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Furniture, cars, groceries – all could be impacted during the dockworker’s strike

Dependent on certain meds? Try to get a 90-day supply

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Most people don’t give much of a thought to a work strike because many are category-centric like automobiles or appliances. But the dock workers' strike along the East and Gulf Coasts is not your ordinary strike and consumer products by the score are expected to be impacted ... significantly.

Basically, things are going to take longer to arrive. So, if you think you’re going to want or need something, get it now. Otherwise, you could be out of luck.

Pickings may be slim, ...

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    Who is the best judge of the best companies?

    Eighteen companies win first-ever Buyer’s Choice Awards based on decoded consumer reviews

    Who else but the consumer, the people who use the products and services, understands which companies are best?

    In announcing its first-ever Buyer’s Choice Awards, ConsumerAffairs employed an advanced sentence-by-sentence analysis of high-integrity consumer reviews – posted at ConsumerAffairs – to uncover the brands that earned the highest rates of positive feelings from purchasers.

    Each review analyzed for the 2024 Buyer’s Choice Awards was conducted by phone interview or detailed questionnaire in 2023. To calculate the winners, ConsumerAffairs then conducted “emotional decoding,” or sentiment analysis, of eligible reviews, using a customized Natural Language Processing (NLP) tool. Experienced auditors confirmed the accuracy of the sentiment analysis.  

     “We decoded millions of reviews to learn what aspects of each industry’s particular buying journey made the biggest emotional difference to purchasers,” said Zac Carman, CEO of ConsumerAffairs.

    Of the five awards in the home warranty category, for example, three were pinpointed by review analysis as specific preoccupations of home warranty customers: Best Technicians, Best Coverage Options, and Best Claims Handling. 

    “That’s what makes these awards unique,” Carman said. “Each award recognizes one super-important need for customers in that category and the companies that best fulfill it.” 

    Each quarter in 2024, ConsumerAffairs will announce Buyer’s Choice Awards in new categories and use its website to flag the winning companies with a signature badge designed to guide consumers in need to trusted companies. The initial five categories with winners are:

    Home Warranties

    Industry pioneer American Home Shield was the only home warranty company to win all three of those Buyer’s Choice Awards plus the industry’s awards for Best Customer Service and Best Value for Price.  

    Solar

    In the Solar category, reviews of solar purchasing platform SunPower earned it the Buyer’s Choice Awards for Best Customer Service and Best Value for Price. But the company also was recognized for Best for Installation, which review contents revealed as the second most critical emotional difference-maker to solar customers.  

    Debt Relief

    In the Debt Relief category, Accredited Debt Relief, National Debt Relief and Freedom Debt Relief each won for Best Customer Service as well as Best Experience with Staff and Best for Transparency, two awards that speak to customers’ need for a high-touch, trustworthy relationship with their debt relief company.

    Personal Loans

    Among personal loan lenders, Best Egg, Net Credit, and Achieve Personal Loans each won for Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff, and Best Loan Process, an award triggered by how important that aspect is to personal loan shoppers.

    Stairlifts

    Among companies providing stairlifts, Bruno Independent Living Aids and Stannah Stairlifts, were singled out for Best Customer Service, Best for Installation, and Best Experience with Staff; and Arrow Lift, for Best for Installation and Best Experience with Staff.

    You can check out the full results here.

    Who else but the consumer, the people who use the products and services, understands which companies are best?In announcing its first-ever Buyer’s Choi...

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    Would you eat chicken produced in a lab? You’ll get the chance.

    The U.S. government approves the sale of food produced from chicken cells

    Plant-based meat now has a new competitor at the supermarket. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the sale of meat produced in a lab. 

    Technically, it’s known as “cell-cultivated” meat, and two companies, UPSIDE Foods and Good Meat, will be the first to produce it for sale to consumers. The product is produced by using real chicken cells. According to UPSIDE Foods, its lab-grown chicken will be 99% chicken cells.

    "I'm thrilled to share that cultivated meat will now be available for consumers in the U.S.," said Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of UPSIDE Foods. "This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table.”

    “It's a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future - one that preserves choice and life. We are excited to launch with our signature, whole-textured UPSIDE chicken and can't wait for consumers to taste the future."

    It will appear first on restaurant menus

    UPSIDE has processed the first order of its cultivated chicken, placed by Chef Dominique Crenn. The cultivated chicken will be on the menu in the U.S. in limited quantities through select restaurant partners, starting with Crenn's restaurant Bar Crenn in San Francisco.

    The company said it will continue its work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and USDA to bring its next consumer products to market, including sausages, nuggets, and dumplings.

    Good Meat says cellular agriculture technology traditionally uses Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) as the growth medium to cultivate animal cells into the muscle, fat, and connective tissues that form meat. But the company says it has found efficient and economical methods to make its product without FBS.

    Whether lab-grown chicken is a hit with consumers will likely come down to two factors – taste and cost. But some in the food and agriculture industries see the development as a pivotal point, changing the entire way food gets to the table.

    Plant-based meat now has a new competitor at the supermarket. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the sale of meat produced in a lab....

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    Five products in your home that may be about to fail

    Consumers report problems from exploding glass to overheating hairdryers

    Your home can be a dangerous place. You could trip over a rug in the hallway or slip and fall in the shower.

    But some products in your home can also be dangerous, although regulators work to identify them and issue recalls. But there may be other products in your home that have yet to be recalled but nonetheless might pose a hazard.

    ConsumerAffairs researchers scoured the internet looking for consumer comments and complaints about products that are not only potentially hazardous but also might not work the way they are intended.

    Mueller’s “onion chopper” vegetable slicer was the subject of a recall in 2020 but is still triggering consumer complaints. It was deemed a laceration risk but some consumers report they never got the promised replacement.

    “I submitted all the required information & Mueller sent me an email saying I’d be sent a replacement,” a reviewer named Mishelle posted on Amazon in 2021. “That was 11/27/20. I have yet to receive my new chopper or hear from Mueller with a delivery status. Not happy!”

    Exploding glass

    Some consumers have complained that Hamilton Beach slow cookers have glass lids that are prone to shattering. Some consumers have reported the glass lids shatter with no apparent stimulus from the user.

    In recent years ConsumerAffairs has received reports of glass cookware shattering after being heated in an oven and then being exposed to room temperature, suggesting consumers should exercise caution when heating tempered glass.

    “Bought Pyrex set at Walmart 10 days ago first time I used it for a rack of ribs,” Mike, of Sierra Vista, Ariz., reported earlier this year. “Put it in a 350-degree oven and 40 minutes later it exploded into a million pieces.”

    While TV sets seem to be more reliable than they were a decade ago, some consumers still report problems. Some have complained that the Sony X900H TV’s variable refresh rate (VRR) feature does not work as advertised, substantially lowering the picture quality at higher refresh rates. 

    Sony’s X900H is advertised as a device that is optimized for the PS5 and next-gen gaming, equipped with a variable refresh rate feature that provides “reduced input lag, increased frame rate, and ultra smooth motion.” 

    “I love that the x900h, advertised with 4k and vrr and 120hz, actually didnt mention that VRR disables local dimming and 120hz halves the horizontal or vertical resolution so it looks worse than 1080p at times, it’s incredibly frustrating,” WoodyTSE posted on Reddit earlier this year.

    Overheating hair dryer

    Some consumers have claimed the Conair Cord Keeper hair dryer is defectively designed and prone to overheating, causing internal components to melt. Several claimed the 1,875-watt hair dryers pose a risk of burns or fires.

    “While drying my hair today I heard a pop and then a spark along with a flash of flame coming from the cord,” GMCchick posted in a review on Amazon earlier this year. “Not wanting the fire to get to the outlet I panicked and unplugged the burning cord from the outlet and dropped it on the floor where I was able to put out the fire.”

    Companies often issue recalls for products after federal safety regulars get a large number of complaints. Consumers who encounter what they believe to be defective or unsafe products can report them to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) here.

    It’s also helpful to share your experience with fellow consumers by posting a review on ConsumerAffairs.

    Your home can be a dangerous place. You could trip over a rug in the hallway or slip and fall in the shower.But some products in your home can also be...

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    Five ways to improve indoor air quality in your home

    Experts say poor air quality can lead to negative health consequences

    In an effort to keep your family healthy, you try your best to keep a clean home. But in order to stave off symptoms such as sniffling, sneezing, and itchy eyes, you may need to do more than dust and scrub surfaces.

    According to the experts at Broan, homeowners should also remember to combat airborne dangers that could pose a health threat. 

    In a recent poll, the ventilation product manufacturer found that although most homeowners are aware that unhealthy indoor air can cause health problems, many do not recognize the signs of poor indoor air quality in their home.

    Signs of poor indoor air quality

    "We spend up to 90 percent of our time indoors; our home should be our sanctuary. Yet too often, homeowners overlook the warning signs of poor indoor air quality, attributing it instead to everything from asthma to the common cold," said Michelle Gross, senior global director of channel marketing, services, and digital.

    A few signs that the air in your home may not be as clean as it could be include: mold, chemical smells, foggy windows and mirrors, and lingering cooking smells.

    Contributors to poor indoor air quality include using a fireplace, running central heating and cooling systems, cooking often, or lighting a candle. Not having a bathroom fan or range hood can also negatively affect indoor air quality, says Broan.

    Ways to improve indoor air

    Good air flow is vital to achieving and maintaining healthy air quality, says home improvement expert Danny Lipford.

    "Bath fans and range hoods are the easiest ways to drastically improve indoor air quality," he said. “The key is to use them every time you shower or cook, leave them on for 10 minutes after you've finished, and replace them every 10 years."

    To help homeowners improve indoor air quality, Broan recommends the following tips:

    • Install a fan or hood. For optimal ventilation, your kitchen should have a range hood and your bathroom should have an appropriately-sized fan. Be sure to use fans every time after cooking and showering.
    • Follow the 10-minute rule. Run your range hood for at least 10 minutes after cooking to eliminate lingering smells and particulates. Do the same after showering to remove humidity.
    • Clean it monthly. For maximum effectiveness, clean range hoods and bathroom fans once a month.
    • Replace as needed. Most range hoods have a lengthy lifespan of around 10-12 years, but be sure to change bathroom fans when they no longer prevent your mirror from fogging.
    • Clean regularly. Wash linens frequently in hot water, vacuum regularly (making sure not to forget doormats), and remove shoes upon entering the home.

    In an effort to keep your family healthy, you try your best to keep a clean home. But in order to stave off symptoms such as sniffling, sneezing, and itchy...

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    How to make your backyard more inviting

    Features that can help maximize your enjoyment of your outdoor living area

    Summer evenings and backyard gatherings go hand-in-hand, and having an inviting outdoor area can help make entertaining family and friends al fresco even more enjoyable.

    To help homeowners transform their backyard into a beautiful outdoor oasis, outdoor living product manufacturer Napoleon enlisted a third party research team to find out how the design of outdoor spaces can directly impact human emotions.

    "The research shows the most loved areas of the home combine relaxation, socialization and functionality," said Stephen Schroeter, Napoleon's senior vice-president of sales and marketing.

    "Outdoor spaces provide a great opportunity to accommodate all three, yet they are still vastly underutilized by most homeowners,” Schroeter added.

    Outdoor design ideas

    Outdoor living spaces can also boost your home's value. A National Association of Realtors survey shows many buyers are willing to pay a premium for a home with an outdoor living space. 

    But when it comes to outdoor remodeling projects, improving your home's resale value should come secondary to enhancing the overall enjoyment your family will get from the finished results.

    Homeowners can add to the natural ambiance of firefly-illuminated summer evenings by using the following design tips from Schroeter:

    • Add an outdoor kitchen. Take your cook-out to the next level by adding an outdoor kitchen in which to prepare a meal for your guests. A quality grill is essential in an outdoor kitchen, says Schroeter. Other features to consider adding: an outdoor refrigerator or beer dispenser, pizza oven, and sink for easy clean-up.
    • Create an area for socialization. Establishing a gathering place is key when it comes to outdoor living spaces. To do so, choose a central location and add a variety of seating options. Consider adding a built-in fireplace or fire pit to serve as a focal point and enable your outdoor space to be used later into the season.
    • Create distinct zones. Give each area of your backyard a purpose by using barriers like large plants, a pergola, or privacy panels. Divided zones help create the feel of a secluded getaway, says Schroeter.
    • Appeal to the senses. To enrich the auditory atmosphere, consider adding outdoor speakers or a water feature to eliminate street noise. Enhance the smell of your space by adding fragrant bushes with a sweet scent, such as honeysuckle or lilac.
    • Add charming details. “Small touches can go a long way,” says Schroeter. He recommends personalizing your space with items that define your unique style. “Don’t be afraid to add bold pops of color -- an outdoor living area is a great place to explore a more adventurous design than might be considered inside the home,” he added.

    Summer evenings and backyard gatherings go hand-in-hand, and having an inviting outdoor area can help make entertaining family and friends al fresco even m...

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    8 clever tips to help take the stress out of cleaning

    Simple tricks that can add an element of effortlessness to the task of cleaning

    Most people associate cleaning with time, effort, and an array of fancy spray solutions, but getting your home spic and span doesn’t have to take all day, or require the use of expensive products.

    A few simple tricks can help take some of the hassle out of cleaning, according to the home experts at HouseLogic.com. They recently rattled off a few clever tips for taking a home from grungy to gleaming.

    Many of the tips named by HouseLogic can be implemented using items you probably already have around the house.

    Easy cleaning hacks

    Loathe labor-intensive cleaning tasks? Then the following tips might prove to be useful additions to your mental collection of cleaning know-how.

    • Freshen up naturally with plants. Skip the air freshener and opt for fragrant houseplants, such as citrus, sweet bay, orchids, or cuban oregano.
    • Make a “go-cart” for mobile cleaning. Corral your cleaning supplies onto a cart with wheels for easy room-to-room transportation.
    • Get rid of mattress odors with baking soda. To oust unpleasant odors emanating from mattresses, use a sifter or fine mesh strainer to sprinkle about a cup of baking soda directly onto your mattress. Let it sit for about an hour to soak up the odors, then vacuum it up.
    • Give greasy stove burners an ammonia soak. Ammonia fumes can power through stubborn stove grease. Simply take ¼ cup of ammonia and seal it up with one of the burners in a large ziploc bag.
    • Clear garage debris with a leaf blower. Leaf blowers can be handy tools for helping to clear away dust, cobwebs, and leaves from your garage.
    • Use a drill brush on tub grunge. Retrofit your cordless drill with a scrubber to tackle tough stains in the tub.
    • Spray shower doors with windshield rain repellent. Solutions like Rain-X can help to keep your shower door clean and dry by causing water to bounce right off.
    • Clean dirty air vents in the dishwasher. Dirty dishes aren’t all your dishwasher can clean. Toss dirt-covered air vents in the dishwasher to get them looking as good as new.

    Most people associate cleaning with time, effort, and an array of fancy spray solutions, but getting your home spic and span doesn’t have to take all day,...

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    EPA approves drift-prone, toxic industrial weed killer on basis that all farmers will follow instruction label

    Advocacy groups are suing the Trump administration for approving Enlist Duo in 34 states this year

    The chemical known as 2,4-D has been around for decades, long before Dow AgroSciences began marketing it as a new weed killer called Enlist Duo in 2014.

    Iowa farmer George Naylor recalls using an herbicide containing a potent chemical combination of both dicamba and 2,4-D about forty years ago on his soybean and cotton fields, "because it was the most powerful herbicide you could get.” He remembers seeing the product volatilize into the air, run with water and crinkle the leaves of his soybean plants. 

    He eventually stopped spraying that herbicide “because all the other herbicides basically made it obsolete.” Since the 1990s, Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, containing the chemical glyphosate, has taken over as the weed killer of choice on industrial farms, but that’s about to change.

    Data that reporters and analysts have obtained from government agencies shows that the spraying of glyphosate herbicides has increased with the planting of soybean and cotton seeds that are genetically modified to resist glyphosate.

    That, in turn, has likely led to an epidemic of super-weeds, in which weeds evolve to survive spraying. With super-weeds estimated to wreak havoc on tens of millions of acres of farmland, the agrochemical industry has presented a solution: more potent herbicides. Now, weed killers containing the older chemicals 2,4-D and dicamba are once again being heavily marketed to farmers.

    EPA pulls Enlist Duo's approval, but Trump's EPA brings it back

    “Take control of weeds like never before,” Dow writes in one online advertisement for Enlist Duo. The herbicide, which is meant to be sprayed on cotton and soybean seeds also developed by Dow, genetically modified to withstand both glyphosate and 2,4-D, was pulled from the market in 2015 after environmental and food safety groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration.

    After a year of litigation, the EPA said it had revoked the registration for Enlist Duo over concerns that it may may be more drift-prone, more potent, and more toxic than previously thought. But the EPA under President Trump decided to give Enlist Duo another chance. In January, the agency approved the marketing of the Enlist herbicide and its accompanying seeds in a total of 34 states.

    "From its initial approval in 2014, EPA consistently acknowledged that Enlist Duo will damage crops,” Center for Food Safety staff attorney Sylvia Wu tells ConsumerAffairs. But because it was mostly small farmers who would be affected by the crop damage, the EPA approved Enlist anyway, Wu says. "Unfortunately, with both administrations, the pesticide and chemical industry has been very effective with lobbying at the federal level.”

    A coalition of advocacy groups -- the Center for Food Safety, the Pesticide Action Network, Beyond Pesticides, the Center for Biological Diversity, Family Farm Defenders, and the National Family Farm Coalition -- on March 21 filed a new federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for approving Enlist Duo once again. They charge that the EPA violated the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws when approving the Enlist technology in 34 states.

    The groups overall object to the increased dependence on herbicides in industrial farming. "Roundup was initially touted as a replacement for older, more dangerous chemicals like 2,4-D,” Jim Goodman, an organic farmer with the group Family Farm Defenders, says in a news release. “Now that Roundup, the widely used carcinogenic pesticide is failing to kill weeds, Dow is bringing back 2,4-D and teaming them up to create a more toxic mix than ever.”  (The official stance from federal regulators is that glyphosate is not carcinogenic, but the issue is a matter of intense debate).

    Dow did not return an interview request from ConsumerAffairs. “Adding tolerance to a new 2,4-D, the Enlist weed control system advances herbicide and trait technology by building on the glyphosate and glufosinate systems,” Dow tells farmers in online advertising.

    Warning label on product meant to assuage concerns 

    The EPA’s document explaining its reasons for the “Final Registration of Enlist Duo,” included as part of the lawsuit, sometimes reads like a document arguing against the approval of Enlist Duo. “This pesticide is toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates….Drift or runoff may adversely affect aquatic invertebrates and non-target plants...Application around a cistern or well may result in contamination of drinking water or groundwater...Small amounts of spray drift that may not be visible may injure susceptible broadleaf plants.”

    The EPA multiple times describes the risk of drift, or the chemical drifting from its intended target and killing other plants, or worse. “Without considering mitigation measures, it is reasonable to assume spray drift may be a potential source of exposure to residents nearby to spraying operations... Sprays that are released and do not deposit in the application area end up off-target and can lead to exposures to those it may directly contact....residues can eventually lead to indirect exposures (e.g., children playing on lawns where residues have deposited next to treated fields).”

    For studies conducted on rats, meant to evaluate the effect that dietary exposure to the herbicide could have on human females of child-bearing age, “fetal skeletal malformations (14th rudimentary ribs) were observed,” the EPA writes. Studies meant to evaluate the effect on the general population found “an increased incidence of incoordination and slight gait abnormalities (forepaw flexing or knuckling) and decreased motor activity.” Inhalation was linked with “increased mixed inflammatory cells within the larynx, which was not totally resolved following a 4-week recovery period.”

    "The toxicity profile of the active ingredient 2,4-D shows that the principal toxic effects are changes in the kidney, thyroid, liver, adrenal, eye, and ovaries/testes in the rat following exposure to 2,4-D via the oral route at dose levels above the threshold of saturation of renal clearance,” the EPA says. “Maternal and developmental toxicity were observed at high dose levels exceeding the threshold of saturation of renal clearance.”

    But the agency ultimately determined in the same document that the toxic effects only occurred at exposure levels that they estimated were well above what people would likely be exposed to. 

    "A premise of compliant applications"

    More important, according to the EPA, is that a warning label on the product itself should reduce the risk of both drift and toxicity. The EPA writes that its evaluation into the risk of spray drift “is based on a premise of compliant applications which, by definition, should not result in direct exposures to individuals because of existing label language and other regulatory requirements intended to prevent them.”

    Following the label, the EPA says, will “reduce exposures off-site to levels well below risk concern levels for both birds and mammals, thereby limiting any potential risks of concern to the treatment site itself.”

    The Enlist Duo label instructs farmers not to spray “during a local, low level temperature inversion because drift potential is high.” Farmers are also instructed to avoid spraying if rain is expected in the next 24 hours and to maintain a 30-foot buffer between their field and everything else. “Do not apply under circumstances where spray drift may occur to food, forage, or other plantings that might be damaged or crops thereof rendered unfit for sale, use or consumption,” the label instructs. “Do not apply at wind speeds greater than 15 mph.” 

    To combat the growing problem of herbicide resistance, particularly concerns that weeds may eventually develop a resistance to 2,4-D, the EPA has put Dow in charge of investigating. Dow AgroSciences “must investigate any reports of lack of herbicide efficacy and submit annual reports to the EPA,” the EPA says. “The initial mechanism users can use for communicating directly with DAS  is a toll-free number to get advice on how to resolve any uncontrolled weeds.”

    Pushing the limit on labels

    George Naylor, the cotton and soybean farmer from Iowa, says that farmers are under so much pressure to keep up with the demands of industrial farming that they often do not follow labels as closely as they should. “I think every farmer has probably pushed the limit on windspeed, because they want to get those weeds sprayed before they get too big,” Naylor tells ConsumerAffairs.

    "The cost squeeze gets me and other farmers to do something they know they shouldn't be doing...it's been our national policy for a long time to put farmers in that squeeze.” Additionally, he says, “more and more of the spraying is done by third parties, either the local co-op or a private applicator.” For those and other reasons, he says it has become a very common phenomenon for sprays from neighboring farms to damage another farmer’s crop.

    But Naylor counts himself as among the more fortunate. While most farmers work on land that they are renting, and therefore face constant pressure from landlords and competitors, Naylor works on family land that he inherited.  As other farmers turned to genetically modified seeds in the 1990s, he continued using traditional seeds, and in 1999 even filed a class-action lawsuit against Monsanto, alleging that the company’s GM seeds were contaminating his own fields.

    As a past president of the National Family Farm Coalition, one of the organizations now suing the EPA for approving Enlist Duo, Naylor sees a future in which all farming will be completely industrialized, with everything in the hands of corporations rather than small farmers. Naylor, on the other hand, is trying to convert his own farm to an organic one, but the process has not been easy.

    "If you create insecurity in their [farmers'] lives, they will have to make as much money each year as they possibly can, and to do that, you use whatever technology Monsanto or Dow or DuPont put out there,” he says. “The average farmer out there today farms on too big a scale to even think about going organic.”

    Farmers didn't follow instructions for dicamba technology 

    The recent lawsuit that conservation groups filed against EPA for approving Enlist Duo follows similar litigation that they have filed over Monsanto’s Dicamba technology. In that case, the EPA under Obama allowed Monsanto to begin selling Dicamba-resistant seeds before the accompanying herbicide, which is supposed to come with a special nozzle to reduce the risk of drift, was approved. Farmers as a result then turned to other, unapproved dicamba sprays, leading nearby peach farmers and grape growers to complain that their livelihood was being destroyed by dicamba-drift.

    One farmer in Missouri was even murdered over fights about drifting dicamba. The complaints led the EPA to launch criminal investigations into dicamba misuse, putting the blame on non-compliance rather than with the product itself. It is an approach that doesn't sit will with people like Sylvia Wu, the attorney with the Center for Food Safety. "Farmers end up with the blame,” she tells ConsumerAffairs, “and the financial harm of misused pesticides.”

    The chemical known as 2,4-D has been around for decades, long before Dow AgroSciences began marketing it as a new weed-killer called Enlist Duo in 2014....

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    Which garden hoses contain the highest levels of toxic chemicals?

    Researchers examined 32 hoses from six different retailers

    Could you be watering your lawn with toxic lead and phthalate chemicals? According to new data, the answer may be yes.

    Researchers at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center recently followed-up their 2013 study, which examined hazardous substances in common consumer items, with data on toxic chemicals in gardening products -- specifically, lawn and garden hoses.

    Thirty-two hoses were tested for the presence of chemicals such as lead, cadmium, bromine, chlorine, and phthalates. The results of the study indicated that high levels of toxic lead and phthalate chemicals are still lurking in many garden hoses.

    Experts recommend steering clear of hoses containing toxic chemicals, as they have been linked to health problems such as birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births, and early puberty in laboratory animals.

    “Even if you actively avoid putting harmful chemicals into your yard or garden in the form of pesticides, you could still be adding hazardous chemicals into your soil by watering with one of these hoses,” said Gillian Miller, Ph.D, staff scientist at the Ecology Center, in a statement.

    Best and worst products

    The good news, Miller adds, is that there are a number of safe hoses available. Safe, top-rated products were all polyurethane hoses.

    The following hoses were rated among the best:  

    • Big Boss AquaStream Ultra Light
    • Pocket Hose Dura-Rib II
    • Room Essentials Coil Hose with Multi Pattern Nozzle
    • Water Right Professional Coil Garden Hose

    Some hoses didn't fare as well, however. Examples of the worst products include:

    • HDX 15-foot Utility Hose, from the Home Depot: The product contained phthalate plasticizers and 6.8% (68,000 parts per million) lead.
    • Swan Hose Reel Leader 5/8 in x 6 ft Hose, from Walmart: The product contained phthalate plasticizers and 0.52% (5,200 parts per million) lead.
    • Apex NeverKink 5/8 in x 50 ft, from Lowes: The product contained a mixture of chemical hazards commonly associated with e-waste: phthalate plasticizers, lead (366 ppm), antimony (1,779 ppm) and bromine (1,592 ppm).

    Could you be watering your lawn with toxic lead and phthalate chemicals? According to new data, the answer may be yes. Researchers at the Ann Arbor-bas...