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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2012)
March 2012 FEATURES Dear EarthTalk: I know that there are many issues with personal care products being unsafe for our health, but where do I look to find out what’s safe and what’s not? – Mary Pulaski, Trenton, NJ The average American uses about 10 personal care products each day, result- ing in exposure to some 100 unique chemicals. But the vast majority of the 12,500 chemicals used by the $50 billion beau- ty industry have never been assessed for safety, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC), a coalition of eight non-profits concerned about the health of cosmetics and personal care products. “Many of these chemicals are linked to adverse health effects like cancer, birth defects and other serious health issues,” CSC reports. And with cosmetics chemicals show- ing up in breast milk and umbilical cord blood, not to mention rivers, lakes and drinking water aquifers, it is indeed a problem that affects us all. Unfortunately for American consum- ers, these products aren’t held to the same high safety standard as foods and drugs in the United States, and as such manufacturers do not have to disclose ingredients on their products’ labels. That means it’s up to consumers to educate themselves as to what prod- ucts to buy and which to avoid if hu- man health and the environment are concerns. To the rescue comes the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG), which launched its SkinDeep database back in 2004 to give consumers a way to learn about what’s in the products they use on their skin and bodies. Today, SkinDeep— which is free to use and has a user-friend- ly, keyword-search- able interface—fea- tures health and safe- ty profiles on 69,000 different cosmetics and personal care products. “Our aim is to fill in where industry and government leave off,” reports EWG, whose researchers cross-reference hun- The vast majority of the 12,500 chemicals used by the dreds of safety studies $50 billion beauty industry have never been assessed for and nearly 60 toxicity safety. (PhotoDisc/Thinkstock) and regulatory data- bases against thou- would have required the FDA to create sands of product ingredient labels to a list of specific contaminants likely to help consumers find the safest cosmet- be found in certain cosmetics ingre- ics and personal care items. dients and provide testing protocols Beyond searching for your most fre- to determine which ones qualified for quently used creams, gels and elixirs warning labels, phase-outs or outright to get the low-down on their safety, bans. users can also learn what to avoid by Whether a similar bill will come up browsing the site’s “What Not to Buy” again anytime soon remains to be seen. section. In the meantime, consumers should Harsh soaps, anything with chemi- make sure to visit the SkinDeep data- cal fragrances, many nail polishes and base before lathering up. most dark permanent hair dyes top CONTACTS: EWG’s SkinDeep Data- the list of products health-conscious base, www.ewg/skindeep; CSC, www. consumers should steer clear of—or safecosmetics.org. at least check out on SkinDeep. The website lists safer versions of all these Dear EarthTalk: What caused Solyn- product types for those who just can’t dra, a leading American solar panel live without. maker, to fail last fall and what are But public health advocates and en- vironmentalists alike, of course, would prefer that all personal care products could be trusted to not be rash-induc- ing, carcinogenic or otherwise harmful. CSC has been lobbying Congress about the need for stricter laws and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight, and last year was instrumen- tal in getting the Safe Cosmetics Act (HR 2359) introduced into the House of Representatives. While the bill stalled in committee, it John got in the game with a wide range of sports, movies and more & saved up to $750! Nicole went back to basics and saved $312! Solyndra was a California-based maker of thin-film solar cells affixed to cylindrical panels that could deliver more energy than conventional flat photovoltaic panels. The company’s novel system mounted these flexible cells, made of copper, indium, gallium and diselenide (so-called CIGS), onto cylindrical tubes where they could ab- sorb energy from any direction, includ- ing from indirect and reflected light. Solyndra’s technology was so prom- ising that the U.S. government pro- vided $535 million in loan guarantees— whereby taxpayers foot the payback bill to lenders if a borrower fails. And fail Solyndra did: In September 2011 the company ceased operations, laid off all employees, and filed for bankruptcy. What caused this shooting star of alternative energy to burn out so spec- tacularly after just six years in business and such a large investment? Part of what made Solyndra’s technology so promising was its low cost compared to traditional photovoltaic panels that relied on once costlier silicon. “When Solyndra launched, pro- cessed silicon was selling at historic highs, which made CIGS a cheaper option,” reports Rachel Swaby in Wired Magazine. “But silicon producers over- reacted to the price run-up and flooded the market.” The result was that silicon prices dropped 90 percent, eliminating CIGS’ initial price advantage. 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