Water drinkers can learn much more about any contaminants present in tap water than they can bottled water, according to two reports released last week.

Differences in how the two are regulated have led to gaps in requirements for bottled water. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates bottled water as a food, does not require bottlers to disclose information about waters' source or treatment - or about what contaminants it might contain. The Environmental Protection Agency requires much more testing for tap water, as well as annual water quality reports.

Public drinking water has been required to meet EPA standards for phthalates more than a decade. The FDA has never set a limit for phthalate levels.

Two key pieces of legislation in California's fight against flame retardants and bisphenol A  moved forward yesterday.   

The state's proposed BPA ban (Senate Bill 779) and legislation that would help remove flame retardants from children's products (Senate Bill 772) passed out of July 7 committee hearings.

 “The chemical industry put on a full court press and Assembly Health Committee members got an earful from industry lobbyists," said Gretchen Lee Salter of the Breast Cancer Fund. "Ultimately, legislators saw that the science against BPA is just too strong, and that kids had to come before high-priced lobbyists."

With all of the new studies telling us time and again that bisphenol A (BPA) is bad for us, it can be easy to loose track of the latest facts.

An article in Science News takes a look at all the latest science surrounding BPA and explains what these studies can teach us.

Scientists are finding BPA affects a broad range of health issues, including women's reproductive health and heart health. These health conditions arise later in life, but they begin with the chemicals we are exposed to in the womb.

That's why the amount of BPA we are exposed to on a daily basis is also under close examination.

This July 4, declare your independence from toxic chemicals and then become part of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign!

The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign is a national effort to create the strongest, most comprehensive solution to fix the law that is failing to protect our families from toxic chemicals that harm our health and the environment.

If you believe you have the right to be healthy, the right to work in a safe environment, and the right to know what chemicals are in your body, this is the national campaign you’ve been waiting for!  

Visit the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Web site at www.saferchemicals.org to declare your independence from toxic chemicals. Tell Congress it’s time to take action to ensure safer chemicals and healthy families.

One of America’s leading pediatricians is asking whether hormone-disrupting chemicals like bisphenol A, phthalates and flame retardants are to blame for the rising tide of autism.

Harvey Karp, M.D., best-selling author of The Happiest Baby on the Block and an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA, makes the connection in a Huffington Post article titled Cracking the Autism Riddle: Toxic Chemicals, A Serious Suspect in the Autism Outbreak.

Karp says we must look at the link between the rise of toxic chemicals in the products that surround us, including everything from water bottles and cosmetics to toys and couches, and the corresponding rise in autism.