Research

We work closely with subject matter experts to bring you breakthrough research that you can count on. Explore our data-driven publications and reports.

Featured

Woman with curly hair checking her phone while holding a skincare product.

Cosmetics

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

Water

PFAS Chemicals

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

Food

Children’s Health

Pesticides

Chlormequat

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 73 - 96 of 197

Children’s Health

Mercury

Food

Mercury in Seafood

March 16, 2016

In 2014, federal agencies issued draft recommendations that women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or might become pregnant and young children eat more fish that is lower in mercury. Their advice is...

Cosmetics

Women's Health

Nailed

October 19, 2015

It's not surprising that many nail polishes contain potentially toxic chemicals. Now a study conducted by researchers at Duke University and EWG finds that at least one of those chemicals could be...

Potassium Bromate

October 14, 2015

Few foods evoke an image of wholesomeness like fresh-baked bread. But the flour used in many commercial baked goods may include an additive that's been linked to cancer.

Water

Teflon Chemical Harmful at Smallest Doses

August 20, 2015

Every time they drink a glass of tap water, people in the mid-Ohio River Valley of West Virginia and Ohio may be consuming unsafe amounts of an industrial chemical linked to cancer, birth defects...

Rethinking Carcinogens

July 16, 2015

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That old adage is certainly true for cancer. Despite great advances in treatments and therapies, preventing the disease from ever occurring will always...

BPA

Cookware & Food Containers

Food

Food Chemicals

BPA in Canned Food

June 3, 2015

You may know that bisphenol A, a synthetic estrogen found in the epoxy coatings of food cans, has been linked to many health problems. Many companies have publicly pledged to stop using BPA in their...

PFAS Chemicals

Cookware & Food Containers

Poisoned Legacy

May 1, 2015

In 2005 the Environmental Protection Agency fined chemical giant DuPont a record $16.5 million over its decades-long cover-up of the health hazards of C8, also known as PFOA. One of a family of...

Chemical Policy

States Lead the Way

March 9, 2015

States are leading the way when it comes to protecting people from dangerous chemicals. And it's a good thing, because the federal Toxic Substances Control Act, on the books since President Ford...

Flame Retardants

Women's Health

NO ESCAPE:

August 4, 2014

Ten years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency and health advocates forced flame retardant chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, from the market. These chemicals were showing...

Mercury

Five Things FDA and EPA Didn’t Tell You About Seafood Safety

June 25, 2014

Earlier this month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released updated consumer guidelines on fish consumption. The two agencies said that because of the...

2,4-D

Glyphosate

Pesticides

Food

2,4-D Herbicide & GMO Crops

June 22, 2014

A fight is brewing over Dow's Enlist Duo, an extraordinarily potent weed-killer designed to kill the new generation of so-called “superweeds” that have mutated to withstand blasts of Monsanto's...

Men's Health

March 18, 2014

Most men know by now that good lifestyle choices – such as exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, not smoking and drinking in moderation – make a big difference in staying healthy. Men may too...

Food

Food Chemicals

Nearly 500 ways to make a yoga mat sandwich

February 27, 2014

If you've planked on a yoga mat, slipped on flip-flops, extracted a cell phone from protective padding or lined an attic with foam insulation, chances are you've had a brush with an industrial...

Mercury

US Seafood Advice Flawed on Mercury, Omega-3s

January 21, 2014

People who follow the federal government's guidelines on seafood consumption are likely to consume too much mercury, a dangerous neurotoxin, or too few beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, according to a...

Chemical Policy

Cosmetics

Exposing the Cosmetics Cover-up

October 10, 2013

At EWG, we know how much you care about the safety of personal care products. Over the next several weeks we will delve deeper into some of the crucial issues surrounding these products. EWG's...

Midwest

Conservation

Washout

July 3, 2013

Media attention has understandably focused on flooding, especially given the devastating floods that have repeatedly struck the region in recent years.This year, it looks as if the Midwest will dodge...

Poisons in the Pipeline

June 20, 2013

On March 29, 2013, a pipeline carrying tar sands oil ruptured in Arkansas, sending an inky river through a residential neighborhood in the town of Mayflower. A concerned neighbor scooped up a sample...

Chemical Policy

Chemical Makers Inform Investors, Not The Public

August 3, 2011

The chemical industry has no trouble compiling production and sales information to give to investors on a quarterly basis. When human health or the environment are on the line, however, providing...

Chromium-6

Water

Chromium-6 in U.S. Tap Water

December 20, 2010

Laboratory tests commissioned by EWG have detected hexavalent chromium, the carcinogenic “Erin Brockovich chemical,” in tap water from 31 of 35 American cities. The highest levels were in Norman, Okla...

Chemical Policy

BPA

BPA Coats Cash Register Receipts

July 27, 2010

EWG found BPA on two-fifths of the 36 thermal paper receipts tested. Samples were gathered from major retail outlets including McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, Walmart, Safeway and the U.S. Postal...

Dioxin

Food

Dioxin

July 13, 2010

After nearly 30 years of delays caused by pressure from chemicals and defense industries, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward on setting a safety limit for exposure to...

Children’s Health

Cookware & Food Containers

Food

Food Chemicals

Kellogg's Cereal Recall:

July 12, 2010

A substance that leached out of cereal packaging and sickened consumers, spurring Kellogg's recall of 28 million boxes of Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and other popular children's cereals, has been...

Phthalates

Cosmetics

Women's Health

Not So Sexy

May 12, 2010

Laboratory tests commissioned by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and analyzed by EWG revealed 38 secret chemicals in 17 name brand fragrance products, topped by American Eagle Seventy Seven with 24...

Chemical Policy

Off the Books

December 1, 2009

The 33-year old law that was supposed to ensure that Americans know what chemicals are in use around them, and what health and safety hazards they might pose, has produced a regulatory black hole, a...

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?”

David Andrews, Ph.D.

Acting Chief Science Officer

All Experts

News & Insights

Food

Food Chemicals

California

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...

Food

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.

Food

Food Chemicals

California

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

Food

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...

Key Issues

Research

Areas of Focus

Related Articles

Articles by David Andrews, Ph.D.