Health Warnings

According to reports by the Center for Environmental Health, the New York Times, and the Canadian Broadcasting Association, baby bibs imported from China and available for purchase at Toys 'R' Us stores in the United States contain high levels of lead.

According to test results by the Center for Environmental Health, the vinyl bibs in question contain up to three times the amount of lead that is allowed in paint.

Last week, researchers from Queensland University of Technology in Australia published a study that indicates that some laser printers create as much fine-particle pollution as cigarette smoke. The researchers warn that laser printer-emitted pollution can affect people's lungs in the same way that cigarettes can, making it a legitimate health threat to people who work around active laser printers in poorly ventilated spaces. The researchers also warn that beyond posing a threat to lung health, exposure to laser printer pollution can ultimately increase one's risk of developing cardiovascular disease and even cancer.

A recent article in the New York Times provides an important dietary warning:

Green potatoes often contain high levels of a toxin called solanine, which can cause any of the following gastrointestinal and/or neurological symptoms upon ingestion:

On June 10th, 2007, the New York Times published a story about a high school track star who died after overusing an over-the-counter cream that is commonly used to treat sore muscles and joints. The official cause of death was determined by a New York City medical examiner after a two-month investigation.

The athlete died after her body absorbed toxic levels of methyl salicylate, a compound that is found in sports creams like Icy Hot and Bengay.

According to the World Book Encyclopedia, the average adult human body contains approximately 96,500 kilometers (60,000 miles) of blood vessels. This means that if you were to attach all of your blood vessels together end to end, they could wrap around the Earth almost two and a half times.

Some of your blood vessels are about as thick as a magic marker, while others are as thin as a strand of hair. All of your blood vessels are essential to your health because they provide the transportation network that allows your blood to carry nutrients and oxygen to each of your cells. Your network of blood vessels also allows your blood to remove waste products from all of your cells.

In late 2006, the Environmental Working Group released their latest report on the average pesticide content of common fruits and vegetables.

Many different studies that have been done with animals have found that exposure to pesticides can increase the risk of developing various types of cancer, nervous system dysfunction, and reproductive problems.

According to a study published this month in The Lancet, alcohol and tobacco rank among the ten most dangerous substances used by humans. Both alcohol and tobacco have been assessed to be more dangerous than illegal drugs like marijuana or ecstasy.

A newly published study in the The Lancet indicates that living close to freeway traffic can negatively impact lung development in children.

Children's lungs tend to grow rapidly between the ages of 10 and 18, and this most recent study concludes that steady exposure to airborne pollutants during this age range can lead to short and long term respiratory challenges.

News articles on newscientist.com and mercola.com indicate that burning incense can expose people to dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals.

Both articles are based on a study that was published in a September, 2001 issue of the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

Researchers collected air samples from inside and outside of a temple in Taiwan, and found that the air inside the temple was highly concentrated with a group of cancer-causing chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning not to give over-the-counter cold and cough medicines to children 2 years of age or under without consulting with one's doctor.

This warning is the result of research that was conducted in response to the deaths of three infants in 2005; all of them were found to have dangerous levels of pseudoephedrine, a nasal decongestant, in their systems.