skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, May 23, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump administration says it's halting Harvard's ability to enroll international students; Post-George Floyd, MN communities drive Black wealth building; FL's fluoride ban sparks concerns over dental health; Despite barriers, TN adults want college degrees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A deadlocked Supreme Court prevents nation's first publicly funded religious school, House Republicans celebrate passage of their domestic policy bill, and Trump administration sues states for taking climate action.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Despite lawmaker efforts, rural communities still short of crucial broadband, new Trump administration priorities force USDA grant recipients to reapply, and Appalachia's traditional broom-making craft gets an economic boost from an international nonprofit.

Brazilian Blowout Settlement Forces Hazard Warning

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 31, 2012   

LOS ANGELES - Brazilian Blowouts are now coming with a hazardous warning label. A settlement reached between the state and makers of the popular hair-smoothing treatment now requires that hair stylists and their customers be warned the product exposes them to a cancer-causing chemical.

Alexandra Scranton, director of science and research for Women's Voices for the Earth, says salon workers across the U.S. are exposed to dangerous levels of formaldehyde from hair-smoothing products that have been banned for more than a year in Canada and other countries.

"We're really pleased to see California is using the authority it has to hold the company responsible for how it's communicating about its product, and let consumers know that, 'Yes, this product does contain formaldehyde, which is dangerous.'"

Formaldehyde is a carcinogen, according to the U.S. National Toxicology Program, and it can cause serious and long-term health effects, including breathing difficulties, bloody noses and nausea. The settlement is the first enforceable action under a 2005 cosmetics-labeling law, and will also require the company to submit its products for testing.

Leeann Brown is spokeswoman for the Environmental Working Group that conducted an investigation last year that found 16 companies include formaldehyde in their hair-smoothing products. That organization wants the FDA to go further.

"We're really calling on the FDA to ban formaldehyde as an ingredient in these popular products, so consumers and salon workers aren't inhaling a known human carcinogen."

The settlement also requires the manufacturers to post the carcinogen warning on its website and limit sale of the products to professional, licensed stylists.

More information is at www.womensvoices.org




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Florida has become the second state to officially ban fluoride in public drinking water. (Pixabay)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Florida's new law banning fluoride in public water systems has drawn sharp criticism from dental professionals, who cite decades of evidence …


Environment

play sound

Tax revenue from marijuana sales in Montana will now support a wider variety of conservation projects, since Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed House …

Environment

play sound

Memorial Day weekend is the start of recreational boating season in Minnesota. State officials are encouraged by recent trends in keeping people safe …


Five years after George Floyd's murder, Minnesota government researchers say racial disparities are still a challenge, including a widening homeownership gap for Black residents. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

The racial reckoning spurred by George Floyd's murder got the public's attention about possible progress in ending wealth disparities. A Black-led …

Social Issues

play sound

A budget plan taking shape in Congress is getting attention for tax cuts and reductions for safety-net programs. Policy experts in South Dakota also …

In 2004, British Petroleum introduced the carbon calculator, reframing the climate crisis as a matter of personal responsibility, according to reporting from The Guardian. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service C…

Social Issues

play sound

May is National Foster Care Month, and Kentucky advocacy groups across the political spectrum say the state hasn't done enough to keep kids out of …

Social Issues

play sound

By Enrique Saenz for Mirror Indy.Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public News …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021