lead

Whether you are growing vegetables or a lawn in your yard, the presence of lead in the soil is a concern.  The cause of such contamination could be flakes of leaded paint, the remnants of gasoline, or the residue from pesticide application of lead arsenate.  Lead can remain the soil for hundreds of years.

The majority of yoga mats are manufactured in Taiwan and made of poly-vinyl chloride, or PVC. PVC makes a great mat due to its grip, durability and price point. But, unfortunately, there is no safe way to create, use or destroy these mats.

A guest post from Simran Sethi and Sarah Smarsh

Environmentalists from four East European countries Wednesday urged their governments to ban polluting effluents after a lake containing heavy metal waste spilt over in Romania following flash floods.

"Stop the pollution of our rivers with toxic mining waste," 45 environmental organisations said in a joint letter to the governments of Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine.

The letter also underlined the "vulnerability of the mining industry in extreme climate conditions" such as the torrential rains experienced recently in Romania and Ukraine.

Tousands of dangerous and deteriorating mine shafts scattered across California, Arizona and Nevada contain unhealthy levels of arsenic, lead and mercury, according to a report from the Department of Interior inspector general.

Inspectors said they visited about 45 federal parks and conservation areas with abandoned mines between March 2007 and April 2008 and found the lands to have "dangerous physical safety and serious environmental hazards."

The car seats contain many chemicals at which our children are exposed every single day. Check out to find if the car seat you use for your child has too many chemicals.

The City of Kingston rolls out a second level of water testing, while one resident says it's simply not enough.  Replacing the service connection is the best way to ensure water conservation, and safety.

It's pretty sad to have to single out lipsticks that don't have lead in them, with the heavy metal being toxic and all, but this is what the world has come to. Check out these colors.

In the state of Washington, the lawmakers have passed a bill that would set the toughest restrictions in the nation on the lead content of children's products.

There is a list with recommendations when bying toys including some useful websites like a database where people can check the safety of different toys.

Some definitions of words found on cosmetics and personal care item labels

In a victory for environmentalists, and a setback for big U.S. coal-burning utilities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA violated the Clean Air Act in 2005 when it exempted coal plants from the strictest emission controls for mercury and other toxic substances.

For more than seven months, the nation’s top public health agency has blocked the publication of an exhaustive federal study of environmental hazards in the eight Great Lakes states, reportedly because it contains such potentially “alarming information” as evidence of elevated infant mortality and cancer rates.

Not only are they safe, as in lead-free, but most of them are eco-friendly and educational. I personally like the solar-house. You're never too young to start learning about renewable energy these days.

So here is an open question to the likes of Fisher-Price, Mattel, Disney, Toys R Us, KB Toys, Dollar General, Target, Reebok, and all of the other hundreds of parties involved: How are the recalled toys being disposed of? What measures are they taking to ensure that these millions of lead-contaminated toys don't just end up in landfills that are not equipped to handle toxic materials?

ATLANTA - LIPSTICKS tested by a United States consumer rights group found that more than half contained lead and some popular brands including Cover Girl, L'Oreal and Christian Dior had more lead than others, the group said.

The longstanding battle over off-shoring vs. keeping American manufacturing jobs takes an interesting turn in the wake of the lead paint scandals. Toymakers are rushing to salvage their battered images. Are American jobs to benefit from the toxic toys??

Not just toys, but hammocks, treadmills, appliances, food, baby stuff and computers--a vast array of items have been recalled recently for health and safety. Our regulatory framework is weak, and China's is corrupt. What’s next, ask reeling consumers?

Mattel, the £2.8bn toy company, this week issued its third product recall, this time of 848,000 Barbie accessories and Fisher-Price toddler toys that could contain lead paint.

The NY Times is reporting today that independent lab testing for various vinyl bibs, including Winnie the Pooh and from brandmakers Especially for Baby and Koala Baby are contaminated with lead and may provide a health hazard if children chew on damaged or cracked bibs. The bibs have been sold at Toys “R” US around the country, but there has been no widespread recall. This is not part of the latest lead-toy recall from China, although the bib are made there as well.

Certain vinyl baby bibs sold at Toys “R” Us stores appear to be contaminated with lead, laboratory tests have shown, making the inexpensive bibs another example of a made-in-China product that may be a health hazard to children

Mexican teens have won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize over competitors from 27 other nations for coming up with an ingenious, simple, low-cost, time-effective, scalable solution for removing lead from water: eggshells.

How long does it take to determine if lead killed thousands of birds in an area known for lead industry related activities? Nearly two months, or so it would seem judging by a recent incident in Australia.

Chicago Tribune investigators bought a toy on ebay and tested it for lead. It had levels 40 times above legal limits. It turns out the company has known that for 5 years, but kept quiet about it. After the Tribune's digging, they issued a recall. Way to protect kids, guys!