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Healthy World Watch - July 4th

Friday, July 04, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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Does your sunscreen work? Probably not. An investigation of nearly 1,000 brand-name sunscreen products finds that 4 out of 5 contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don't adequately protect skin from the sun's damaging rays. Some of the worst offenders are leading brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena. The Environmental Working Group offers their top ten sunscreen picks.
Fireworks are fun, but those lingering clouds of smoke are bad for the Earth and us. Scientists are finding new ways to make the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air more eco-friendly.
Popcorn bags face possible new rules. A state senator is proposing that California become the first state to ban a class of potential carcinogens used in some popcorn bags, pizza boxes and other grease-resistant food packaging.
Believe it or not, Chicken is Dunked in Chlorine. You’d better know where your meat comes from if you want to avoid unwanted chemicals.
Save The Planet, Lose The Guilt. Just because we all sin against the environment doesn't mean we should believe every "green" idea.
Your Laptop’s Dirty Little Secret. Phones and computers contain dangerous metals like lead, cadmium and mercury, which can contaminate the air and water when those products are dumped. The U.S. is by far the world's top producer of e-waste, but much of it ends up elsewhere — specifically, in developing nations where the poor, often including children, dismantle dumped PCs and phones, stripping the components for the valuable — and toxic — metals contained inside.
A look back at the last 50 years of studies reveals how phthalates in PVC can lead to asthma and allergies.
After years of denying there was anything even resembling an issue of concern here, the Food and Drug Administration has had an abrupt change of heart on mercury dental fillings.
The US EPA just launched a new website exploring how Climate Change may impact the Health of Children.

Thursday, July 03, 2008
Posted by Matthew Parker
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Have you ever stopped and thought about the amount of times you are exposed to plastics in a typical day? For most of us, the “morning ritual” may consist of showering with our favorite shampoo, using antiperspirant, checking our daily email while sipping on a cup of hot coffee (or our favorite energy drink), and packing our lunch in the most convenient plastic and Tupperware containers. Before we have been awake but one hour, we have unconsciously exposed ourselves to hundreds of plastics. But we rarely ask ourselves the question, will these common plastics have any adverse effects on our health or the health of our children? The outlook, while still somewhat cloudy, is nonetheless gravely dim. Chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics, such as bisphenol A (BPA), present in our everyday lives and activities, are shown to have detrimental effects on natural human development and growth, often referred to as endocrine disruption. Chemicals found in computer screens and car seats, shower curtains and shampoos, plastic water bottles and prophylactics are all putting us, and, more importantly, our children, at risk of developmental delays and reproductive obstacles, including, but not limited to, decreasing sperm counts and a higher susceptibility to certain cancers.

Monday, June 23, 2008
Posted by Christopher Gavigan
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via: Environmental Working Group

The California state Assembly is considering SB 1713, a monumental bill that would ban bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone disruptor, from baby bottles and children's feeding products.
There has been a political roadblock, and the bill could be killed by chemical industry lobbyists before it passes out of the Health Committee tomorrow.

But you can push it through. Click here to ask the Health Committee to support SB 1713.

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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Things are looking pretty good on the legislative front. We’ve got a long way to go, but with the continued support of parents like you, we’re making amazing strides in our efforts to make this world a healthier place.

Canada braves the ban. Our neighbor to the north reviewed 150 worldwide studies on BPA and became the first country to take a definitive position on the health risks of BPA, officially declaring it toxic to humans. The Canadian government is currently taking steps to ban the importation and sale of baby bottles made with BPA polycarbonate.
On April 1, 2008, Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire signed the Children’s Safe Products Act (House Bill 2647) into law. The Act is widely considered the country’s most strict toy safety law so far. Scheduled to go into effect in the summer of 2009, the law is intended to cut the amount of cadmium, lead, and phthalates in toys as well as children’s jewelry, car seats and other items. Learn more at SafeToys.com.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Posted by Christopher Gavigan
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Send a letter of your strong support for including the Feinstein Amendment before June 4th - restricting the use of six toxic phthalates in children’s toys! It’s critical we get as many as our members and supports as possible to express that this is an issue people care deeply about and we're depending on Congress to do it's job and protect kids everywhere from phthalates in toys!

Send your letter now! Download the template - with everything you need including a draft action, constituent letter and contact information for the key targets.

Our compliments to the Breast Cancer Fund for their strong support and help on this matter.

Our many thanks.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Posted by Christopher Gavigan
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Healthy Child is proud to be supporting the 'The Kid Safe Chemicals Act'.

CONTACT:
Lautenberg Press Office (202) 224-3224
Sonia Melendez (Solis) (202) 225-5464
Karen Lightfoot (Waxman) (202) 225-5051

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representatives Hilda L. Solis (D- CA) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced major legislation to protect Americans, especially children, from toxic chemicals in everyday consumer products. The bill would ensure for the first time that all the chemicals used in baby bottles, children’s toys and other products are proven to be safe before they are put on the market.

“Every day, consumers rely on household products that contain hundreds of chemicals. The American public expects the federal government to keep families safe by testing chemicals—but the government is letting them down,” Lautenberg said. “We already have strong regulations for pesticides and pharmaceuticals—it’s common sense that we do the same for chemicals that end up in household items such as bottles and toys.”

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Posted by Healthy Child
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Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Children
Bill in Congress aims for “Kid-Safe” chemicals

(Washington) ”Senator Frank Lautenberg (NJ), together with Representatives Hilda Solis (CA) and Henry Waxman (CA) have proposed sweeping legislation that would overhaul the nation’s regulatory system for industrial chemicals - the Kid Safe Chemicals Act of 2008 (KSCA).” Environmental health advocates, scientists, parents, and consumers are paying close attention to this historic legislation that will require companies that make or import chemicals in the United States to demonstrate the safety of their products, backed up with scientific data.

In spite of the 1976 passage of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), tens of thousands of industrial chemicals have been allowed to remain in the marketplace today even though they have not been tested or scrutinized for their health and environmental impacts.
The bill is in response to a growing number of studies demonstrating rising rates of children’s illnesses linked to toxic chemical exposure, including obesity, asthma, autism, thyroid disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and reproductive illness, as well as in utero contamination from bisphenol A, flame retardants, phthalates, and other pervasive chemicals.
Due to the failure of EPA regulatory policy on chemicals, and concern over chemical industry influence on decisions made by both the FDA and EPA, state legislatures and agencies across the nation have developed aggressive regulatory initiatives, following the examples of Canada and Europe in adopting more precaution-based chemical policies.

Retailers, investors, and entrepreneurs are seeking companies that can meet higher public expectations, helping to spur the growth of safer, greener products.

“After years of apathy and inaction by the U.S. government, Congress is awakening to the pervasive health impacts from dangerous chemicals,“ according to Daryl Ditz, at the nonpartisan Center for International Environmental Law. “The Kid Safe Chemicals Act would help weed out the worst chemicals, reward companies that offer safer products, and help to regain U.S. leadership on this global problem.”

“Chemical reform in the U.S. is long overdue. This is a very important first step in finally putting our public health in front of corporate profits. The recent poll of EPA scientists indicates that many harmful chemicals have been approved for the marketplace without regard to their impact upon children’s health. It’s time to put a stop to this lack of accountability with the chemical manufacturers, and make them responsible for their products,” says Christopher Gavigan from Healthy Child Healthy World.

"You shouldn't need a degree in chemistry to keep your kids safe and healthy," said MomsRising.org Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. ”The Kid Safe Chemicals Act would put the responsibility for ensuring that products are safe where it belongs — with the companies that make products as well as those that market chemicals."

Monday, May 05, 2008
Posted by Jeremiah McNichols-Guest Blogger
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Lansinoh, a manufacturer of electric and manual breast pumps and pure lanolin nipple cream, and Boon, the young design house behind a stylish young line of baby feeding products, might seem like very different companies, and in many ways they are. But thanks to increasing consumer awareness about the potential dangers of bisphenol-A, they have found themselves coming perilously close to a common fate.

Thursday, May 01, 2008
Posted by Natalie Cadranel
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Please help us get toxics out of baby bottles. Sign the Petition To Get BPA Out of Children's Products Now!

The evidence is mounting. After years of concern about the safety of baby bottles, children’s care products, and other food and beverage containers that contain the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), the verdict is in--and it’s not good.

Yesterday the Canadian government announced it is planning to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles, and declared BPA dangerous.[1] And, earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. based National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that there is "some concern" that babies, fetuses, and children are in danger because BPA harms animals at the low levels found in nearly all human bodies.[2] Sadly, a recent study found this chemical in all five leading brands of American baby bottles.

It's enough to sink any mother's stomach.

Let's take a second to take a collective deep breath, and then mobilize for major action. Sign a petition calling for the CEOs of the leading manufacturers of baby bottles to stop the use of BPA in our baby bottles and other children’s products.

TAKE ACTION: Sign the Petition Now!

Sign on now and we’ll send the petition to the CEOs of Avent, Disney/First Years, Dr. Brown’s, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex in collaboration with Center for Health, Environment, & Justice and other organizations.

Monday, April 21, 2008
Posted by Natalie Cadranel
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Great news! Last Friday, Canada became the first country to ban the harmful chemical, Bisphenol-A from being used in baby bottles. Much of this is due to a recent BPA study by the Work Group for Safe Markets, a coalition of environmental NGO's. The findings of this study have put pressure on U.S. and Canadian governments to ban the chemical. The chemical is said to mimic estrogen and has been linked to various cancers, behavioral disorders, and early onset of puberty in girls.

By David Mcnew -- Getty Images

Due to this legislative ban, companies such as Wal-Mart and reusable sports bottle maker, Nalgene have pledged to stop selling products that use BPA. Retail giant Wal-Mart Canada is pulling all baby products that contain BPA from shelves and said they plan to stop selling them in U.S. stores by early next year. Playtex is offering free non-BPA bottles to customers and said they will stop selling those with BPA by year's end. Nalgene is taking the most responsible route and recalling all products in stores as well as discontinuing production of new bottles containing the harmful chemical.

Tony Clement, Canada's Minister of Health, said "It's pretty clear that the highest risk is for newborns and young infants". Read the entire article in the Washington Post here.

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