Lawmakers, Scientists, Advocates All Oppose Green Chemistry Rules

Despite widespread opposition from scientists, doctors, public interest advocates and lawmakers – including Assemblyman Mike Feuer, the author of the state’s Green Chemistry law – the flawed proposal for Green Chemistry regulations may be pushed through.

CHANGE and many other groups submitted their final comments on December 3 and received great media coverage of this pressing issue from LA Weekly, SF Chronicle, and more. Read CHANGE-led letters opposed to this gutted regulation:

Phthalates Make Plastic Soft...and Dangerous

In the eighth story of our ongoing series, "Independence from Toxic Chemicals," Pam Palitz describes the danger of phthalates in our everyday products 

When I first started working in the environmental health field, I had a mantra: “BPA makes plastic hard, phthalates make plastic soft.” Baby bottles … hard. Rubber duckies … soft.  It’s so important for an environmental health advocate to keep her endocrine disruptors straight.

California: The Leader in Lead Regulation

In the sixth story of our ongoing series, "Independence from Toxic Chemicals," Ryan Berghoff and Christina Medina describe the history of lead regulation in California

Lead is one of the most infamous and ubiquitous toxic heavy metals--it was even honored with  the prestigious “Toxie” award for Lifetime Achievement in Harm. It has been linked to infertility in women, increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, as well as neurological and developmental problems in children.  Take a look at our post on California’s Prop 65 to see some of the unexpected places we’ve found lead. Who’d ever think that diaper rash cream, lunch boxes and electronic cords could have so much in common!

Upcoming Event: OEHHA Hazard Trait Regulations

A critical part of the Green Chemistry Initiative is identifying what kind of information is required to go into the Toxic Information Clearinghouse required by SB 509. The Green Chemistry Initiative laws require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to identify these hazard traits – things like whether a chemical is a carcinogen or a reproductive toxin; is it toxic to wildlife or is it dangerous because of how we are exposed to it?  These hazard traits will also be used to assess safer products in the Safer Product Regulations being developed by the Department of Toxics Substances Control. A draft of proposed regulations has been issued by OEHHA (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment), which will look specifically at hazard traits, environmental and toxicological end-points, and other relevant data. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) will then use information from the clearinghouse to help identify chemicals of concern in consumer products to make California a safer community.

OEHHA will be holding a workshop to get public comment concerning these regulations on Monday August 23, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Klamath Room at the Cal/EPA Headquarters Building at 1001 I Street in Sacramento, second floor.

AB 289: Chemical Testing Requirements

In the fourth story of our ongoing series, "Independence from Toxic Chemicals," Ryan Berghoff describes California's AB 289 from 2006. 

Every year more than 55,000,000 pounds of all chemicals are released in the state of California. There are over 85,000 chemicals that are commercially available today, and many are known to cause cancer, damage the brain, or disrupt the nervous and reproductive systems. Analytical test methods only exist for approximately 30 percent of all chemicals, and thus there is a large body of chemicals that remains completely untested. In order to test these numerous chemicals, laboratories within the California Environmental Protection Agency must use millions of taxpayer dollars to develop detection methods for finding chemicals in the air, water, soil, and human body, placing a significant financial burden on Cal- EPA. That’s where AB 289 comes in.

Cheat Sheet on Existing Chemicals Laws

On February 26, 2009 the US Congress held a hearing regarding the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This is the 33-year old law in place that defines chemical policy in the United States. Not familiar with TSCA and why congress would be discussing the need for reform of this chemical policy? Here’s a cheat sheet.

Michael Belliveau of the Environmental Health Strategy Center in Maine has compiled a chart to help explain the differences between current chemicals policy outlined in TSCA, REACH the regulation system in place in Europe, and regulations in place in the SAFER states, including California.