Silent Spring Institute

01/17/2026

We rely on countless products every day — but are they safe? This story highlights 4 science-backed government actions that are making a difference in protecting consumers from harmful chemicals in their daily lives.

How science-backed regulations protect people from toxic chemicals in their everyday lives.

01/16/2026

Friendly reminder: We’re coming together on Jan. 21 for a virtual conversation about safer products and how science and policy--and you--can help create real change.

Featuring:

- Lindsay Dahl, environmental health and consumer safety expert, author of Cleaning House
- Dr. Robin Dodson, Research Scientist in Chemical Exposure and Risk Assessment at Silent Spring Institute

Save your spot today! https://silentspring.org/event/science-cafe-quest-safer-products

01/07/2026

Mark your calendars! On Jan. 21, join Silent Spring exposure scientist Dr. Robin Dodson and Lindsay Dahl, consumer safety expert and author of "Cleaning House," for a virtual conversation about harmful everyday chemicals and how science and policy--and the public--can drive real change toward safer products.

Register today! https://silentspring.org/event/science-cafe-quest-safer-products

12/31/2025

What kind of world will we leave for the next generation? A world where women continue to be exposed to hundreds of chemicals in everyday plastics linked to breast cancer?

Every year, more young women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Silent Spring Institute is funding critical research to identify and prevent harmful exposures, protecting daughters, granddaughters, and future generations.

⏰ Today is the last day of 2025. Please give now to stand up for women's health.

Help create a future where fewer women face preventable cancer.

Give today: silentspring.org/give

A growing number of people are developing cancer in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Between 1990 and 2019, the worldwide rate of “early-onset” cancers increased by ...

12/22/2025

From all of us at Silent Spring Institute, thank you for helping move us closer to a future with less cancer and a healthier environment where everyone can thrive.💚

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season. May peace, happiness, and good health be yours throughout the new year.🕊️

12/19/2025

Young women are getting breast cancer at unprecedented rates. We’re on the verge of connecting the dots between the environment and these young cancers. But right now, this vital research is being disrupted.

Funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health threaten to shrink the already tiny 8.8% of research dollars devoted to women’s health. Brilliant early-career scientists—many of them young women—are seeing their studies disappear and their careers end.

You can protect this life-saving work. GIVE today, and your gift will be DOUBLED thanks to matching funds! Every dollar you give becomes two dollars to safeguard women’s health.

Give NOW: silentspring.org/give

12/12/2025

Important to remind people not only of the enormous public health toll but also of the economic toll of PFAS exposures.

"If the findings were extrapolated across the country, Americans might be bearing up to $7.8 billion in annual health and wage costs from exposure to these chemicals."

Check out our PFAS Exchange to find out if there's a contamination site near you and for guidance on reducing exposures. If you've had your blood or drinking water tested, use the Exposure tool to help interpret your results. Visit: https://pfas-exchange.org/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/12/09/pfas-forever-chemicals-infant-deaths/

Mothers in New Hampshire who were downstream of sites contaminated with “forever chemicals” experienced triple the rate of infant deaths, according to a new study.

12/12/2025

What does the public need to know about endocrine disrupting chemicals to protect their health and advocate for stronger laws?

In a new study by Silent Spring, researchers pinpointed key knowledge gaps and misconceptions that limit people’s ability to reduce their exposures and support solutions for safer products.

The findings provide a roadmap for shaping clearer, more effective public health messaging to combat misinformation and help people make informed decisions about their health.

The study was conducted by Silent Spring research scientist Katie Boronow and senior scientist Dr. Julia Brody.

Learn more: https://silentspring.org/news/what-do-people-know-about-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals

12/10/2025

Our new study featured in Fast Company, with good advice from Silent Spring's Robin Dodson:

"That doesn’t mean you need to immediately go out and buy a new couch—especially if your budget is tight. (There’s currently no safe, environmentally friendly way to dispose of old flame-retardant-filled furniture.) Instead, our number one tip is to keep dust levels low inside of your house, vacuum with a HEPA filter. And when buying new furniture, choose items without flame retardants."

The study was led by the Department of Public Health and included scientists from the CalEPA, University of California, Davis, Silent Spring Institute, Green Science Policy Institute, Environmental Working Group, and Sequoia Foundation.

More info: https://silentspring.org/news/toxic-flame-retardants-peoples-bodies-drop-after-replacing-old-furniture-healthier-options

https://www.fastcompany.com/91456433/getting-rid-of-old-furniture-can-immediately-start-making-you-healthier-heres-why

Old sofas are filled with flame retardants, which have been linked to cancer risk and neurodevelopmental issues. A new study looks at what happens in your body when you get new furniture.

12/09/2025

Our newly updated PFAS Exchange is now live! With a fresh design and expanded information, this free online resource center helps people understand their PFAS exposure and take steps to protect themselves and their communities. In addition to fact sheets on a range of topics, the site features a tool for interpreting drinking water and blood test results, an interactive contamination map, medical guidance for healthcare providers, and more.

Learn more: https://silentspring.org/news/new-online-tool-empowers-communities-reduce-their-pfas-exposure

Go straight to the PFAS Exchange: https://pfas-exchange.org/

12/05/2025

"The study was the quintessential example of how companies like Monsanto could fundamentally undermine the peer-review process through ghostwriting, cherry-picking unpublished studies, and biased interpretations. Faced with undisputed evidence concerning how this study was manufactured and then used, for over two decades, to protect glyphosate sales, the Editor-in-Chief … did the right thing.”

The journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology has formally retracted a sweeping scientific paper published in the year 2000 that became a key defense for Monsanto’s claim that Roundup herbicide and its active ingredient glyphosate don’t cause cancer.

12/03/2025

Environmental exposures -- including endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastics, cosmetics, and cleaning products -- among the list of factors that are likely driving rising rates of early-onset breast cancer.

“We have been studying a number of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and have identified over 900 chemicals in commonly used products that are relevant to breast cancer causation.” -- Dr. Mary Beth Terry, Executive Director, Silent Spring Institute.

Learn more about the latest science on environmental risk factors for breast cancer: https://silentspring.org/resources/breast-cancer-and-environment

https://www.everydayhealth.com/cancer/study-finds-surprising-incidence-of-breast-cancer-in-younger-women/

Researchers found that nearly 1 in 4 cancers detected at a community breast imaging center were in women under 50. Learn how to protect yourself.