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LA Toxics Community Forum 12/16
Please join us on Friday, Dec. 16th from 1:-00 to 4:30 at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in LA to find out how we can continue progress with rules being developed by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and voice your concerns about toxics in your community! We'll have a workshop for groups to learn more from 1:00-2:30, and a Community Forum with DTSC from 3:00-4:30.
CHANGE is hosting this meeting to discuss key health and environment topics on the department’s informal draft Safer Consumer Products Regulation to implement AB 1879 (read more on DTSC’s website).
Read more...A Holiday Gift for Generations to Come
As a pregnant woman with a background in toxicology, I find myself already worried about the ubiquity of chemicals in our environment -- knowing that I, like most Americans, have as many as 700 chemicals, including substances linked to serious health problems floating in my body -- it's hard not to be.
This passage from my Huffington Post piece, "A Holiday Gift for Generations to Come," helps relate that it’s not our responsibility to avoid products with toxic chemicals because they should not be there in the first place! It is, however, up to us to tell our representatives we deserve a better environment for our families. And here's what you can do:
Read more...New Draft Safer Consumer Product Regulations
We need your voice to make sure Californians and our environment are protected in the state’s Safer Consumer Product Regulations, a key component of the Green Chemistry Initiative! A new informal draft was officially released on October 31 by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Please mark your calendar for a Dec. 5 public workshop hosted by DTSC - sign up for updates on CHANGE at this workshop! More details below.
We want to protect Californians by removing the most pervasive and hazardous chemicals from the market, promoting the use of safer/healthier alternatives, and protecting the health of workers, fenceline communities, and those facing the greatest hazards. We all deserve a chemical policy framework that accomplishes these goals.
We'll be adding more information and analysis as the public meetings unfold. Please sign up here to receive updates from CHANGE.
Read more...California’s Toxic Sofas – Give Us a Choice for Health
I see thousands of patients every year with chronic and acute illnesses — some are easily treatable, others present more of a challenge, and for some there is regrettably nothing that I can do. Many illnesses are triggered as a result of multiple factors. For these patients, I cannot help but think of the many ways in which their illnesses may have been prevented. What if they had better access to health information and healthcare services? What if we more highly valued prevention?
Right now members of the California legislature have the opportunity to take a step towards better health for Californians, and make a decision that values science-based prevention. Learn more and take action now!
Read more...President Obama: Protect All Americans From Cancer-Causing Chemicals
While February is officially cancer prevention month, cancer is part of our lives every month of the year. This is why we’re asking you to tell President Obama to take this simple action: Protect all Americans from cancer-causing chemicals.
Every minute, at least one American will die from cancer this year. In the United States, despite healthy lifestyle changes (such as the decline in smoking), cancer incidence has been INCREASING, not decreasing. We know that toxic chemicals in the environment are at least part of the reason behind the increase.
Cancer takes a devastating toll on individuals and families. Consider these facts:
- 1.5 million American men, women, and children were diagnosed with cancer in 2009; 562,000 died from the disease;
- Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children younger than 15;
- In 2009, cancer cost the nation $243.4 billion; half of that, $124.8 billion, is the cost of lost productivity due to premature death.
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.
Story of the Safe Cosmetics Act
In the third story of our ongoing series, "Independence from Toxic Chemicals," Ryan Berghoff describes California's Safe Cosmetics Act, the first law in the country to address toxic chemicals in cosmetics.
Every day millions of people cover their bodies in a variety of cosmetics and personal care products hoping to look more attractive, but there is a price to pay for beauty (and I’m not talking about how expensive cosmetic products are). Independent testing in the United States and the European Union has determined that some cosmetic products contain substances known or suspected to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity that can harm the mother, fetus, and nursing children. Dangerous chemicals have a knack for showing up in our every day products, from toys that our children play with to the cosmetics in our bathroom cabinets, and that is why California has taken the lead in passing legislation to protect its residents.
Read more...Toxic Chemical Lobby: Exclusive Leaked Footage
Our partners at Safer Chemicals Healthy Families created a wacky video to galvanize public support for reforming our nation's seriously outdated toxics law (the Toxic Substances Control Act or TSCA). The characters in this video are cartoons, but the plot is ripped straight from the headlines! Watch the video below and take action.
After you've seen the video and contacted Congress, check out the full press release!
Independence from Toxic Chemicals
On this Independence Day holiday we are kicking off our Independence from Toxic Chemicals Summer Series. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard about all of the exciting things happening in California right now as we strive to create a system that protects the health of our people and environment from toxic chemicals. A lot is in play and this series should provide background and context for these efforts.
Featured right, Bad Actor Chemical Perchlorate from The Toxies, helping us start this Independence Series with a bang.
In the weeks to come you will get a peek
Read more...Reducing chemical exposure could save California $700 million
State and Federal reform of toxics law would make Californians healthier, wealthier
OAKLAND–Cash-strapped California could save at least $700 million in health care costs if more stringent state and federal chemical policy helped reduce Californians’ exposure to toxic chemicals.
A new analysis released today,“The Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act,” finds that the state has the opportunity to prevent rising rates of chronic disease and therefore reduce health care costs. Evidence is strong and growing that chemical exposures contribute significantly to the rise in many chronic diseases, according to this new report synthesizing peer-reviewed science and economic analyses.
Read more...