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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG response to reports of Facebook security breach

Facebook announced today that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

New Analysis: 78% of suburban Cook County schools test positive for lead in water fixtures

Illinois PIRG Education Fund today released first-of-its-kind analysis of new data obtained from the Illinois Department of Public Health finding that 78% of suburban Cook County schools tested positive for lead in at least one water fixture.

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Blog Post | Public Health

Analysis Finds Pervasive Lead Contamination in Schools | Abe Scarr

 

In reviewing test results from 155 schools in suburban Cook County, we found 78% of schools contained at least one fixture with lead contamination levels of 2 parts per billion (ppb) or higher.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health, Consumer Protection, Health Care

Second recall of King Bio’s homeopathic drugs in the past month

King Bio Inc. issued the second significant voluntary recall since late July of their homeopathic drugs on Wednesday. Safety concerns over homeopathic drugs extend beyond King Bio as over the past several years, the FDA has issued recalls to several companies for a variety of health products from zinc-containing intranasal medicine to asthma drugs with toxic ingredients. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Solid Waste

Plastic pollution: One day, three solutions

One day, three decisions -- all of which may have far-reaching effects on plastic pollution in the United States.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Report finds 63 million Americans endangered by chlorine bleach plants

Eighty-six chlorine bleach facilities needlessly use huge quantities of chlorine gas in its manufacturing process and endanger more than 63 million people living in nearby areas, according to a new report released today by Greenpeace. The report highlights three Illinois facilities needlessly endangering over 4.5 million people.

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Media Hit | Public Health, Food

Will Yum! Brands Commit to Better Antibiotic Stewardship Policies?

"Despite these successes, we need to re-double our efforts to counter new threats from superbugs that increasingly diminish the effectiveness of antibiotics. We will continue to ramp up our consumer awareness and advocacy campaigns to ensure that the superbugs don't win."

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Volkswagen Customers Drive Cross-Country to Return Defective Diesel Car

A Boulder, Colorado couple, Marcus Moench and Elisabeth Caspari, made a stop in Chicago on their cross-country drive to Volkswagen headquarters in Herndon, Virginia. The couple is seeking to return their 2011 Jetta SportWagen TDI and drop off over 20,000 petitions calling on the company to fully compensate consumers and the environment for the emission scandal affecting over half a million cars marketed as “clean diesel” in the United States.

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

The High Cost of Nuclear Power

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Blog Post

PFAS Free & I’m Lovin’ It

McDonald’s just committed to phasing out PFAS-treated food packaging from its restaurants globally by 2025. Other restaurants, like Burger King and Wendy’s, should follow its lead.

News Release | Illinois PIRG

New study details how much families can save when they repair electronics

With home electronics in heavy use during the ongoing pandemic, Illinois PIRG released a report Wednesday detailing just how much families can save by repairing electronic products instead of replacing them. Entitled “Repair Saves Families Big,” this new analysis, which was produced in conjunction with our Right to Repair campaign, also looks at spending habits and the importance of a strong repair economy.

News Release | Illinois PIRG

New UK COVID-19 variant case means Chicago should hunker down, not reopen

This is a dangerous time for our city and state, and preventing unnecessary deaths must remain our top priority. Finding the new U.K. variant in Chicago means to stop the spread of the virus, we should redouble safety efforts, not ease them.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

McDonald’s commits to eliminating toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging globally

McDonald’s announced a commitment to eliminate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging used in its restaurants by 2025. PFAS are linked to kidney and liver problems, high cholesterol, reduced immune system function, and cancer.

Blog Post

Rebooking airline tickets: How to sort out various vouchers and credits for future flights

With vaccines here, it may soon be time to reschedule vacations and other trips for later this year

  • COVID-19 CONSUMER TIPS
    Avoid online scams, protect your credit and more. We have assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days to come.
    OUR TIPS
  • THE FIX IS IN
    Our survey shows that independent shops are struggling to access parts, service information and repair software which is necessary to fix phones — which manufacturers won’t let these independent shops have.
    OUR REPORT
  • FOOD RECALL FAILURE
    Will your supermarket warn you about hazardous food? Our survey grades 26 of the largest grocery stores in the country to determine the efficacy of their policies and practices notifying consumers about food recalls.
    OUR REPORT
  • CHAIN REACTION V
    The overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections in people. Our report ranks restaurant chains on their policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.
    SEE THE GRADES

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