Industry Opposition to Toxics: How the chemical industry undermines state efforts.
In 2010, dozens of laws were passed in statehouses and localities to protect children, families and workers from toxic chemicals. The laws ranged the gamut from bisphenol-A (BPA) restrictions, to laws promoting green chemicals in state buildings, to comprehensive laws...Read More...
Formaldehyde in straightening products? CA and OR say "No Way!"
California Attorney General (and Governor elect) Jerry Brown has filed suit against the maker of the "Brazilian Blowout" -- an expensive treatment which straightens hair. The suit alleges that the company did not warn customers or workers who come in...Read More...
Send an SOS: Save Our Sperm!
John Warner: Intellectual Ecology from Bioneers on Vimeo. Originally published at CHANGE California. The news is out -- male sperm counts are declining and sperm quality is decreasing. Many scientific studies have linked men’s reproductive capabilities to unnecessarily toxic chemicals...Read More...
Industry trumps children: BPA ban defeated in CA
We bring you bad news today, as California's attempt to ban Bisphenol-A (BPA) from children's containers has failed. The bill had been passed by the California State Assembly and Senate, and was just back in the Senate for a final...Read More...
California Update: The Green Chemistry Initiative
Green chemistry is a complicated idea with a simple goal: to protect our families and children from harmful chemicals. The philosophy of green chemistry is to do this by encouraging innovation and creation of chemicals that are not harmful to...Read More...
Safer States: News Round-Up
There has been a lot of toxics news coming from the states lately. The Safer States organizations have been doing an amazing job of protecting their state's citizens through legislation restricting toxic chemicals. Moreover, elected officials have been hearing the...Read More...
Cancer and the Environment: The President's Cancer Panel
Last week, the President's Cancer Panel -- a panel of doctors originally appointed by President Bush -- released a damning report underlining the acute need for stronger toxics laws. The report, which was submitted to President Obama before it was...Read More...
The Toxies names the bad actors of toxics
We are all looking forward to the Oscars this weekend, but this week Hollywood played host to another awards ceremony: The Toxies. This tongue-in-cheek awards ceremony hosted by Citizens for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE) was created to bring...Read More...
BPA update in California
Good news out of California as they begin the slow march toward removing Bisphenol-A (BPA) from the lives of Californians. Proposition 65 is a law that was passed by California voters in 1986. Under this law, the government must publish...Read More...
13 states dictate principles for toxics reform
Officials from thirteen states joined forces today to dictate a set of eight guiding principles to be used for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA -- a law from 1976 which provides the EPA with the authority...Read More...
California BPA ban fails
The California state Assembly failed to pass SB 797, a bill which would have banned the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from use in children's food and drink products. SB 797 failed to secure the necessary votes despite overwhelming support...Read More...
AMA calls for chemical policy reform
The nation's largest association of physicians and medical students has resolved to advocate for improved chemical policy and environmental health practices in the United States. The American Medical Association (AMA) recommended restructuring of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to...Read More...
California fails to add BPA to toxics list
A California Environmental Protection Agency committee yesterday voted against placing bisphenol A on the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause developmental or reproductive harm. For the scientists, advocates and mothers who urged the committee to consider the substantial...Read More...
Listen live to California BPA hearing
California will today consider adding bisphenol A to its Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to be reproductive and developmental toxicants. An audiocast of the California Environmental Protection Agency hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. PST, will be available here....Read More...
California bills roll on
Two key pieces of legislation in California's fight against flame retardants and bisphenol A moved forward yesterday. The state's proposed BPA ban (Senate Bill 779) and legislation that would help remove flame retardants from children's products (Senate Bill 772) passed...Read More...
Science, states add eyes on BPA
High-profile state legislation plus the Food and Drug Administration’s promised examination of bisphenol A (BPA) health effects could equal big strides toward banning BPA. The California State Senate on June 2 passed a ban on BPA in food and drink...Read More...
Scientists recommend getting BPA out of your diet
Concern about the health effects of bisphenol A (BPA) is growing in the scientific community, with a new study linking the toxic chemical to heart disease and a scientific group meeting in Washington D.C. last week recommending people protect themselves...Read More...
California's Senate votes to ban BPA in baby products
California’s Senate has passed a ban on bisphenol A in food and drink containers intended for children under the age of 3, putting California on track to become the second or third state to ban the toxic chemical. Minnesota was...Read More...
Lead may harm school-age children more than babies
Lead is a notorious toxin. Lead adversely affects brain development, causing learning problems, including decreased IQ. In addition to brain damage, lead affects the nervous system at very low levels. It has long been thought young children and developing fetuses...Read More...
The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff is an educational 20 minute viral video experience that has been seen many millions of times by people around the world. The video, which lays out the effects on the world from human consumption, “has become...Read More...
States hope to join Minnesota in banning BPA
As legislative sessions in some states come to a close, the effort to pass bans on bispehnol A (BPA) has intensified. The chemical industry seems to be pulling out all the stops to block passage of the remaining bills. On...Read More...
BPA bills on the move in key states
Bills that would ban bisphenol A from children’s products are scheduled to make their way through key committees and legislative bodies during the next week. Although Suffolk County, New York passed its ban on BPA in baby bottles earlier in...Read More...
Toxic flame retardants - and their defenders - in the news
Two new studies released this week raise concerns about the widespread contamination of the environment and human health from brominated flame retardants. Flame retardants are found in every day items from sofas to televisions and computers to mattresses. Yet the...Read More...
BPA legislation moves forward in states
In the wake of the nation’s first ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in children’s products passing in Suffolk County, NY, several trailblazing states are pursuing their own bans of the toxic chemical. California and Washington are in a crowded field...Read More...
BPA found in soda cans
That the synthetic sex hormone BPA can be found in baby bottles and some water bottles is well known. State and federal legislation, actions by state attorneys general, and market forces have been engaged in the effort to get BPA...Read More...
Congress to consider toxic chemical reform
On the heels of a new report by Congress’s watchdog identifying chemical policy as a “High Risk Area” in need of reform, Congressman Bobby Rush will kick-off the debate on Thursday over whether and how to reform the 33-year-old law...Read More...
Chicago takes on BPA while FDA continues to defend its use
An editorial in the Chicago Tribune on Feb. 11 praises city aldermen for sponsoring a resolution to ban children’s products made with bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic sex hormone linked to breast cancer, diabetes, male infertility, and other health problems....Read More...
Toy safety law takes effect today
A new federal law regulating lead and phthalate levels in children’s toys takes effect today. The law is a big step forward for children’s health and safety. After today retailers cannot sell toys with more than 600 parts of lead...Read More...
Phthalate found in cosmetics linked to severe skin allergies
An article in Environmental Health Perspectives links a common form of phthalate, DEHP, to severe skin allergies in newborn mice, who have been exposed to the chemical through their mother’s milk. Rates of skin allergies have been on the rise,...Read More...
California's phthalates ban now in effect
A new law in California banning chemicals called phthalates took effect January 1. Next month, a federal ban on phthalates will take effect. But what are phthalates and why do they need to be banned? The Northern California NPR station...Read More...
Californians expected to bring their brand of environmental regulation to Washington
An article in the Washington Post examines a powerful contingent of California lawmakers heading to Washington this year and the potential impact the group could have. California has long had the reputation of a trendsetting in the realm of regulation...Read More...
Toymaker to pay states $12 million for toxic toys
Toy manufacturer Mattel has settled a lawsuit filed by states after last year’s massive toy recall. Mattel and subsidiary Fisher Price will pay $12 million to 39 states as a part of the settlement, according to an Associated Press story....Read More...
Toymakers agree to immediately reduce lead in toys in California lawsuit settlement
Nine major toymakers have agreed to reduce the level of lead in their toys immediately as part of a settlement in a California lawsuit agreed to Thursday, according to stories in the LA Times and San Francisco Chronicle. The toymakers...Read More...
Scientists develop green chemistry guidelines
Environmental health scientists and chemists gathered together recently to discuss how to develop and promote safer chemicals. The scientists met at University of California, Irvine to address the public health threat that chemicals in many consumer products pose and to...Read More...
Californian asks: Did the state kill my cat?
In an Op-Ed piece in the LA Times, executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute Arlene Blum asks whether the state of California could be responsible for her cat’s death. Blum’s cat died after two years of suffering with...Read More...
California needs more “Green Chemistry” action heroes
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two bills into law that will create online databases to inform consumers about dangerous chemicals in everyday products, but won’t take the products off the shelves. Ansje Miller, policy director of the Center for Environmental...Read More...
California legislator asks Gov to ban fire retardants by executive order
San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno (D) has asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to ban the use of a controversial group of fire retardant chemicals in furniture, according to a story in Capitol Weekly. This request follows a scientific study released last...Read More...
Californians for a Healthy & Green Economy
CHANGE (Californians for a Healthy & Green Economy) is a growing coalition of environmental health, policy, labor, environmental justice, interfaith, and other organizations who are working to create a better system for regulating toxic chemicals in California. Community voices, especially...Read More...
California passes pair of groundbreaking laws targeting toxic chemicals
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed two bills into law, revolutionizing the way California deals with toxic chemicals. Rather than just targeting chemicals already known to be harmful to human health, the state will now evaluate over 80,000 chemicals in circulation...Read More...
Californians have twice national average of flame retardants in their blood
A new study has found that Californians are exposed to much higher level of toxic fire retardant chemicals than people living in the other 49 states and beyond. The study, which was published by Environmental Science & Technology and conducted...Read More...
Breast Cancer Fund
In response to the public health crisis of breast cancer, the Breast Cancer Fund identifies – and advocates for elimination of – the environmental and other preventable causes of the disease. Founded in 1992, the Breast Cancer Fund works from...Read More...
California: Bill would outlaw sale of recalled toys
A bill to ban the sale of recalled products has been passed by the California legislature and is now one of 800 going to Gov. Schwarzenegger for his signature later this month. The bill will make it illegal for stores...Read More...
California: Ethnic Californians want more done to improve environment
Nearly six out of 10 Californians say the state should take immediate steps to reduce pollution, despite a yawning budget deficit, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Poor air quality remains the number...Read More...
L.A. Times backs Green Chemistry Initiative
An opinion piece in today's L.A. Times throws support behind California's Green Chemistry Initiative. The piece argues that the Initiative's efforts to compile a list of toxic chemicals should not be postponed but may be in danger because of pressure...Read More...
California: Green Chemistry Initiative launches
In May 2007, California launched its Green Chemistry Initiative to fundamentally change how the state addresses toxic chemicals in order to develop safer processes and products, foster innovation, create new jobs, and reduce waste. The goal of the initiative is...Read More...
