But the list — the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory — is still minus some 17,000 chemicals that manufacturers allege are trade secrets.
Bisphenol A, an estrogen-mimicking building block of polycarbonate plastics and food-can coatings, is being found in beach sand and coastal seawater around the world. A Japanese chemist reported the findings, and he suspects the source may be certain resins used in marine paint.
"Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a handful of environmental protection bills into law Thursday, including a ban on the sale of children’s drinking cups that contain the plastics hardener bisphenol-A, or BPA."
"Warning that the powerful poisons can endanger some dogs and cats, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require new instructions and labeling for on-spot flea products."
The plants, ranging from very large to very small, are now using chemicals and processes such as liquid chlorine bleach, calcium hypochlorite, or ultraviolet light — allegedly making ~40 million people living nearby safer.
"Illinois is moving to phase out the use of perchloroethylene, or perc, a common dry-cleaning chemical linked to cancer, liver damage and neurological problems."
"The federal 'vaccines court' ruled Friday in three separate cases that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal does not cause autism, a finding that supports the broad scientific consensus on the matter but that greatly disappointed parents who are convinced that their child's illness was caused by vaccines."
"Federal safety regulators recalled a line of Christmas-themed bracelets Thursday, expanding their effort to purge children's jewelry boxes and store shelves of items containing high levels of the toxic metal cadmium."
Do commercial products we have body contact with contain toxic chemicals? In too many cases, states and environmentalists are saying, the federal government forbids consumers from knowing.
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