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.
Another problem for Solyndra was
the falling price of natural gas—the
(Continued on Page 6)
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