Research Updates
New study highlights pervasive impact of consumer products on air quality in homes
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A study published in Environmental Science & Technology provides the most comprehensive information to date on the mixtures of hormone disrupting chemicals people are commonly exposed to in their homes. read more »
Study reports on cleaning products, beliefs about breast cancer, and breast cancer risk
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Women who report greater use of cleaning products may be at higher breast cancer risk than those who say they use them sparingly. read more »
Tests find new contaminants in Cape Cod’s drinking water supply, septic systems are likely the main source of the pollution
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Tests of 20 wells and two distributions systems supplying drinking water on Cape Cod found that 75 percent of the wells and both distribution systems had detectable levels of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and consumer product chemicals, primarily coming from septic systems. read more »
President's Cancer Panel highlights everyday exposures to environmental pollutants and cancer
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On May 6th, the President's Cancer Panel—a watchdog group of advisors charged with monitoring the National Cancer Program—released a groundbreaking report, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk, What We Can Do Now. read more »
Silent Spring Institute organizes scientific workshop on mammary gland evaluation and risk assessment
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Biologists, toxicologists, risk assessors, and regulators came together November 16-17, 2009, in Oakland, CA for a scientific workshop, organized by Silent Spring Institute Research Director Ruthann Rudel and Dr. Suzanne Fenton from NIEHS, to advance research on how early life exposure to EDCs influences mammary gland development and susceptibility to cancer. read more »
The role of pollution from household and personal care products continues to go unrecognized
Despite information campaigns that warn consumers about chemical risks from household and personal care products, people often fail to make the connection between those products and their personal exposure to chemicals that could harm their health, according to research based on Silent Spring Institute’s Household Exposure Study. read more »
Californians have twice the national average of toxic flame retardants in their blood
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Californians have been exposed to significantly higher levels of toxic flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, than people living in other parts of the country and the world. read more »
Human hormones and pharmaceuticals contaminate ponds in residential areas with septic systems
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A peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry shows that ponds located in residential areas where septic systems predominate are contaminated by a variety of pollutants that may be harmful to wildlife and pose unknown risks to human health. Water quality in these groundwater-fed ponds is an indicator of what’s in the surrounding aquifer, which is the sole source of drinking water. read more »
New research finds some wood floor finishes are a likely source of PCB exposure
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A Silent Spring Institute case study published on 17 January 2008 in the online open access journal Environmental Health suggests that old wood floor finishes in some homes may be an overlooked source of exposure to the now banned environmental pollutants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). read more »
Cancer publishes Silent Spring Institute's review of environmental factors and breast cancer
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In a new initiative aimed at breast cancer risk reduction, Susan G. Komen for the Cure funded the Environment and Breast Cancer: Science Review to assess scientific research on environmental exposures and nonhereditary factors that may increase breast cancer risk. Finding risk factors we can change is particularly important as breast cancer is the leading cause of death for American women from their late 30's through their early 50's. read more »