Articles by Ketura Persellin, Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D.

Family Health

How to buy a mattress without toxic chemicals

How hard can it be to buy a mattress? The answer: There’s more to consider with this big ticket consumer item than you might suspect – including your health. A mattress is a purchase you may make only...
Woman sleeping on mattresses
Household & Consumer Products
Family Health

Mattress chemicals you could be sleeping on

On average, Americans spend almost nine hours a day sleeping – a huge amount of time. When you also factor in time just relaxing in bed, maybe reading or scrolling on a phone, it adds up to a...
Woman sleeping on mattresses
Personal Care Products
Household & Consumer Products
Toxic Chemicals

EWG comments to California DTSC on proposed inclusion of microplastics to the Candidate Chemical List

Attached are EWG submitted comments to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control supporting the listing of microplastics to the state agency's Candidate Chemical List.
Food & Water
Food
Family Health
Toxic Chemicals
Food Chemicals

Popular sweetener erythritol, found in Truvia, linked to heart risk, new study says

A new study finds a link between erythritol – a common artificial sweetener also used as a filler in stevia and monk fruit sweeteners and some keto products – and risk of harm to the heart and blood...
Person putting sweetner into coffee
Household & Consumer Products
Family Health
Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals
Flame Retardants

Fiberglass: A new hidden hazard in mattresses

Fiberglass is now being used as a replacement for harmful chemical flame retardants in some mattresses, according to a new study. But it can also pose its own risks.
Child on mattress
Food & Water
Water
Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals

EWG comments California OEHHA on public health goals for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water

The Environmental Working Group, along with 19 environmental and public health organizations, submitted comments to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in support of the...
Food & Water
Water

EWG comments for the NEJAC public meeting

The Environmental Working Group submitted comments for the August 18-19, 2021, meeting of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Food & Water
Water
Family Health
Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals
Lead
Regional Issues
California

EWG comments to California OEHHA on the new version of EnviroScreen

EWG submitted comments to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in support of the revisions of the new draft version of CalEnviroScreen and applauds the agency's efforts to...

Food & Water
Food
Family Health
Children’s Health
Food Chemicals
Regional Issues
California

California agency acknowledges synthetic food dyes’ link to hyperactivity and behavioral problems in kids

Foods containing synthetic food dyes make children vulnerable to hyperactivity and other behavioral problems, according to a new report by California state scientists.

Child looking at cereal
Food & Water
Water
Family Health
Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals
Lead

Leftover Trump EPA rule leaves millions at risk from lead-tainted tap water

Civil rights and environmental groups are urging the Biden administration to delay implementation of a Trump-era rule that would leave millions of Americans exposed to toxic lead in drinking water.
Food & Water
Water
Household & Consumer Products
Cleaning Supplies
Family Health
Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals

Common drinking water contaminant linked to spike in Parkinson’s disease

A common chemical used in dry cleaning, carpet cleaners, shoe polish and industrial processes that contaminates the drinking water supply for millions of people could contribute to an explosion in the...
Food & Water
Water

EWG Comments to EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council on Water Quality Concerns

The Environmental Working Group submitted comments to urge the EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to focus on drinking water quality concerns in overburdened communities across the...
Cosmetics
Household & Consumer Products
Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals
Asbestos

EWG-Commissioned Tests Finds Cancer-Causing Asbestos in Talc-based Cosmetics

Earlier this year, EWG reported results of tests that found the notorious carcinogen asbestos in samples of talc-based cosmetics. EWG-commissioned tests by Scientific Analytical Institute found...

Toxic Chemicals
Pesticides
PFAS Chemicals

EWG Comments to California OEHHA to Prioritize Chemicals for Proposition 65 Review

EWG submitted comments to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee to recommend the prioritization of four...

Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals

PFAS Chemicals Harm the Immune System, Decrease Response to Vaccines, New EWG Review Finds

Toxic PFAS chemicals, notorious for contaminating drinking water supplies across the U.S., are harmful to nearly every human organ, and the immune system is particularly vulnerable. PFAS mixtures...

Children’s Health
Food & Water

EWG Comments to California OEHHA Supporting Their Decision on Synthetic Food Dyes

EWG submitted comments to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, expressing support for the OEHHA's conclusion that synthetic food dyes may cause or exacerbate...

Toxic Chemicals
Food & Water
Water

EWG Comments to California OEHHA on Proposed Public Health Goals for Haloacetic Acids in Drinking Water

EWG submitted comments to the state of California in support of OEHHA’s proposed public health goals for haloacetic acid disinfection byproducts in drinking water.

Children’s Health
Food & Water
Water

Reverse Osmosis Water Filters: When Are They a Good Choice?

Filtering your drinking water is a good step to take to protect children's health from pollutants in tap water.

Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals
Food & Water
Water

EWG Letter to the California Water Resources Control Board to Address PFAS Contamination

Environmental Working Group urges the California State Water Resources Control Board to address per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS, in drinking water as a class.

Food & Water
Water
Family Health
Women's Health
Children’s Health
Toxic Chemicals
PFAS Chemicals

PFAS and Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity: An EWG Fact Sheet

The toxic fluorinated per-and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals known as PFAS are a class of thousands of environmentally persistent synthetic chemicals that have been used since the 1940s. They are added as...
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