New York Times article re: toxins in the environment

Here are a few sobering excerpts from the most-emailed column on today's NYTimes.com regarding the possible serious health concerns resulting from a build-up of toxins in the environment, in part due to the widespread usage of these chemicals in personal care (Do Toxins Cause Autism?):

"Concern about toxins in the environment used to be a fringe view. But alarm has moved into the medical mainstream. Toxicologists, endocrinologists and oncologists seem to be the most concerned." ...

Senator Lautenberg says that under existing law, of 80,000 chemicals registered in the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency has required safety testing of only 200. “Our children have become test subjects,” he noted.

One peer-reviewed study published this year in Environmental Health Perspectives gave a hint of the risks. Researchers measured the levels of suspect chemicals called phthalates in the urine of pregnant women. Among women with higher levels of certain phthalates (those commonly found in fragrances, shampoos, cosmetics and nail polishes), their children years later were more likely to display disruptive behavior. ...

“There are diseases that are increasing in the population that we have no known cause for,” said Alan M. Goldberg, a professor of toxicology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. “Breast cancer, prostate cancer, autism are three examples. The potential is for these diseases to be on the rise because of chemicals in the environment.”

We've noticed an uptick in mainstream media coverage on the subject of toxins in the environment and we hope this serves as a catalyst for greater consumer awareness around the issue and ultimately improved public health. It also underscores the reason we started Ursa Major Natural Care LLC (aka, the Big Bear!) - to provide a spirited natural alternative to toxic, mainstream personal care.