President George W. Bush signed legislation that bans lead from children's toys, imposing the toughest standard in the world, according to the Chicago Tribune. The law prohibits lead, beyond minute levels, in products for children 12 or younger. Lead paint was a major factor in last year's recalls of 45 million toys and children's items, many from China. The law also bans chemicals called phthalates, widely used to make plastic products softer and more flexible.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reaffirmed the safety of food-contact products containing bisphenol A (BPA), according to a release by the American Chemistry Council. Bisphenol A is used to make polycarbonate plastic products such as baby bottles and sippy cups, and is used in epoxy linings of cans to help to protect the safety and integrity of foods and beverages. The draft assessment carefully considered recent reports from government and scientific bodies in the US, Canada and Europe, and includes FDA's independent analysis of key scientific studies on the safety of bisphenol A . The draft assessment will undergo full scientific peer review.

California Senator Ellen Corbett has drafted a bill (SB 1313) that would ban PFOA in food packaging sold in California by 2010. The senator has said there's no reason to continue to make products containing PFOA when there are safe alternatives that responsible corporations are already using. Some companies have discovered more natural clay-based options. PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, is a synthetic (man-made) chemical that is used to coat Teflon cookware as well as the packaging of many fast-food products, including pizza boxes and fast food wrappers..

The San Francisco Chronicle published a piece on a potential new law for workplace exposure limits in California.  One Assembly leader is pledging a down-to-the-wire fight for legislation that would require the state to adopt worker exposure standards for all known cancer-causing chemicals.  Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Sally Lieber says the measure is needed because a state board responsible for setting industrial safety standards has been guilty of "a reprehensible level of inaction" regarding California workers who are exposed to dangerous chemicals on the job.

The Cancer Prevention Coalition is calling for a Sunscreen Labeling Act modeled on California's Safe Cosmetics Act of 2007. The coalition argues that the current status quo is 'just one example of the overwhelming ignorance and indifference of the FDA and its President'. The Personal Care Products Council reacted to a similar complaint from the Environmental Working Group by reassuring the safety of sunscreen ingredients such as oxybenzone.

Chino company, Jet Ocean Technologies, is facing as much as $32,500 in civil penalties for illegally shipping hundreds of used computer monitors to China labelled as scrap metal. An article by the Press Enterprise, citing EPA officials, said the company violated new regulations requiring both U.S. and Chinese officials to approve shipments of electronic waste. The federal regulations are aimed at stopping the practice of dumping discarded computers, televisions and other electronic goods in China and other counties where low-paid workers risk their health to recover valuables. In California, a 2001 law banned putting cathode ray tubes in landfills because each one can contain 5 to 7 pounds of lead.

An independent study commissioned by The New York Times Customer Insight Group found ninety-three percent of all home buyers are not willing to pay more for green or energy efficient features when building a home, according to the environmental Leader. Consumers said green features that save them money, such as energy efficient appliances, are important, while green features that are capital-intensive are less important.

Labeling a product green is often fraught with difficulties, according to CNNMoney.com, which interviewed Stacey Griffin, founder of Aqua2Go, which sells boxed water. Griffin believed boxed water was clearly a friend of the environment when compared with water sold in plastic bottles. What she's finding is that that isn't necessarily correct. The company's water boxes are made of 20 percent polyethylene, which imposes the same environmental costs as 100 percent plastic bottles, though in reduced proportion. While the boxes are made from lumber harvested in accordance with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, environmental groups say SFI is a timber industry front which allows damaging practices under the guise of ecological concern.

The Intelligence Group has observed a new trend called "precycling" and believes it will grow. Consumers who precycle aren't just content with throwing cans and bottles in the recycle bin and letting waste management sort it out. In its Report, The Intelligence Group found that 45% of trendsetters and 14% of mainstream consumers have "cut down on bottled water purchases" in the past six months, while 49% and 16% respectively have "cut down on use of plastic bags" during the same period. "It's not just about how you dispose of [products and packaging] anymore," said Melissa Lavigne, director of marketing for The Intelligence Group, which is a division of CAA. "It's about being conscious about products you buy in the first place. That's the idea behind precycling."