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Asbestos takes the lives of 40,000 Americans each year. There are no known safe levels of exposure to this deadly substance. While many Americans may assume that our government has already taken sufficient action to protect us from asbestos, they have not. In fact, asbestos is one of the biggest examples of how the federal government has failed to protect us from toxic chemicals.

Did you know that some bottle caps come with a toxic liner on the bottom? Yuck! Bottle cap liners are used to form a seal against the bottle rim. And testing has found that many of these liners contain toxic chemicals called phthalates. The caps may leave phthalate residue on the bottle rim before you take a sip. What can you do? Send in your bottle caps for testing! We’re looking for caps from any beverage in a glass bottle—juice, iced tea, iced coffee, kombucha, wine, beer, soda, sparkling water, whatever!

The Mind the Store Campaign, in partnership with Toxic-Free Future, has developed new guides for grocery and quick-service restaurant chains. We’re offering straightforward steps for chains to make sure their food packaging is truly free of all PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

Ulta Beauty announced an exciting partnership with clean beauty retailer Credo Beauty. The partnership will start with a Credo Beauty endcap at 100 Ulta locations.

Skin lightening creams with mercury. Hair relaxers with parabens and estrogenic chemicals. Douches and vaginal sprays with phthalates. In the US, beauty products are largely unregulated. Everyone is at risk, but women of color face extra hazards from the products that are marketed to them. And these hazards pile on top of health disparities created by other systemic injustices.

A new study has found that homes with TVs had higher levels of two toxic flame retardant chemicals. This adds to existing evidence that when companies put these chemicals into the TVs they sell, the sets shed them into our homes. It underscores the need for major electronics retailers like Best Buy and Amazon to prevent harm and ban these chemicals in TVs.

Minnesota is now the first state to ban the use of toxic TCE in any facility required to have a state-issued air permit. At the same time, EPA fails to protect the public against toxic TCE, despite years of research showing its harmful impacts on human health. Trump EPA official Nancy Beck fought regulation of toxic TCE for most of her career, and yet, President Trump has nominated her to chair an important consumer watchdog agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission.