Jane Houlihan Quotations

We've seen lead levels dramatically decline in kids, PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) levels decline, all because of direct government intervention that gets these out of the environment.

The fact that PFOA can cross the placenta from the mother to child is very troubling, given the fact that this is a chemical that is broadly toxic and linked to birth defects in lab animals.

So in many communities, the water that comes out of the tap could be contaminated with scores of chemicals. People shouldn't be alarmed, but they should be concerned. Our system of public health protections isn't working in this case.

Most people would prefer there are no known human carcinogens in what they drink. This is a case where industry agreed to get it out of the products, and all the evidence says they didn't.

The widespread contamination of fish with mercury has given its reputation as 'brain food' a new and disturbing connotation. Mercury is toxic to the developing fetal brain, and exposure in the womb can cause learning deficiencies and delay mental development in children.

They don't fully understand levels of mercury in fish and they're trying to provide advice to people based on shoddy science.

They have not been responsible. There was a long track record in these companies of knowing that these chemicals could pose risks.

The cosmetics industry is essentially a self-regulating industry. Companies are making vastly different decisions, and the safety of products vary widely. Some contain products that are safe to eat, others have carcinogens that are linked to birth defects.

These have been called wonder chemicals. They have now evolved into staple stain and grease-proof coatings for a broad array of everyday consumer products, including microwave popcorn bags, carpets and blue jeans.

An average adult is exposed to over 100 unique chemicals in personal-care products every day. These exposures add up.