Health & Toxics

Investigating Habanero Peppers on Prostate Cancer

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Habanero pepper and prostrate cancerby Susan MacVittie

When Ed Wolf was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, he was determined to seek alternate treatment, which led him to the discovery of the cancer killing properties in habanero peppers.

I Hate Pink - The Goods on Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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by Judy Brady

It is estimated that over 22,000 women and men in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and nearly ten times as many in the United States.
Almost a quarter of these people will die.

Ever since it dawned on me that having been swaddled in a pink blanket set me on a course of considerably more limited choices than those available to the baby wrapped in a blue blanket, I’ve been wary of anything that comes in pink. But in October it’s impossible to avoid pink. Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) is upon us and millions of little pink ribbons on millions of lapels exhort us to be “aware” of breast cancer.

The Chronic War on Cancer

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by Devra Davis

By the turn of the 18th century, the path-breaking Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini had documented more than three dozen different cancer-prone professions. At that point the disease was still uncommon and usually lethal.
Ramazzini did not know which specific part of the job caused which maladies, but he knew that people in many different jobs were subject to risk, including miners of coal, lead, arsenic and iron, metal gilders, chemists, potters, tinsmiths, glassmakers, painters, tobacco workers, lime workers, tanners, weavers, coppersmiths, mirror makers, painters, sulphur workers,

Healthier Options of Plastics in Food Packaging

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Plastics are widely used to store and package foods and beverages. Plastic is convenient, lightweight, unbreakable and relatively inexpensive. However, there are both environmental and health risks from the widespread use of plastics. 

Environmental problems: Most plastics are made from petroleum, a non-renewable and mostly

Sunscreen - Hazard or Protector?

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by Susan MacVittie

Studies are showing that some of the ingredients in sun screens may have adverse affects on our health and the environment. As summer heats up it's time to learn about the pros and cons of lathering on suntan lotion.

Ultra-Violet Rays

Do You Need Germ-Killing Soaps?

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by Philip Dickey

Turn on the TV or read any home-oriented magazine and you'll see them. Ads for all kinds of household products containing germ-killing ingredients are everywhere. Hand soap, dishwashing liquid, underwear, kitchen sponges, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mattresses, cutting boards, window cleaner, socks, cycling shorts, chop sticks, and facial tissues are all being marketed for their ability to kill germs.

It's been estimated that more than 700 antimicrobial-infused products are now available, including 76% of

Does Your Shampoo APE Hormones?

There's a good chance you're cleaning your hair with an APE—an AlkylPhenol Ethoxylate—and it may not be as biodegradable as you think it is.

We all try to be careful about pouring hazardous waste down sinks, toilets and storm drains. But we may not be quite as vigilant about the contents of our bath or shower water.

Toxics, Inc.

Let Them Eat Plastic

Although it's been an issue of concern for many years in the scientific community, the mainstream media is only just catching up with the fact that plastics and food may not mix.

Toxic Ship Paint Must Be Banned

While snails undergo involuntary sex changes, the government dithers, forgetting about the precautionary principle and human health.

by Delores Broten

Tributyl tin (TBT), a substance still commonly painted on the hulls of large ships to repel barnacles and weeds, although banned for non-aluminium small boats, should be fast-tracked for virtual elimination by the Canadian government, says the World Wildlife Fund.

Pressure Treated Lumber

It's useful, alright ... it can resist rotting for 30 years or more.
Maybe that's why no one has been examining its safety too closely.

by Andrea Johnson

Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood, com monly known as pressurized or Wolmanized wood, is used extensively in outdoor construction: for playgrounds and picnic tables, for planters and garden furniture, for fences, decks, porches, and walkways, and for docks and wharves. This greenish-coloured wood is popular because it resists rot and can last up to 30 years. And perhaps because of its prolific use, its safety is rarely questioned.

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"This is it. It's done!" was the message in Alaska in 2008, 19 years after the Exxon Valdes oil spill.  Dave Janka, who runs Auklet Charters in Prince William Sound, ran his boat over to Smith Island to snap this photo.  Dave says, "It's far from done!"

W.L.M. (Bill) Wilson writes: 'Attached is my rewrite of Anne Feeney’s “Have You Been To Jail for Justice”. Anne granted permission to do non-profit performances of this Enbridge version.' Video by Ester Strijbos.