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How Does Your Garden Glow?

Gardening can be a healthy pastime… as long as toxic tools aren’t involved. Researchers at the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Ecology Center recently tested nearly 200 garden essentials—especially hoses, hand tools, gloves and knee pads—for chemicals and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, phthalates and Bisphenol A (BPA), which are linked to birth defects, hormone imbalances, learning delays and other serious health problems. The researchers found that nearly two-thirds of the tested products contained levels of chemicals that concerned them greatly.

Cautious gardeners should seek products that are free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and lead-free, and follow good garden hose hygiene: Avoid drinking out of the hose, don’t leave it exposed to the sun (where water within the hose can absorb chemicals) and always flush it out before watering edible plants.

Source: EcologyCenter.org

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