Our work
Explore the work made possible by your support and activism.
-
BLOG
Read more about environmental health policy on our Deep Dives blog
Deep Dives is a new blog that will offer our readers in-depth scientific analyses, hard data, and practical policy prescriptions from Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) top environmental health experts. Our authors are specialists in air quality, chemistry, epidemiology, law, public health, and more. We will continue to offer information for broader audiences on EDF’s Safer […] The post Introducing Deep Dives—EDF’s New Platform for In-Depth Scientific & Policy Analyses on Environmental Health first appeared on Deep Dives: Environmental Health Policy.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Unleading Baby Food: FDA needs to tighten its proposed action levels
Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative Note: This is the first of three blogs in this series. Click here for Blog 2 or Blog 3. On January 24, 2023, FDA released draft action levels1 for lead in foods intended for babies and young toddlers.2 This proposal is a key step in implementing the agency’s […] The post Unleading Baby Food: FDA needs to tighten its proposed action levels first appeared on Deep Dives: Environmental Health Policy.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Clean Beauty Justice Roadmap
EDF’s Clean Beauty Justice Roadmap is a step-by-step guide that companies can use to develop chemical policies that ensure that everybody has access to safer products.More on:
-
ANALYSIS
Characterizing vulnerabilities to climate change across the United States
Study co-authored by EDF scientists identified and integrated available public health, social, economic, environmental, and climate data in the United States to develop a Climate Vulnerability Index composed of four baseline vulnerabilities (health, social/economic, infrastructure, and environment) and three climate change risks (health, social/economic, extreme events).More on:
-
-
BLOG POST
Mapping Lead Pipes: Powerful tool helps communities find underground hazards
Water utilities are increasingly posting interactive maps online to help residents identify whether their homes are connected to lead service lines (LSLs). EDF's new blog series, Mapping Lead Pipes, will explore how utilities are approaching maps, evaluate which map features are most and least effective, and share best practices to help guide future efforts.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Another reason to reduce methane emissions: saving lives
Sarah Vogel, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President, Healthy Communities Cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest, most effective ways to stabilize the climate. It can also improve public health. Today, 130 countries are committed to cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030 as part of the Global Methane Pledge. As countries work to meet these […] The post Another reason to reduce methane emissions: Saving lives first appeared on EDF Health.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Unleaded Juice: FDA needs to start with public health—not market impact
FDA’s approach to setting draft action levels for lead in juice is based on ill-conceived presumptions.More on:
-
ARTICLE
Chemicals linked to infertility and birth defects also linked to preterm birth
Chemicals linked to infertility and birth defects also linked to preterm birth. EDF and its allies are calling on the FDA to withdraw its approval of the phthalates it allows in food handling equipment and food packaging.More on:
-
BLOG POST
ICYMI: EDF Cumulative Risk Assessment Framework Webinar
On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, Sarah Vogel, EDF’s Senior Vice President for Health, welcomed over 150 attendees to a webinar on EDF’s new Cumulative Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF). The event featured presentations by: Lariah Edwards, PhD, EDF post-doctoral fellow and Associate Research Scientist, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. […] The post ICYMI: EDF Cumulative Risk Assessment Framework Webinar first appeared on EDF Health.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Upcoming EDF Webinar: Register Now!
Join the EDF Safer Chemicals team and our academic partners from the University of Maryland and the University of Rochester as we debut a new tool, the Cumulative Risk Assessment Framework, to support implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act.More on:
-
BLOG POST
EPA Takes Important Step to Ban Chrysotile Asbestos
Maria Doa, Ph.D., Senior Director, Chemicals Policy EPA has made the important and long-awaited decision to propose banning nearly all remaining uses of chrysotile asbestos in the United States. EDF submitted comments supporting this proposed ban (with some caveats) because of the high risk of cancer and fatal respiratory diseases for individuals who import, process, […]More on:
-
-
ANALYSIS
Association between traffic related air pollution exposure and direct health care costs in Northern California
A study from EDF and Kaiser Permanente scientists, published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, finds that long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with higher health care costs for older adults.More on:
-
INTERACTIVE TOOL
Find the communities at greatest risk from low-producing oil and gas wells
A new EDF map is making it easier to access information about the communities across the country who are impacted by pollution from small oil and gas wells with leak-prone equipment.More on:
-
BLOG POST
FDA decisions leave ortho-phthalates in food and our safety in limbo
On May 19, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced four incongruous actions in response to petitions submitted by EDF and others asking the agency to ban the use of more than two dozen ortho-phthalates (phthalates) in food packaging and processing equipment.More on:
-
-
ARTICLE
What would save lives and fight injustice? Stronger limits on fine particle pollution
In a new report released by EDF, scientists found that fine particle pollution, primarily generated by burning fossil fuels, is especially rampant — and deadly — in Black, Hispanic, and low-income communities. But there is a way for all of us to breathe easier. The Environmental Protection Agency could tighten its standard.More on:
-
SOLUTIONS
Clean Beauty Justice Retailer Roadmap
These steps from EDF – focused on addressing environmental racism in beauty and personal care products – guide companies to develop and implement their chemical policies with equity at the forefront.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Creating data to support communities on the front lines of oil and gas production in the U.S.
This week EDF published a new study that combines locations of active oil and gas wells with census tract data in a way that helps us better understand the characteristics of the communities living near them.More on:
-
ANALYSIS
The demographic characteristics of populations living near oil and gas wells in the USA
This study published in Population and Environment documents the prevalence of historically marginalized populations (across age, income, education, race-ethnicity, and language) living near active oil and gas wells throughout the USA, at both local and aggregated scales.More on:
-
ARTICLE
The FDA is supposed to make sure the ingredients in our food is safe. It's not doing its job.
A legal loophole allows food and chemical manufacturers to include thousands of untested ingredients to be used in our foods and supplements. EDF and its allies are pressing the Food and Drug Administration to end this irresponsible and potentially dangerous state of affairs.More on:
-
ARTICLE
The unequal burden of air pollution
Truck pollution causes asthma in young children. Community groups like South Ward Environmental Action in Newark, New Jersey, are fighting for clean air and clean economic development. EDF is supporting their efforts.More on:
-
ARTICLE
He's right to look skeptical. EDF to FDA: It's time to act on toxic chemicals in food
Chemicals banned from children's toys are still found in food. The FDA must take action now, say environment and health organizations.More on:
-