Summer 2009, Volume 37, No. 2

Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children. The report lists 38 products that were shown to be contaminated with the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or both, although neither contaminant appears on product labels.

"A lot of people are shocked," says Clean Water Action's Mia Davis, who coordinates the Campaign. Baby products are often marketed as gentle and safe-not a pair of phrases typically associated with carcinogenic chemicals. The list of contaminated products includes many trusted names, such as Johnson & Johnson, Sesame Street Bubble Bath and Gerber's Grins & Giggles Milk & Honey Body Wash. Get a full list of tested products.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' findings are not reassuring. 67% of the tested products contained 1,4-dioxane. Of the 28 products tested for 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, 82% contained formaldehyde and 61% contained both toxins. The toxins were mostly present in very small amounts, but even trace amounts of carcinogens can present health risks for babies and may contribute to serious health problems or disease.

Both chemicals are linked with cancer, and formaldehyde is also associated with skin sensitivities, but neither toxin is federally regulated in the United States. The European Union and Canada prohibit 1,4-dioxane use at any level in cosmetics, while Sweden and Japan have banned the use of formaldehyde in cosmetics and toiletries. Canada and the European Union also closely regulate the chemical. The FDA has done nothing in the wake of these findings.

"We shouldn't have to be chemists in order to figure out what's safe for our children," says Davis. But, in the absence of federal oversight, consumers are left with no guidance. While the FDA has done nothing, tens of thousands of concerned citizens have been working to get the word out about contaminated baby products. Davis encourages people to talk to their friends and family about the report, write letters to the editor at their local paper, post and comment on blogs and websites.

"It's not just about babies, it's about everybody," explains Sarah Holzgraf, campaign organizer for Clean Water Action's New Hampshire office. In an effort to spread the word about dangerous chemicals in baby products and other cosmetics, the New Hampshire office has hosted a series of successful outreach events. Clean Water Action members and non-members are invited to ask questions, read literature and explore tables filled with cosmetics and products that run the gamut from safe to dangerous. "People are really connecting," says Holzgraf. "They see a product on the table and wonder: ‘Hey, I use that. Why is it sitting on the table? What's wrong with it?'" Holzgraf explains that people are surprised and upset to learn the cosmetics industry is self-regulated. "They think the government is protecting us." Clean Water Action's New Hampshire office is working with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to collect petition signatures that they will deliver to public officials, urging them to support more effective regulations of chemicals in personal care products.

The troubles with formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane don’t end in the bath tub. “These chemicals are getting back into our waterways,” says Davis, who explains that 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde are just two of the many chemicals and toxins we are washing down our drains. Our cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides and prescription drugs all eventually find their way through our plumbing and into the environment. This chemical cocktail can wreck havoc on ecosystems, wildlife and our communities’ water supplies. Some of these chemicals have been linked to damaged aquatic ecosystems, where frogs are sprouting six pairs of legs and male fishes are developing female reproductive organs.

In addition to signing the petition online, Clean Water Action members nationwide can help by contacting their state's Clean Water Action office and urging their local, regional and federal elected officials to support federal regulation of the cosmetics industry. Davis also encourages individuals to share their concerns, fears and frustrations with manufacturers. To learn more, visit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' website.

"It's totally legal to put carcinogens into baby products," says Davis. "This is a prime example of how outdated and broken chemical policies endanger human health and the environment. This is something we can change."

In this issue of Clean Water Currents|Online:

For California Woman, Protecting A River Can Cost You A Job
Heather Wylie traded her job for a river. And, given the choice, she'd do it again.

During the summer of 2008, Wylie joined a handful of protestors for a canoe and kayak trip down the LA River, earning the wrath of her employers and the attention of a nation. Why? At the time, Wylie was a biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The agency had just declared the LA River as not navigable--a designation that put the watershed at risk and would have set a.dangerous precedent. Wylie and her compatriots were making their voyage to prove the Army Corps wrong. If their fleet could make the journey, they reasoned, then the LA River must be in-fact navigable, a critical first step in retaining Clean Water Act safeguards for the LA River system.

Restoring the Clean Water Act Must Top Congress' Agenda
Restoring the ability of the Clean Water Act to protect water resources must top Congress' water agenda. Supreme Court and agency decisions put at risk Clean Water Act protections for headwater, intermittent and ephemeral streams that supply drinking water systems that serve more than 110 million Americans. In total, 59 percent of the nation's waterways and millions of acres of wetlands are currently at risk.

What You Won't See In Those 'Clean Coal' Ads: Dirty Air, A Wall of Sludge, Poisoned Rivers
Surely you've seen the ads. They are scattered around the internet and splashed across our newspapers and magazines. Their commercials interrupt our favorite television shows and invade our local radio station's airspace. Yes, the ads are everywhere. But that doesn't make them true.

No PR campaign, no matter how well executed, can make coal clean. It's simply not possible.

Advocates for "clean" coal argue that technology exists-almost-that will allow coal-fired power plants to capture their carbon emissions and store the climate-changing gas deep under ground. Technically, this is true. Realistically, this would be extremely expensive, and wouldn't even begin to address most of the impacts felt by water. From mines to power plants, the process of wresting energy from coal is dirty and unhealthy for our waters, our communities and ourselves.

How Safe is Your Bath Tub?
Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children.

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