Latest news with #NPEs
India Today
02-06-2025
- Health
- India Today
Are you wearing cancerous chemicals in branded clothes?
On the face of it, Nonylphenol (NP) and Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPEs) might sound like scientific gibberish, but these are chemicals that every consumer should be aware are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that pose significant health risks to humans even at very low levels. These compounds can mimic oestrogen—the primary female sex hormone—and may cause developmental abnormalities in embryos, foetuses and children. Additionally, they have carcinogenic properties and are linked to prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in and NPEs are used across a wide range of industries, including leather, detergents and cleaning products, paper and pulp, food packaging materials, cosmetics and construction. However, what is particularly concerning is their extensive use in India's textile manufacturing sector, where they function as wetting agents, detergents and emulsifiers in various processes, such as washing, scouring, lubrication, bleaching, dye levelling and to the report 'Toxic Threads: Assessing Nonylphenol in Indian Textiles and the Environment', released by New Delhi-based nonprofit Toxics Link, NPEs were found in 15 out of 40 textile products purchased from retail stores and online platforms across India. Most of these 15 products were innerwear and babywear—items that pose an increased risk of exposure due to their prolonged and close contact with human skin, allowing easier absorption into the body. Alarmingly, the highest concentration was found in innerwear, ranging from 22.2 mg/kg to 957 mg/kg. The highest level (957 mg/kg) was detected in a piece of female 60 per cent of baby and children's products tested positive for NPEs, with concentrations ranging from 8.7 mg/kg to 764 mg/ report also detected NP in the surface water of five major rivers: Cooum and Adyar in Chennai, Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana (Punjab), Bandi in Pali (Rajasthan) and the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. The research noted that NP concentration in water increases significantly around textile hubs in the many countries, particularly in the European Union, have regulated the use of these chemicals in textiles and cosmetics, India continues to lag. The EU has banned the manufacture and import of textiles containing NPEs. However, due to lack of regulations in the Asia-Pacific region—and in India specifically—these toxic chemicals remain widely used.'The presence of NP in environmental matrices and textile products is a serious public health concern,' said Satish Sinha, associate director at Toxics Link. He emphasised the need for regulatory standards that limit the presence of NP and NPE in consumer products and ensure these chemicals are not released into the environment through industrial effluents. Currently, the only restriction in India applies to their use in Link also spoke to several textile exporters who confirmed that they manufacture textiles without NPEs for clients in countries where the chemical is banned. 'Alternatives are available. What we need is regulation to ensure the adoption of safer chemicals,' said to India Today Magazine
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Survey finds hazardous chemicals in garments, surface water of five rivers near textile hubs
New Delhi: A new report by an NGO has revealed the presence of hazardous hormone-disrupting chemicals in garments sold across India, including innerwear, as well as on surface water of five rivers near textile hubs. The study by Toxics Link published in the report titled "Toxic Threads: Assessing Nonylphenol in Indian Textiles and the Environment" found nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) -- a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals -- in 15 out of 40 textile products examined. These garments were sourced from popular retail shops and online platforms in 10 major textile hubs across the country, according to the report released on Monday. Ten of the NPE-contaminated items were innerwear, with one female hosiery product recording the highest concentration of 957 milligram/kilogramme. Sixty per cent of baby and children's garments tested also contained NPEs, according to the report. NPEs and their breakdown product, nonylphenol (NP), are known to mimic estrogen, disrupting the hormonal system and increasing the risk of developmental disorders and cancers, Toxics Link said in the report. Despite their documented health risks, these chemicals continue to be widely used in India in textiles and various industrial sectors, including leather, detergents, food packaging, and cosmetics, it said. "These chemicals are known endocrine disruptors, and their detection in clothing and riverwater is a serious public health issue," said Toxics Link associated director Satish Sinha. "India needs to urgently regulate the use of nonylphenol not just in cosmetics but also in textiles and industrial effluent," he added. The study also tested environmental samples and detected NPEs in the surface water of five rivers -- Cooum and Adyar in Chennai, Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana, Bandi river in Pali, and Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. The Cooum recorded the highest NPE concentration at 70 micrograms/litre while the Buddha Nullah had the highest NP contamination in sediment samples at 460 micrograms/kilogramme and mixed isomers at 1,190 micrograms/kilogramme. The presence of these chemicals was confined to downstream locations near textile hubs, pointing to industrial discharges as the likely source. NP, which is persistent and bio-accumulative in nature, poses a long-term risk to aquatic ecosystems and human health. India restricts NP only in cosmetics while several other countries have set broader regulations due to its toxicity, according to the report. Toxics Link has called for a national action plan to regulate NP use in textiles, including stricter monitoring of industrial effluent and promotion of safer, biodegradable alternatives.
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Survey finds hazardous chemicals in garments, surface water of five rivers near textile hubs
A new report by an NGO has revealed the presence of hazardous hormone-disrupting chemicals in garments sold across India, including innerwear, as well as on surface water of five rivers near textile hubs. The study by Toxics Link published in the report titled "Toxic Threads: Assessing Nonylphenol in Indian Textiles and the Environment" found nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) -- a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals -- in 15 out of 40 textile products examined. These garments were sourced from popular retail shops and online platforms in 10 major textile hubs across the country, according to the report released on Monday. Continue to video 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by Ten of the NPE-contaminated items were innerwear, with one female hosiery product recording the highest concentration of 957 milligram/kilogramme. Sixty per cent of baby and children's garments tested also contained NPEs, according to the report. Live Events NPEs and their breakdown product, nonylphenol (NP), are known to mimic estrogen, disrupting the hormonal system and increasing the risk of developmental disorders and cancers, Toxics Link said in the report. Despite their documented health risks, these chemicals continue to be widely used in India in textiles and various industrial sectors, including leather, detergents, food packaging, and cosmetics, it said. "These chemicals are known endocrine disruptors, and their detection in clothing and riverwater is a serious public health issue," said Toxics Link associated director Satish Sinha. "India needs to urgently regulate the use of nonylphenol not just in cosmetics but also in textiles and industrial effluent," he added. The study also tested environmental samples and detected NPEs in the surface water of five rivers -- Cooum and Adyar in Chennai, Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana, Bandi river in Pali, and Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. The Cooum recorded the highest NPE concentration at 70 micrograms/litre while the Buddha Nullah had the highest NP contamination in sediment samples at 460 micrograms/kilogramme and mixed isomers at 1,190 micrograms/kilogramme. The presence of these chemicals was confined to downstream locations near textile hubs, pointing to industrial discharges as the likely source. NP, which is persistent and bio-accumulative in nature, poses a long-term risk to aquatic ecosystems and human health. India restricts NP only in cosmetics while several other countries have set broader regulations due to its toxicity, according to the report. Toxics Link has called for a national action plan to regulate NP use in textiles, including stricter monitoring of industrial effluent and promotion of safer, biodegradable alternatives.
Fox News
21-03-2025
- Business
- Fox News
The surprising way Trump can unleash America's economic comeback
In his address to a joint session of Congress, the president predicted that "our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed." That prediction is backed up by his recent announcements of massive new private sector investments in AI infrastructure and new executive orders to ensure that the U.S. leads the world in the industries of the future. In order to fulfill the promise that those actions suggest, however, it's essential that President Donald Trump support steps to shore up America's intellectual property system, the cornerstone of our innovation economy, rooting out malicious foreign interests and installing new leadership to help guide the comeback. To start, we need to address the fact that legal damages for patent infringement are no longer calculated reliably. U.S. courts have strayed from commonsense assessments to the detriment of American innovation. When a company is sued for patent infringement, the potential damages should be limited to the specific value of the underlying technology. Unfortunately, this narrow focus has become more relaxed, and plaintiffs are now asserting damages calculations far greater than their intellectual property's value. Consider the advanced chips powering AI technologies. Each chip contains thousands of parts, many of which are covered by separate patents. If a plaintiff accuses a chipmaker of patent infringement, it should be able to claim only damages limited to the value its patented invention adds to the chip's value. Instead, courts are increasingly awarding damages based on the entire chip's value. The outcome is unreasonably large damages awards. In 2024, verdicts greater than $10 million, $50 million, and $100 million in patent cases were up over prior years. We are even seeing cases where damages reach into the billions. Excessive damages are an unjust financial drain for high-tech manufacturers and an array of other innovative companies forced to pay more than they should owe. Bloated damages are chum in the legal waters. Chum attracts sharks. In this case, non-practicing entities (NPEs) – which do not invent devices or techniques, or build and sell products – but collect patents to bring, and profit from, lawsuits claiming infringement. More than half of all patent infringement lawsuits in the U.S. are now initiated by NPEs, as the patent lawsuit business has attracted a surge of outside capital. The possibility of winning eye-popping damages has caught the attention of litigation investors who fund legal actions in exchange for a share of any financial return. Litigation investment is a big business, totaling more than $15 billion in the U.S. today; and patent cases have been the largest category for new financial commitments in recent years. NPEs pursuing large damages awards are ideal investment vehicles, particularly because in many jurisdictions the investor is allowed to remain anonymous. President Trump's CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred to NPEs by their more familiar colloquial name "patent trolls" when he explained the trouble with this arrangement, namely that "by funding patent trolls – shell companies whose sole purpose is to file patent infringement lawsuits – nefarious third parties, including foreign adversaries, can use intellectual property to attack U.S. companies through lawsuits." U.S. patent grants to global competitors are surging. In 2024, China-based companies saw a 32% increase in U.S. patents granted and foreign companies are making plays for superiority across a range of cutting-edge industries. Among them, a Chinese startup, DeepSeek, released an AI model that challenges the best that American companies have to offer. It is crucial that we strengthen the rules governing our intellectual property system so that American innovators are not further hampered by those who attempt to game the system. Three reforms are necessary to address root causes of this abuse. First, federal courts should reassert their role as evidentiary gatekeepers, ensuring that unreliable expert testimony, which inflates damages, is not presented to the jury. We can't expect juries to make accurate decisions if they are fed bad information by supposed experts. Second, Congress should pass Rep. Darrell Issa's Litigation Transparency Act, a simple transparency measure mandating that litigation investors disclose their involvement in cases. And finally, the Trump administration must bolster the U.S. Patent Office's Patent Trial Appeal Board (PTAB) to give our innovators resources to deter and defend against abuse. The PTAB, and the administrative patent judges (APJs) who serve there, are tasked with invalidating bad patents, many of which are being used by NPEs to extort productive companies. APJs do their jobs much more efficiently than the federal courts and the PTAB is funded by fees, not by taxpayers. The president's new nominee to lead the Patent Office, John Squires, would be wise to ensure the PTAB can continue this important work. Right-sizing damages awards, increasing judicial transparency, and empowering the Patent Office's patent quality review will remove barriers to economic progress and prevent our competitors from undermining American industries. All should be priorities for policymakers in the days to come.
