SACRAMENTO – California ratepayers might have to foot a staggering $45 billion-plus cost to keep the aging Pacific Gas & Electric, or PG&E, Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant online beyond its slated 2025 closure, a new Environmental Working Group analysis finds. The outrageous price tag is the estimated cost for operating the plant from 2021 to 2045, or […]
Environmental Working Group
Posted inUS
EPA hazardous substance proposal holds ‘forever chemicals’ polluters accountable
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Working Group applauds the Environmental Protection Agency for today proposing to designate the two most commonly detected toxic “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. The designation of these two PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous will jumpstart the cleanup process at contaminated sites across the country, including military installations. It […]
Posted inCalifornia
Landmark California law bans ‘forever chemicals’ in products for infants, children
Today, in a major victory for consumers, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation to protect infants and children from the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS by banning the compounds in cribs, playpens and many other products. The ban takes effect on July 1, 2023. Authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), the law bans the use […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Ken Cook: After Covid-19 Flip-Flops, CDC Director Must Resign
September 21, 2020 – Today I wrote to Dr. Robert Redfield calling on him to resign as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was not a letter I wrote lightly. But with the events of the past few months, the decision – and the need – to write it could not have […]
Posted inEnviro
Good/Bad News: Feds Save Rooftop Solar, Gut Law Boosting Small-Scale Renewables
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2020 – Federal energy regulators dealt big electric utilities a big blow today, dismissing a bid by an industry front group that could have ended payments from utilities to rooftop solar customers. At the same time, they gutted a law that since 1978 has required utilities to buy power from small renewable […]
Posted inEnviro
Bayer-Monsanto Agrees to $10B Settlement With Victims Poisoned by Roundup Weedkiller
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2020 – In a settlement reached today, Bayer AG agreed to pay $10 billion over claims its signature herbicide Roundup causes cancer in people, according to a report by Reuters. The $10 billion settlement will be apportioned to four leading plaintiffs’ law firms, who will in turn distribute the money to nearly 100,000 […]
Posted inLife
In Major Win for Consumers, Johnson & Johnson Ends Sale of Talc-Based Baby Powders
WASHINGTON, May 19, 2020 – EWG today welcomed the news that Johnson & Johnson will soon end the sale of talc-based baby powders in the U.S. and Canada, and called on other cosmetic companies to end the use of talc in other loose powders. “It’s good news that Johnson & Johnson will soon end the sale of […]
Posted inCalifornia
California Bills Would Ban ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Firefighting Foam
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Feb. 21, 2020 – On Tuesday the California Senate introduced two bills to address the growing contamination crisis of toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS. One bill would ban the chemicals in firefighting foam – one of the largest sources of PFAS contamination – and the other would expand the state’s program to […]
Posted inCalifornia
New CA Law Creates Strictest Lead and Cadmium Limits in Jewelry in U.S.
SACRAMENTO, October 1, 2019 – Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law bipartisan legislation to protect Californians, especially children, from jewelry tainted with highly toxic heavy metals into law. SB 647 imposes the nation’s strictest limits on the amount of lead and cadmium allowed in jewelry sold in California. “There is no safe level of […]
Posted inCalifornia
New State Data: Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Widespread in California Drinking Water Sources
SAN FRANCISCO 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 Group review of the latest state data. Very low doses of PFAS chemicals in drinking water have been linked to an increased risk […]
Posted inCalifornia
October will be Children’s Environmental Health Month in California
SACRAMENTO, Sept. 5, 2019 – California lawmakers proclaimed October 2019 as Children’s Environmental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of cleaner air and water, safer food and healthier products for children. More and more studies link environmental contaminants with serious health problems, confirming that toxic chemicals in the air, water and food are […]
Posted inLife
Toxic Algae Blooms: What You Should Know
June 11, 2019 – Toxic algae blooms are a growing epidemic, polluting lakes and other waterways across the U.S., as a 2018 EWG report revealed. They can occur any time, but they thrive when water is warmer, usually from May through October. Toxic algae blooms occur when bacteria-laden fertilizer and manure from farms run off […]
Posted inLife
EWG: Two-Thirds of Sunscreen Products Offer Inferior Protection or Contain Worrisome Ingredients
WASHINGTON May 22, 2019 – Today EWG released its 13th Annual Guide to Sunscreens, which rates the safety and efficacy of more than 1300 SPF products, including sunscreens, daily moisturizers and lip balms with SPF values. EWG researchers found that two-thirds of sunscreen products still offer inferior sun protection or contain worrisome ingredients, like oxybenzone. In February, the Food […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Grant Smith: The U.S. Spends More To Subsidize Dirty Fuels Than on Defense
May 15, 2019 – U.S. subsidies to the fossil fuel industry were nearly $650 billion in 2015, according to new estimates by the International Monetary Fund. That number – more than the nation spent on defense and 10 times federal spending for education – includes not only direct subsidies to the coal, oil and natural […]
Posted inEnviro
Trump EPA Sides With Bayer/Monsanto Over Science, Claims Cancer-Causing Weedkiller Roundup ‘Safe’
WASHINGTON, April 30, 2019 – The Environmental Protection Agency said today the active ingredient in Bayer-Monsanto’s carcinogenic weedkiller Roundup is safe, ignoring a growing body of independent research showing a strong connection between glyphosate and cancer in humans. “Today’s decision by Administrator Wheeler, like virtually every one he and the Trump administration make, completely ignores […]
Posted inCalifornia
Bipartisan Bill To Protect Californians From Toxic Jewelry Clears Key Committee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. April 26, 2019 – Bipartisan legislation to protect Californians, especially children, from jewelry tainted with highly toxic heavy metals sailed through a key committee Wednesday. The Senate Environmental Quality Committee unanimously passed SB 647, the Safe Jewelry Act, sending the legislation to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration. The Safe Jewelry Act, authored […]
Posted inEnviro
EPA’s Internal Watchdog Slams Agency for Failing To Fully Disclose Toxic Chemical Releases to Public
WASHINGTON, April 9, 2019 – In an unusual move, the Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general issued an emergency alert yesterday warning that the agency had failed to provide the public all the available data regarding toxic chemical releases into communities throughout the nation. The “Office of Inspector General (OIG) decided to issue an immediate management […]
Posted inLife
On Cosmetics Safety, U.S. Trails More Than 40 Nations
March 25, 2019 – U.S. regulation of chemicals and contaminants in cosmetics is falling behind the rest of the world, according to an EWG analysis. More than 40 nations – ranging from major industrialized economies like the United Kingdom and Germany to developing states like Cambodia and Vietnam – have enacted regulations specifically targeting the […]
Posted inCalifornia
LA County Bans Use of Monsanto’s Roundup Weedkiller on County Property Over Health Concerns
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2019 – The same day that a second jury in seven months found that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, causes cancer, Los Angeles County banned any further use of the toxic weedkiller by all county departments. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered a moratorium on applications […]
Posted inEnviro
Report: Organic Packaged Foods Only ‘Clean’ Option for Consumers
WASHINGTON, March 5, 2019 – Unlike organic packaged foods, conventional packaged food contains thousands of poorly regulated food chemicals, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Working Group. “Although many consumers choose organic to avoid toxic pesticides, few know that federal rules dramatically limit the use of synthetic substances in organic food,” said EWG […]