Press Releases
Scientists Discover Potential for Serious Harm From Chemical Loophole
March 3, 2025
The scientific community has long believed that polymers—very large molecules—are too big to migrate out of products into people and therefore pose no health risks. As a result, polymers have largely evaded regulation. For example, polymers are exempt from the major toxics acts: Toxic Substances Control Act in the U.S. and REACH in the E.U. However, a breakthrough peer-reviewed study published today in Nature Sustainability demonstrates that polymers used as flame retardants can break down into smaller harmful chemicals.
Flame Retardants in Battery Enclosures May Do More Harm than Good
January 28, 2025
As dangerous lithium-ion battery fires are on the rise, regulators and manufacturers are scrambling for solutions. Unfortunately, one common strategy may cause serious health harm and not work to slow or stop the fires. A new Viewpoint in Environmental Science & Technology explains that adding flame retardants to the plastic cases surrounding these batteries has no proven fire-safety benefit. The scientists further warn that the types of flame retardants widely used in electronics enclosures are linked to cancer and other health harms and can end up in children’s toys, food containers, and other products made from recycled plastic.
Rulemaking Petition Urges NHTSA to Eliminate Toxic Flame Retardant Chemicals from Cars
January 14, 2025
Consumer Reports, the Green Science Policy Institute, and the International Association of Fire Fighters formally filed a Petition for Rulemaking today to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calling on the agency to update its outdated flammability standard for car interiors and child car seats. To meet this standard (FMVSS 302), automotive manufacturers add flame retardant chemicals to seat foam and other interior materials. These chemicals are often known or suspected carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and neurotoxins.
FDA Urged to Rule on Controversial Hand Soap Ingredients
September 17, 2024
A new letter from the Green Science Policy Institute and Earthjustice, co-signed by more than 40 environmental and health organizations, urges the Food and Drug Administration to finalize its decision on whether it will continue allowing the use of three antimicrobial chemicals in over-the-counter hand and body washes. The agency was due to make its decision eight years ago but deferred at the request of manufacturers and their trade association. During this delay, evidence has grown on the health harms—but not the effectiveness—of these chemicals.
Blumenthal Leads Bipartisan Letter to Get Carcinogens Out of Cars
August 7, 2024
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representatives Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Doris Matsui (D-CA) sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today calling for an update of the agency’s 1971 vehicle flammability standard. The standard leads car manufacturers to add flame retardant chemicals—including those known or suspected to cause cancer—to seat foam and other materials. It also has no demonstrated fire-safety benefit.
Study: You’re Breathing Potential Carcinogens Inside Your Car
May 7, 2024
The air inside all personal vehicles is polluted with harmful flame retardants—including those known or suspected to cause cancer—according to a new peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Science & Technology. Car manufacturers add these chemicals to seat foam and other materials to meet an outdated federal flammability standard with no proven fire-safety benefit.
Scientists Successfully Head Off Concerning PFAS Bill
February 26, 2024
The Indiana State Senate tabled legislation that would have significantly narrowed the scope of which fluorinated chemicals are considered per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” in the state. This comes after leading scientists who study PFAS testified in committee hearings that the proposed definition was not scientifically sound. Adding weight to their objection was a consensus statement signed by more than 150 scientists clarifying the need for accurate and thorough PFAS definitions that government agencies and legislatures should use.
Map: Wildlife Polluted by Flame Retardants on Massive Scale
October 18, 2023
More than 150 species of wild animals across every continent are contaminated with flame retardant chemicals, according to a new map tracking peer-reviewed research worldwide. Polluted wildlife include killer whales, red pandas, chimpanzees and other endangered species. Added to furniture, electronics, vehicles, and other everyday products to meet flammability standards, the chemicals often do not work as intended. They also migrate out of products and into wildlife—and people.
Gov. Newsom Signs No Toxics Tent Act
October 16, 2023
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 267, The No Toxics Tent Act. The legislation fixes an outdated flammability code that has led to the addition of unneeded and harmful flame retardants to camping tents and children’s play tents and tunnels.
Analysis: Most Research on PFAS Harms Is Unpublicized
July 18, 2023
Though per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) make headlines daily, a new paper reveals that most studies finding links between PFAS exposure and human health harms are published without a press release and receive little or no media coverage. The peer-reviewed analysis, published today in the journal Environmental Health, found that studies without any press attention receive fewer scholarly citations as well.
Scientists Raise Concerns About Popular COVID Disinfectants
May 9, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the unnecessary use of antimicrobial chemicals linked to health problems, antimicrobial resistance, and environmental harm, warn more than two dozen scientists in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology. Their critical review details how quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are increasingly marketed and used in home, healthcare, education, and workplace settings despite the availability of safer alternatives and in some cases limited evidence of reduced disease transmission.
Study Finds Harmful PFAS Don’t Actually Prevent Furniture Stains
April 4, 2023
The health and environmental harms of PFAS are well-known, but a new peer-reviewed study calls into question their touted stain-fighting benefits. Researchers tested the performance of PFAS finishings on furniture fabrics and found that they had limited to no effectiveness, particularly under real-world conditions.