Children's bath products contain probable carcinogens

The Boston Youth Environmental Network wants Boston public school students outdoors twice a year to learn science. (Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff/File 2008)

Excerpts from the Globe's environmental blog.

Children's bath products contain probable carcinogens

Dozens of children's bath products are tainted with chemicals the federal government says are likely carcinogens, according to a report by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow.

Despite label claims like "gentle" and "pure," the products can contain formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, chemicals the government says "may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen." The Consumer Product Safety Commission says 1,4-dioxane, "even as a trace contaminant, is cause for concern."

Formaldehyde is banned from personal care products in Japan and Sweden. The European Union bans 1,4-dioxane from personal care products. But the US government does not limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, or most other hazardous substances in personal care products. And laws do not require the chemicals to be listed on product labels.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent lab to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that:

"The reality of today's world is that we, humans, have contaminated our environment and poisoned ourselves. Not intentionally, but due to our industrial ingenuity, our carelessness, and our unwillingness to study and regulate what we expose ourselves and our environment to," said Dr. Sean Palfrey, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center.

Boston program moves the classroom outdoors

When I was a kid, school didn't always take place inside: My grade school teacher would march us outside to identify oak and birch trees. By junior high we were examining a muddy brook to understand wetlands, and in high school, my senior class piled in a bus and rode for two hours to conduct a daylong beach cleanup.

For a variety of reasons - including time and money - that doesn't seem to happen as often as it used to. That is where the Boston Youth Environmental Network comes in. The three-year-old group wants all Boston public school students outdoors at least twice a year to learn science. The hope is the students will learn about the environment - and develop a life-long respect for the natural world.

The group is kicking off an effort called Get Out and Learn, or GOAL.

This month, it trained Boston-area nonprofit environmental education organizations on how to work with Boston Public School teachers.

Research shows students involved in environmental education demonstrated improved critical thinking, a better ability to apply science to real-world situations, and improved science knowledge, according to a study in the Journal of Environmental Education. For more information: www.environetwork.org.

BETH DALEY