Welcome, Montana!

We're excited to be welcoming the state of Montana to the Safer States Coalition.

Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE) is a national organization that works to eliminate toxic chemicals that impact women's health by changing consumer behaviors, corporate practices and government policies.

Founded in Montana in 1995, WVE has a strong presence in the "Big Sky" state, where they have successfully organized for policies that protect public health for 15 years.

"Women's Voices for the Earth has been working hard to raise awareness in Montana about toxic chemicals that impact human health for the last 15 years."

"We are so pleased to maximize our impact by banding together with 13 other states that have been doing this work through the SAFER states coalition," said Erin Switalski, Executive Director of Women's Voices for the Earth.

Fighting toxins in Montana

Recognizing mercury as a toxic chemical which bioaccumulates in humans and wildlife, the state of Montana has banned mercury-added thermostats and established a method for citizens to safely recycle their mercury-added thermostats. WVE was the lead behind this ban, which goes into effect July 1, 2010. Other states also have mercury bans on the books including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont.

Montana also passed a resolution in the 2007 legislative session that gave support for the federal mercury export ban.

Health advocates in Montana are also working hard to ban other toxins. In 2007, WVE supported a bill to ban DECA-BDEs, but it died in committee. In 2009, WVE supported a bill to ban Bisphenol-A (BPA) from baby bottles in 2009, but it died in committee.

Fighting Fragrances

Last week, WVE released the first report examining the health effects of fragrance chemicals in cleaning products, specifically detergents, air fresheners and spray cleaners. The report points to a number of scientific studies that cast doubt on the safety of these fragrance chemicals, and their potential to cause long-term health impacts. The presence of these chemicals in everyday cleaners, which impact almost all Americans, shows that chemicals remain largely unregulated due to weak laws governing their use and safety.

For this report, Women's Voices for the Earth compiled 37 peer-reviewed scientific studies, and highlighted the chemicals that pose significant risk: phthalates and synthetic musks. Phthalates have been associated with hormone disruption, sperm damage, birth defects and feminization of boys. Synthetic musks have been found to enhance the effects of other chemicals entering the body.

• Estimates indicate that fragrance usage in the United States has more than doubled since 1990.
• The report found that the highest level of synthetic musks was found in laundry detergent, furniture polish and fabric softener.
• The report points to a study that found that 75 percent of patients diagnosed with fragrance allergies were women, most of whom developed skin rashes when exposed to fragrances. Women still do 70 percent of the housework in the average home, according to WVE.

Fighting Toxic Cleaners

WVE's Safe Cleaning Products Initiative is a national initiative aimed at reducing women's exposure to toxic chemicals in household cleaning products. The Initiative's goals are two-fold: to require manufacturers of cleaning products to fully disclose all of the ingredients in their products directly on the product label, and, ultimately, to remove toxic chemicals from their products.

WVE encourages families to host Green Cleaning Parties complete with a kit which describes how to swap toxic cleaners for common products like vinegar, baking soda and essential oils. The Star Tribune recently covered these parties and called them the "21st-century equivalent of a Tupperware party."