MNN - Mother Nature Network

Did you spend last night in front of the TV transfixed by questionable red carpet fashions, teary acceptance speeches, and Joan Rivers’ ever-evolving face? While the 82nd Academy Awards (a big congrats to Kathryn Bigelow!) was the event in Hollywood this past weekend, another red-carpet gala that you may be unfamiliar with proceeded the Oscars on Friday at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre.

 

Worst and Longest Running Performance: Mercury, a highly-toxic heavy metal found in compact fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, thermometers and more.

Worst Makeup: Phthalates, a family of chemicals used to make plastics more flexible, but also present in fragrances, lotions, shampoos and cleaning products.

Worst Replacement Actor in a Series: Methyl Iodide, a soil fumigant recently registered for use as a pesticide.

Worst Performance in a School Drama: Hexavalent Chromium, a known carcinogen and most toxic form of the element chromium used in industrial processes.

Worst Costume: Perchlorethylene, commonly used in dry cleaning but can cause dizziness, nausea and organ damage.

Worst Ensemble Performance: Toluene (an organic solvent found in paints, glues and cleaning products), Formaldehyde (an organic solvent used in same applications as toluene, close relative to benzene.), and dibutyl-phthalate (DBP), a plasticizer used in nail polish to make it flexible.

Worst Revival Performance: Perfluorinated chemicals (PFC), used as a water, stain and grease repellent with no known biological or environmental breakdown mechanism. Best known for role as Teflon used on nonstick cooking products.

Worst Performance in a Horror Film: Hydrofluoric Acid, a compound used in the production of refrigerants, herbicides, aluminum, plastics and high-octane gasoline.

Worst Breathtaking Performance: Formaldehyde (also part of the Toxic Trio), an organic solvent found in paints, glues and cleaning products, and a relative of benzene, which is known to cause leukemia. 

Worst Local Performance: Flame retardants, the family of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) used to slow flames is used in a variety of products, such as bedding and furniture, but can accumulate inside people, pets and the environment.

Worst Stripper Performance: N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), an industrial solvent used in chemical processing, paint stripper and graffiti remover. 

Worst Special Effects: Perchlorate, an oxidizer used in fireworks, airbags, explosives and rocket fuel that can contaminate drinking water.

Worst Underground Performance: Trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial solvent that can contaminate drinking water. 

 

 

Via [Fast Company] via [GreenBiz]

 

Photos: Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy