Question from JGPZ

Hi, I am looking to purchase a pressure cooker. I have read your information on safe/non-toxic cookware. Within the pressure cooker category, the offerings for purchasing a safe/non-toxic material seem much more limited than other kinds of cookware. I have found a few in anodized aluminum. I am just uncertain if this is the safest choice.

Does anyone have any experience in purchasing a non-toxic pressure cooker? If so, I would greatly appreciate you sharing the brand and type of material with me.

Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

Readers, I haven’t looked at pressure cookers in years, but they are a good way to save energy because they cook foods more quickly. I know there is a whole new generation of pressure cookers available, but haven’t researched them yet.

Any recommendations?

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Question from Jane

Hello, do you know anything about Physicians Formula new organic makeup line? Is it safe? Here is the list of ingredients for their organic veil:

MICA, ZEA MAYS (CORN) STARCH*, MAGNESIUM STAERATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, KAOLIN, ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) HULL POWDER, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS (SAFFLOWER) SEED OIL, GLYCERIN, GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) OIL*, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL*, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL*, CINNAMIC ACID, CITRUS GRANDIS (GRAPEFRUIT) FRUIT EXTRACT, SODIUM LEVULINATE, TOCOPHEROL, WATER. MAY CONTAIN: IRON OXIDES, TITANIUM DIOXIDE.

*PRODUCED FROM ORGANIC FARMING

Debra’s Answer

I went to the

Physician’s Formula Organic Wear website. I looked at the ingredients and found that their products contain anywhere from 11 to 84 percent certified organic ingredients.

To answer your question, I don’t see any ingredients on that list that I would call unsafe.

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Question from Pat Burkett

The seal under the bathtub drain gave out and water leaked out. Plumber used plumbers putty as a sealant and I found out that was really bad for me. I need something safer. Any suggestions?

Debra’s Answer

I asked my husband about this and he went under the kitchen sink and brought out a little tub of plumber’s putty. He looked on the label and said, “It says all ingredients are non-hazardous.” He put it on my desk, and after about fifteen minutes I started reacting to it. I felt woozy and started making a lot of mistakes typing, which I don’t usually do.

So I looked up Oatey’s Plumber’s Putty MSDS and found that it contains 10-30% non-specific “hydrocarbons” (and zero VOCs–that doesn’t make sense to me) along with limestone, talc, clay, and fish oils. Yes, I think you could have a reaction to this.

The alternatives seem to be silicone caulk, which will dry where plumber’s putty never cures, or a rubber or silicone gasket. My husband and I had quite a time trying to find such a gasket online with no success. He said the drain should come with a gasket and you should be able to just get a gasket. I’d try a plumbing supply house.

Readers, any other suggestions?

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Question from Linda

good morning debra,

i have had your site on my bookmarks for quite some time now but this is my first interaction. i have been incorporating green approaches into my life for the past 25 years or so also.

i was interested in the plastic items offered and wondered if you were aware of the research initially done at tufts university that discovered that plastic emits an estrogen like chemical when handled. the thicker the plastic the greater the estrogen that is emitted. for example a plastic vegetable bag would emit less estrogen than a plastic container lid being snapped on or a baby’s bottle hitting the floor. the harder the plastic the greater the amount of estrogen emitted. i do believe all plastic emits this estrogen like chemical.

i first became aware of this issue while listening to an interview on npr with the oncology physician who discovered this fact. she thought her experiment was contaminated because the cells in the test tubes were growing rapidly as if exposed to estrogen. she began eliminating aspects of the experiment until she was left holding the plastic test tube and that is when she tumbled. she has written a book about it. the important issue is that estrogen causes tumors to grow. a pre-menopausal woman who develops breast cancer has a lower likely hood of survival than a post-menopausal woman. it is not just breast cancer that this substance effects.

it was quite a few years before i even began to see this information in the mainstream press and then it was a rare occurrence. it has remained quite out of the public domain which surprises me. think of the chaos this would cause given that so much of our lives are linked to plastic. our watering systems are now almost entirely dependent on p.v.c. china could implode.

i personally never drink water from plastic bottles. every time that plastic crackles you are infusing the water with another dink of estrogen. i also use only glass for food storage and have made a wonderful collection of vintage glass storage containers that actually stack quite well. i try to be pragmatic. i do not empty all of the yogurt containers into glass but i do tend to transfer food items, such as cottage cheese, into glass once i have opened them. i do still use baggies but often will use aluminum foil in its place.

Debra’s Answer

But I don’t think all plastic contains these endocrine disruptors. I found an article about the original Tufts study at http://www.alternet.org/story/7786 . It says that the problematic substance was “p-nonylphenol, an antioxidant sometimes added to plastics to make them less breakable.” Sometimes added to plastic. Not always.

This story about the estrogen is from the book Our Stolen Future which I have in Debra’s Bookstore. I also have the author’s website Our Stolen Future on the Toxics page of Debra’s List. I think a good rule of thumb is to choose something other than plastic whenever possible. In addition to containing toxic substances, it also does not biodegrade and will sit in landfills for centuries, if not for eternity.

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Question from Emmy

what can he use so he doesn’t smell like chlorine (for my sake) after he swims?

Debra’s Answer

Does he shower after swimming? If a plain shower doesn’t remove the smell, have him use an unscented soap that you like.

Readers, any other suggestions that worked for you?

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Question from Crissy Klaus

I am looking for an alternative to plastic. Ceramic and glass break and stainless steel can get hot and conduct heat when filled with hot food. I love baked enamel dishes, but I want to be sure they are safe to serve food on and in to my children. Please let me know. Thanks! Crissy

Debra’s Answer

I’m not aware of any problems with them.

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Question from Dianne

Is it really worth buying expensive organic beddings? I know they are good for environment, but I have to balance my budget.