Environmental groups claim some children's bath products contain a suspected cancer-causing chemical in amounts that reach or exceed safe limits. The chemical in question -- 1,4-dioxane -- is found in products made by companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Disney, Kimberly-Clark, and Gerber, says David Steinman, head of the environmental publishing company Freedom Press.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls this chemical, already known to cause cancer in animals, a probable human carcinogen. But there is no real regulation on the petroleum-derived chemical and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only recommends cosmetic companies limit the concentration of 1,4-dioxane to 10 parts per million (ppm).
Studies show Johnson's Kids Shampoo Watermelon Explosion contains the maximum recommended level of 10 ppm. They also reveal that Kid Care's Hello Kitty Bubble Bath contains 12.3 ppm of the chemical. And two adult shampoos have been found to have twice the recommended level of this chemical that is typically a manufacturing by-product.
It's been reported that nearly 57 percent of all baby soaps contain 1,4-dioxane. But Iris Grossman, director of communications at Johnson and Johnson, stresses that all of her products are within FDA limits.
Cancer is not the only risky link to children's bath products. It seems these items are also linked to early puberty development. And this is concerning because a fast-paced growth rate combined with children's porous skin increases susceptibility to toxins that can enter the bloodstream. One breast cancer expert says an increase in breast cancer risk is linked to toxic exposures during the formative years of life.
Tomorrow is Independence Day. And I have been thinking all day today about all the freedom I have in my life at this exact moment in time. I have had the fortunate luxury to live for my entire life in the land of the free and the home of the brave -- to enjoy the pleasure of a country that is defended by courageous and selfless service men and woman and where I have opportunities that area boundless. I have had for the past five a half years the glorious freedom to stay at home with my children -- and the freedom, thanks to my husband who works to support us all, to avoid an all-encompassing and potentially stressful career. And recently, I have been enjoying two new freedoms -- one thanks to my three-year-old son who decided that he could in fact use the potty which has afforded me the thrilling freedom from changing diapers, smelling diapers, buying diapers, storing diapers, carrying diapers. He is my youngest child and his major feat has truly set me free from a way of life that has lingered on and on. But even more liberating than this -- which still is huge in my book -- is my new freedom from an almost-two-year journey through cancer treatment. My last infusion of cancer-fighting drugs sailed through my veins last week and I am now free to live my days without constant medical intervention. It's a freedom not all cancer patients get. A freedom I have never known. A freedom I will not take for granted, will not ever forget, will not ever stop enjoying. And while I will give special consideration to my freedom on each Independence Day that follows this one, I will really feel grateful each and every day for the independence that fills my world. It's a gift I would never return, never trade, never discard. It's a gift of a lifetime.
Ideally, the Dervaes would reside on a couple of country acres in order to live the organic, self-sufficient
eco-friendly and health conscious lifestyle they live. Instead, finding themselves in the middle of an urban landscape,
on a simple city block in Pasadena, California, the five member family has transformed the 1/5 acre and city home into a
sustainable urban homestead that provides them with enough organic and cancer prevention food that they have turned the
excess crops into a lucrative home business. 
