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Guest Blog: Toxic chemical reform must help, not hinder states and victims’ rights

In the United States, the framework for safeguarding people and the environment against the dangers of toxic chemicals comprises three mutually reinforcing legal systems: federal regulation, state and...

Chemical Agriculture on the Attack, Again

Keeping politicians on message can sometimes be difficult. That also holds true of corporate chiefs and movie stars. Even the most seasoned, media-savvy folks veer off their talking points on occasion...

Research

Iowa’s Private Wells Contaminated by Nitrate and Bacteria

Des Moines Water Works has struggled for years to provide safe drinking water to its customers, battling nitrate contamination from upstream farms. But contamination from agricultural practices may be even worse for the estimated 230,000 to 290,000 Iowans whose drinking water comes from private wells, an investigation by Environmental Working Group and Iowa Environmental Council finds.

In Defense of Billionaires

EWG's latest analysis of billionaires who reaped federal farm dollars seems to have hit a nerve with folks who – unsurprisingly – benefit from these same government handouts.

Americans Eat Their Weight in Genetically Engineered Food

Americans are eating their weight and more in genetically engineered food every year, a new Environmental Working Group analysis shows.

Study Finds Risky Gas Leaks in Nation’s Capital

A team of scientists using portable methane detectors reported last week that it has detected 5,893 leaks of methane, the main component of natural gas, from gas utility lines in Washington D.C.

Now that It’s Law, Farm Bill’s True Price Tag Continues To Grow

One new program in the recently enacted farm bill is going to cost at least $21 billion more than we'd bargained for, according to a report just issued by the authoritative Farm and Agriculture Policy...

It’s Time for a Mandatory National Registry of Fracking Chemicals

If oil and gas companies were injecting potentially toxic fluids into the ground near your home or your children's schoolyard, wouldn't you want to know about it?

Is Organic Really Better?

A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that organic crops have higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower levels of cadmium and nitrates and fewer pesticide residues than...

Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Spew Methane, Study Finds

If you think the risks associated with fracking for oil and gas disappear once a well stops producing and goes out of commission, think again. And that goes for conventional drilling technologies, too...

Obama and Vilsack Push For Conservation Compliance

The Obama Administration is ramping up efforts to link crop insurance subsidies with conservation requirements.

Crop Insurance: A never-ending disaster

As the cost of crop insurance has ballooned – from less than $500 million a year in the 1990s to more than $14 billion in 2012[1] – the program's most ardent defenders keep repeating the same mantra...

Bipartisan Coalition Would Link Land Conservation to Farm Subsidies

Seven U.S. senators last week called for re-linking the federal crop insurance program to conservation compliance during a House-Senate conference committee meeting on the 2013 farm bill. The ranking...

Stop Unrestrained Antibiotic Use Before It’s Too Late

It's just common sense: If you're not sick, your doctor doesn't prescribe you medicine. Why should the animals we eat be treated any differently?

Programs to Reduce Ag’s Water Use Must Be Strengthened, Not Cut

Since it was first authorized in the 1996 farm bill, USDA's Environmental Quality Incentives Program has grown into the single most important federal program that helps farmers and ranchers protect...

Unlimited Subsidies, High Prices Threaten “Prairie Potholes”

High crop prices combined with unlimited insurance subsidies are contributing to the rapid loss of wetlands and prairie grasslands in the “prairie pothole” region of North and South Dakota, Montana...
Research

The PFAS and the Furious

Rob Bilott's Exposure is a real-life whodunit, a page-turning courtroom drama, a David-and-Goliath story of one man against an industrial colossus and a shocking exposé of America's utterly broken environmental policy. You should also take this book personally – because the “exposure” of the title is yours.

Expert Panel Confirms that Fragrance Ingredient Can Cause Cancer

Last month (July 28) a committee convened by the National Academy of Sciences confirmed a federal interagency group's conclusion that styrene, a chemical building block used to produce a wide variety...

Research

Case Study: Corn Belt Communities Plagued by Nitrate in Tap Water

In December 2015, the 1,500 residents of Erie, Ill., received a warning that the community's tap water should not be given to babies under 6 months old, or used to mix formula or juice for those infants.

Industry Chemical Bill Worse Than Current Law

Consumers rightly expect that the chemicals used in everyday products are safe.

Research

Update: Mapping the Expanding PFAS Crisis

The latest update of an interactive map by EWG and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University documents publicly known PFAS pollution from 94 sites in 22 states, including industrial plants and dumps, military air bases, civilian airports and fire training sites. It also shows PFAS pollution of tap water for 16 million people in 33 states and Puerto Rico.

Toxic Cadmium in Jewelry: States Lead in Protecting Kids

In the absence of adequate federal regulation of hazardous chemicals, the states have stepped up to protect public health and the environment.

How American Industry Skips Some Chemical Safety Checks

American industry often avoids the federal government's chemical safety checks in an unexpected way, by relying on chemicals “grandfathered” by the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, according to a...

EWG’s #FightForChemicalSafety Campaign

The fight for chemical safety is on! It's time for Congress to hear from you – that you're fighting for real reform and your family's health. Take a stand today and join EWG's #FightForChemicalSafety...