Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized strict limits on PFAS, so-called “forever chemicals”, in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers.
Could that colorful stash of cleaning supplies under your kitchen sink, in your broom closets and around the washer and dryer contain toxic compounds that might significantly affect your health and the environment? Unfortunately, for many common household cleaning products, the answer is too often “yes.”
If you are like most Americans suffering through this nasty, snow and ice-driven extremely cold winter, you probably have dreams of flying somewhere warm to lounge on the beach while sipping margaritas (that's my tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett ). If you can afford the time and money to fly away to your dream winter holiday in the sun, you may still be worrying if your flight to paradise is safe. And worry you should, especially if you are booked on a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.
Imagine a group of 10-year olds sitting in a darkened room, with a bunch of their "friends" engaged in a discussion about whom to kill while playing a game of Russian Roulette. This is NOT a pretend game. Virtual reality goggles are marketed to children as young as ten years old. These goggles and other smart toys are listed in the 38th edition of Trouble in Toyland, the annual listing of holiday toys that pose hazards for children, released by the Massachusetts chapter of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) If you have doubts about the safety of such "hi-tech" toys, last month, an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped by a man she encountered while playing a game online. Fortunately, she was found safe a short time later, about 135 miles away from her home. The game, Roblox, is one of the most popular mobile games this year.
Last month in this newsletter, I wrote about several of our favorite foods that, while they are legally sold in the U.S., despite known health issues associated with them, have been banned throughout Europe, Canada and other developed nations, including Australia, Japan and New Zealand. One of the chemicals I wrote about was Brominated Vegetable Oil or BVO whose main ingredient, Bromine, the element found in brominated flame retardants, can build up in the body and potentially lead to memory loss, as well as skin and nerve problems. BVO is most commonly found in smaller grocery store brands and regional beverages, including some Food Lion-brand sodas, some Walmart branded Great Value-brand sodas, and Sun Drop citrus soda, manufactured by the makers of Dr. Pepper. It keeps the citrus flavoring in fruit-flavored beverages from floating to the top of the drink.
1. Skittles. Mars Co , manufacturer of Skittles, was named in a class action lawsuit filed in California last year claiming that Skittles contains titanium dioxide, used by Mars to make its Skittles look brighter and more colorful, while at the same time causing irritation to the eyes, nose and throat and, more seriously, having the potential for causing reproductive damage in humans. The European Union, which has banned Skittles, claims that titanium dioxide may also be a human carcinogen. 2. Mountain Dew & Fresca . Americans who “do the Dew” might be surprised to learn the product contains brominated vegetable oil. BVO is banned in Japan and the European Union because it contains bromine, the element found in brominated flame retardants, which can build up in the body and potentially lead to memory loss, as well as skin and nerve problems. The grapefruit-flavored soda, Fresca, also contains the ingredient. 3. Kraft Stove Top Stuffing . Kraft Stove Top stuffing might make weeknight dinners easier, but it also contains the same BHT discussed earlier and found in American breakfast cereals, including Honey Bunches of Oats and even the popular Wheat Thins, as well as BHA, which as we have already seen, at high doses causes cancer in rats, mice and hamsters, thus resulting in bans in the EU, Japan and elsewhere. 4. Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. Products in the European Union containing Yellow 5 and Red 40 carry warnings that they cause adverse effects in children, but you won’t find that warning on a box of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls in the U.S. Norway and Austria have banned the snack cakes outright. Some cereals, such as Lucky Charms, also use Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40, despite being known to cause itching and hives for some. 5. Ritz Crackers and Coffee-mate. Trans fats were officially banned in the U.S. in 2018; however, some trans fats such as partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils can still be found in popular products such as Ritz Crackers, Coffee-mate creamers and even those buttery Pillsbury Biscuits. These ingredients are also banned in Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Norway and Denmark. I could go on but you get the picture. As the Warnings Doctor, my advice to you is the same advice I got from my Jewish grandmother: "If it's from the farm, it's probably great for you, but if it's from a factory, not so great!"
What are PFAS? PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals used in a vast number of consumer and industrial products. They’re often referred to as “forever chemicals,” because most don’t break down. PFAS stands for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which contain a strong carbon-fluorine bond that allows them to accumulate over time in the environment and in the bodies of animals and people, posing health risks. PFAS chemicals might also be thought of as “everywhere chemicals,” since they’ve become so common in the products we use every day.
A new energy drink has taken the market for such beverages by storm and have achieved a cult like status thanks in no small part to the fame of the beverage's creators, YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, who together have over 40 million subscribers. The drink is branded Prime Energy and is a highly caffeinated beverage in brightly colored cans with flavors such as Ice Pop and Tropical Punch.
A month ago, I had no idea what AirNow was or what its ratings indicated. Today, it is an App on my IPhone that tells me the air quality rating for a given city at a given time. AirNow's scale ranges from 0-500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value under 50 represents good air quality, a rating between 50-100 is moderately acceptable, a rating between 100 and 150 is unhealthy for sensitive groups (e.g., elderly or very young people, folks with lung or heart conditions, etc.), a rating of 150-200 is unhealthy for most people (and is typically called the Red Zone), 200-300 is very unhealthy and over 300 is hazardous for everyone. Let me repeat: the rating in Buffalo was 179, clearly in the danger zone of unhealthy for most people.
Thirty years ago in 1992, 81-year old Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New
Mexico bought a cup of coffee through the drive-thru window at her local
McDonald’s. Her grandson was driving the pickup truck while Liebeck
rode in the front passenger seat. After pulling out of the drive-thru, she
asked her grandson to pull over to the side of the parking lot so that she
could put creamer in the coffee. It was during that process that the coffee
spilled into her lap and scalded her. In fact, she suffered third-degree
burns over her pelvic area that put her in the hospital for 8 days. She
underwent skin grafting followed by two years of continuous medical treatment.
Her injuries were real, excruciatingly painful, and--perhaps most importantly--they were debilitating.
