Go Greener Tips

div class=image style=float:right;padding-left:8px;img alt=image name height=230 src=http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/daily_green_news/daily_green_news-256530468-1244146546.jpg?ymy9bXBD05DiVnOD width=300/br /em(Photo: bigoni / Wikimedia Commons)/embr /br //divpAs if we didn’t have enough to worry about with a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/lead-toy-recall-47103102lead/a, a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/bisphenol-a-47091707Bisphenol A/a, a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/phthalates-47020418phthalates/a, a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foodspesticides/a and a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/safe-fish-recipes-44100608mercury/a, now, a new investigation finds that many common products are radioactive — even one cheese grater./ppA must-read Scripps News investigation found that radioactive waste is being mixed with other metals in scrap yards and recycling facilities, often overseas, and then shipped into the U.S. in a range of consumer products. /ppThe Daily Green urges readers to check out the a href=http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/43577 target=_blankwhole report/a, but below are the chief findings:/pullipstrongImports aren’t checked for radioactivity:/strong The U.S. has no regulations specifying how much radioactivity is acceptable, and U.S. agents don’t screen cargo containers entering the U.S./p/lilipstrongRadioactive materials contaminate U.S. scrap:/strong U.S. metal recyclers and scrap yards aren’t required to test or report the presence of radioactive waste, and there is a strong financial incentive for facilities to dump them or mix them in with clean products, since the cost of proper disposal is steep. Facilities in 36 states currently have no option for properly disposing of radioactive waste. A U.S. program designed to collect the most radioactive waste has a two-year waiting list and a 9,000-item backlog./p/lilipstrongThe scale of the problem or health risk isn’t known:/strong No federal agency is responsible for testing, tracking or reporting the presence of radioactivity in consumer goods or raw materials./p/li/ulpWorse, there’s very little consumers can do to protect themselves, according to the report. While exposure to low-level radioactivity is a fact of life, there’s a scientific debate about the medical implications for chronic low-level exposure, and there’s no telling whether or not some common products are delivering doses high enough to cause acute health issues. /ppThis is a tip of the iceberg story we’ll have to watch./pp /ppstrongMore from The Daily Green/strong/pullia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/lead-toy-recall-47103102?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgLatest Lead Toy Recalls/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/safe-fish-recipes-44100608?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgSeven Recipes for Mercury-Free Sustainable Fish/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgThe Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Eat Organic/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Save-on-Sustainable-Gallery-44032808?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgThe Clean 15: Foods Low in Pesticide Residue/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/bisphenol-a-47091707?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgHow to Avoid Bisphenol A and Phthalates/a/li/ulpemReprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc/em/p

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