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The Power of Proposition 65: What you don't see
As part of our ongoing series, "Independence from Toxic Chemicals," Pamela King Palitz describes California's groundbreaking Proposition 65.
People love to poke fun at Proposition 65, the 1986 right-to-know law that requires manufacturers, retailers and other businesses to provide notice to Californians when they are being exposed to toxic chemicals. Everyone has seen the warning signs at the airport, or on a gas pump, or in a parking structure and thought, “Thanks for the warning, buddy. Really, though … do I have any choice about being here?”
Read more...Concerned crowd rallies to ban BPA in baby products
By Sarah E. Brown
Wednesday, Aug. 26 2009, Sacramento Calif.
Beneath a giant-sized baby bottle, a diverse crowd of concerned citizens, legislators, public interest advocates, physicians, scientists and actress/environmental activist Amy Smart joined together for a rally at the California state Capitol to support SB797, a bill which would protect California's children and infants from Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic endocrine disruptor chemical added to many plastics and cans which has been linked to early onset of puberty, autism and breast cancer.
Read more...Cleaning Product Manufacturers Sued to Disclose Ingredients
On February 19th 2009 a group of environmental and health advocates filed a lawsuit that would force various well-known manufacturers of household cleaning products to make complete lists of ingredients available to the public. The New York based lawsuit is being filed on behalf of six state and national environmental and health groups, including the Sierra Club and American Lung Association against Proctor and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight and Reckitt-Benckiser.
The lawsuit comes after efforts to get the companies to disclose the information on their own. Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, filed the suit on the basis of an obscure 1976 New York law passed to limit phosphates in detergents.
Read more...California proposes to get BPA out
On February 23, California introduced SB 797 (Pavley) which would ban an estrogenic chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles, sippy cups and formula containers.
BPA was originally synthesized in 1936 as an estrogen replacement therapy, but since the 1940s it has been used mostly to manufacture hard polycarbonate plastic. It can be found in baby bottles, water bottles, coating for metal food cans, dental sealants and countless other products.
BPA has been shown in dozens of studies to disrupt the hormonal system and more than 130 studies suggest that BPA exposure at very low doses is linked to prostate and breast cancer, obesity, brain damage, lowered sperm counts and early puberty.
Read more...Study finds Chemical Risks in Your Home
The study, conducted by the Silent Spring Institute, measured chemical concentration in the bodies and homes of 120 subjects. The chemicals tested have been identified as compounds which mimic and disrupt hormone function. On average, 20 chemicals were found in each household.
Read more...