And Now, Toxic iPods?

By ACSH Staff — Aug 16, 2006
An August 16, 2006 article by John Johnston noted the denunciation by ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of proposed California legislation that would ban iPods for containing "toxic" ingredients:

An August 16, 2006 article by John Johnston noted the denunciation by ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of proposed California legislation that would ban iPods for containing "toxic" ingredients:

Whelan went on to note a list of items, currently accused of causing a variety of ailments, from cancer to neurological damage to learning disabilities. That list includes: the sugar substitute aspartame, acrylamide in fried carbohydrate-rich foods like French fries, preservatives in life-saving vaccines, Teflon on frying pans, chemicals in cosmetics, fire-retardants, wood-preserving preparations, farmed salmon and other seafood, and genetically-modified and irradiated food.

"And in almost all of the cases, either the claims are based on high-dose laboratory animal tests of limited relevance to humans or -- in cases where a chemical (like lead) can be a hazard to humans if the exposure is high enough -- the actual exposure in question is too low to have health consequences," said Whelan.

"Those alleging health threats propose interventions including outright bans or warning labels on these products -- even if there is no evidence whatsoever that a public health risk exists," she said.

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