, including substances linked to cancer, reproductive harm and hormone...

Federal & State Energy Policy

Toxic Stew

March 10, 2015

Wastewater from hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells in California is heavily contaminated with a toxic stew of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm, an analysis by Environmental...

Federal & State Energy Policy

Vitter Pressures EPA Inspector General

August 6, 2014

For Sen. David L. Vitter (R-La.), there's no more appealing target than the Environmental Protection Agency.

Federal & State Energy Policy

Cuomo Aide’s Oil/Gas Investments Questioned in N.Y. Fracking Debate

September 11, 2012

As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo nears a decision on whether to lift the state's moratorium on shale gas development, filings with the state ethics commission reveal that one of his top advisors may be...

Inside Track

June 21, 2012

New York regulators gave natural gas drilling industry representatives exclusive access to draft regulations for shale gas drilling as early as six weeks before they were made public, according to...

Federal & State Energy Policy

USGS: Some Earthquakes “Almost Certainly Manmade”

April 4, 2012

A U.S. Geological Survey research team has linked oil and natural gas drilling operations to a series of recent earthquakes from Alabama to the Northern Rockies.

Federal & State Energy Policy

California Regulators

February 29, 2012

The state agency responsible for regulating oil and gas drilling in California has long turned a blind eye to the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), insisting as recently as this year that...

Federal Scientists Warn NY of Fracking Risks

February 22, 2012

The U.S. Geological Survey has warned New York state regulators that their plan to allow drilling and hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale could endanger private water wells...

Expert Spotlight

Chemical companies provide quarterly reports on production and sales figures to shareholders. Why shouldn’t the public and EPA receive similar reports every year about commonly used chemicals, some of which could pose a serious health risk?”

Photo of Dave Andrews

David Andrews, Ph.D.

Acting Chief Science Officer

News & Insights

grocery store food chemicals

States, not the FDA, are now the front lines of food safety

March 19, 2026

Evidence keeps mounting about the health risks of common food chemicals. At the same time, Americans are waking up to the fact that the federal government not only doesn’t vet the chemicals used in...

kids drinking OJ

Ultra-Processed Foods

Natural and artificial flavor: What's the difference?

March 19, 2026

If you’ve studied ingredient labels and been mystified by “natural flavor” and “artificial flavor,” you’re not alone. These vague terms suggest a big gap in quality, but the reality is more complex...

Map of the United States with states highlighted in green.

Interactive map: Tracking state food chemical regulation in the U.S.

March 18, 2026

Thousands of chemicals are allowed for use in food sold in this country. And while most of these are likely safe to eat, some have been linked to serious health harms.

Photo of two children sitting and eating salads from lunchboxes

Ultra-Processed Foods

6 real policies to help people eat real food

March 12, 2026

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off the “Eat Real Food” campaign last month, promising a series of food and nutrition policy changes to “Make America Healthy Again.”

So...