Healthy Child Healthy World seeks interns to support the programs, endeavors, and activities of our Los Angeles-based office.
Some of the many areas that require support include but are not limited to: research & writing; program support; office administration; event planning; SEO, social networking, and IT.
General Intern Requirements
Minimum 3 months service, 10 hrs weekly; M-F but flexible between the hours of 9 am and 6 pm.
Interest in children's health, environmental health and healthy living
Professional demeanor
Flexibility to work in a variety of capacities and support diverse endeavors
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work independently, as well as part of a team
Ability to learn and adapt to a fast paced environment
Writing Sample
All internship candidates are required to submit a writing sample. The writing sample should be between 300 - 500 words, and discuss a topic central to the organization's mission. Please do not submit academic papers. For ideas, please visit our blog for example material and subject matter.
We accept applications year-round based on the quarter/semester academic calendar. Please inquire as to the number of spaces available, as it is limited.
Do you have a special skill, talent, or interest? We welcome your ideas, so please include them in your application.
BPA-Free Kids Act
Introduced on December 13, 2009, the BPA-Free Kids Act seeks to ban Bisphenol-A (BPA) from food and beverage containers intended for children ages 3 years and under. The bill would ban companies from producing these products and making them available to consumers. It would also set requirements for testing, labeling and marketing products. The bill is comprehensive, and includes penalties for violations and funding for research on the effects of the chemical.
Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the legislation. A similar bill (Senator Feinstein's Ban Poisonous Additives Act) was introduced in March of 2009. Senator Feinstein's bill is a complete and permanent ban on BPA, while the BPA-Free Kids Act only concerns children's food and beverage products.
Our mission is to bring you trustworthy and accurate environmental health information. Our daily goal is to ensure that HealthyChild.org is your practical and relevant content source for children’s environmental health information. Be aware, however, that information on HealthyChild.org or any other web site should not be used as a substitute for professional health care.
The following sections detail our content policies and procedures.
Editorial selection criteria for original content created by Healthy Child Healthy World
Healthy Child Healthy World creates original content based upon the following criteria:
Relevance — Issues that could affect how you manage your own health and that of your family. Topics include coverage of breaking environmental health news; product launches, recalls, and alerts; information regarding advocacy efforts and policy changes; environmental health advisories; and expert commentary on preventing diseases and conditions and staying healthy.
Clinical Significance — The latest medical findings published in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Trends — Seasonal interests, such as “Summer Safety” and “Back to School Health;” public health awareness, such as “Children’s Environmental Health Month;” and emerging health trends, such as the latest in lifestyles of health and sustainability.
Our information is different
It’s more reliable. In a field often accused of providing inflammatory and inaccurate information, Healthy Child Healthy World stands out as a credible, authoritative source of environmental health news. Our editorial team and our scientific advisors represent some of the leading authorities in the field.
Editorial Integrity — Healthy Child’s educational responsibility is to make a clear distinction between news and other information, so that individuals can readily distinguish independent editorial information from paid, promotional information and other non-news content.
Editorial Independence — In its reporting, Healthy Child maintains exemplary principles of fairness, accuracy, objectivity, and responsible, independent reporting.
Healthy Child Healthy World is a 501c3 non-profit designed to provide news, information, and educational material. News content created by Healthy Child is free from influence by sponsors, partners, or other sources. Editorial staff will never be asked to perform duties on behalf of a sponsor or provide favored treatment to a sponsor or partner.
The Healthy Child staff is charged with the responsibility of providing objective, accurate, and balanced accounts of events and issues. They must diligently seek out subjects of stories or qualified experts to provide commentary, and they must also seek objective commentary or comment from a qualified spokesperson to provide balance. Material generated by Healthy Child must disclose information about financial relationships or other interests that might influence outcome of a study or the commentary from an individual.
Healthy Child Healthy World strives to provide thorough and honest coverage and share a dedication to ethical behavior and the highest professional standards.
News & Original Article Process
Our Editorial Content contains the latest information from the most important medical journals, announcements from federal health agencies, and analyses on the latest health trends. Our experienced staff talk regularly with prominent medical leaders, providing in-depth analyses, updates, and profiles that give our health news and content a perspective found nowhere else.
The Editorial staff gets its stories from an array of sources: peer-reviewed journals, conferences, federal or state government agencies, and interviews with experts. Healthy Child also believes that valuable content is available from sponsors and partners, but that such content must be clearly labeled.
Each completed story to be published is reviewed by the Senior Editor for accuracy, appropriateness of language, and proper characterization of the findings.
Licensed Content
When Healthy Child licenses health and wellness content from third-parties for publication on our site, the Senior Editor reviews the third-party’s editorial policies and procedures for consistency with the Healthy Child Editorial Policy and mission.
Diseases and Conditions
Our health is based on the interaction between a variety of things including genetics, diet and exercise, emotional well-being, and environment. The connections between our environment and our health are often difficult to identify. Oftentimes, exposures take years or decades to manifest. Healthy Child recommends many simple steps for taking precautions to protect the health and development of children. Here, you can also learn a little about:
The most common health conditions impacting children today, potential environmental links and some ways you can reduce your child's risk;
There is a growing list of health impacts associated with toxic exposures. These are some of the more common chronic disorders.
Talk to Your Doctor
Not all health professionals are aware of the growing body of evidence linking common chemicals in our environment and everyday products to health and development. Still, it’s a worrisome issue and you should feel comfortable talking with your child’s doctor about your concerns. Initiate the conversation using the resources below that have been developed specifically for health professionals.
Physician’s for Social Responsibility Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit is a combination of easy-to-use reference guides for health providers and user friendly health education materials on preventing exposures to toxic chemicals and other substances that affect infant and child health. The materials are visually appealing, practical and easy to use. The Toolkit is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) are coordinated by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The PEHSU's have been developed to provide education and consultation for medical professionals, public health professionals and others about the topic of children's environmental health. There are 10 regional clinics in the US, one in Canada, and one in Mexico.
Is your doctor already “in the know?” Maybe she’d be interested in helping her clinic or hospital go green. Health Care Without Harm is an international coalition of hospitals and health care systems, medical professionals, community groups, health-affected constituencies, labor unions, environmental and health organizations, and religious groups. The mission is to transform the health care industry worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment.
Learn More
Knowledge is power, so use the following resources to learn more about specific toxic substances or related health impacts. Just try not to get too overwhelmed or preoccupied with the details. Keep a balance between learning about life and living yours.
Collaborative on Health and the Environment Toxicant and Disease Database is a searchable database that summarizes links between chemical contaminants and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions. Diseases and or toxicants can be viewed by clicking on the diseases listed or by utilizing the search engine.
Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) is a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content is free online.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's environmental health program covers health issues, specific toxic substances, community campaigns, educational tools, data and statistics, the latest reports, and more.
Allergies
Allergies have become widespread over the past several decades. Allergic dermatitis (itchy rash) is the most common skin condition in children younger than eleven, and the percentage of children diagnosed with it increased more than 300% from the 1960s to the 1990s. (Read more.) Hay fever (allergic rhinitis) is believed to affect up to 40 percent of children. Each day approximately ten thousand American children miss school because of hay fever, for a total of 2 million lost school days a year. (Read more.) And roughly 6 percent of children suffer from food allergies, according to the CDC.
Learn more about allergies using the following resources:
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2005 6.5 million children under age 18 had asthma, an increase of more than 200% since 1980. About one in 11 school-aged children suffers from asthma, and the rate is rising more rapidly in preschool-aged children than in any other age group. Indoor air quality is a big culprit. In addition to dust mites, mold, pet dander, and secondhand smoke, air contaminants that may impact asthma include certain insecticides and chemicals in plastic, especially formaldehyde. (Read more.)
Learn more about asthma using the following resources:
Between 3-5% of children have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and diagnoses for ADHD have jumped almost 400%. (Read more.) While this increase is in part due to better recognition and diagnosis, the epidemic must also have something to do with changes in our environments and lifestyle.
Learn more about ADHD using the following resources:
The causes of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are complex, obtuse, and remain largely a mystery. Yet the rates of diagnoses are sky-rocketing: over the past 20 years they have jumped 400%, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. ASDs currently affect one in 150 babies and up to 1.5 million Americans. It is the fastest-growing developmental disability with an annual growth of 10-17%. (Read more.) While there is little consensus on the causes of ASDs (in fact, the debate is very heated and contentious), there is agreement that extensive research is required to better understand it.
Learn more about ASDs using the following resources:
Every year, one in every 33 babies (about 120,000) born in the United States enters the world with a birth defect. (Read more.) Thousands of different birth defects have been identified and birth defects are the leading cause of death in the first year of life. (Read more.)
Learn more about birth defects using the following resources:
The incidence of childhood cancers jumped almost 27% between 1975 and
2002. Even though survival rates have increased, preventing cancer genesis in children is the optimal goal. Post-diagnosis treatments can wreak havoc on a child’s developing body, causing complications from heart problems and liver failure to infertility. (Read more.) In fact, survivors of childhood cancer have a mortality rate more than 10 times higher than the general population’s due to the long term effects of treatment. The American Cancer Society estimates that 75% of cancer is due to environmental factors (including tobacco use, diet, infectious disease, chemicals and radiation).
Learn more about cancer using the following resources:
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents; about 151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, once known as adult-onset diabetes, is increasing among children. (Read more.) And, Type 1 diabetes has been a medical mystery for some time. The majority of people who develop Type 1 diabetes have no history of diabetes in their family. Researchers are working to discover what environmental factors, when combined with a genetic predisposition, might begin the chain of events that leads to diabetes. No one has found conclusive results yet.
Learn more about diabetes using the following resources:
The obesity epidemic has occurred relatively quickly, just over three decades, an increase that correlates to the exponential growth in the production and use of synthetic chemicals. Many of these chemicals are better known for causing weight loss at high levels of exposure, but the very same chemicals can promote weight gain at low concentrations. (Read more.) It is certainly confusing, and we have only just begun to understand the implications.
Reproductive disorders encompass a wide range of health issues. Here’s just the tip of the iceberg of reproductive health impacts that are potentially linked to toxic exposures during critical moments of development.
Girls get their first periods today, on average, a few months earlier than did girls 40 years ago, but they get their breasts one to two years earlier. Read more.
The percentage of women with endometriosis reporting symptoms before the age of 15 has jumped from 15% during the early to mid-1980s to 38% in 1998. Read more.
There has been a genuine decline in semen quality over the past 50 years as well as an increase in testicular cancer and hypospadias, suggesting a growing impact of factors with serious effects on male gonadal function. Read more.
Approximately 10-15% of couples of reproductive age are battling infertility. Read more.
Learn more about reproductive disorders using the following resources:
The Mount Sinai Medical Center is home to an extensive array of top-notch research centers and laboratories, where scientists and researchers work to translate the rapid advances in basic science into the innovative patient care for which they are known. The mission of the Children's Environmental Health Center is to protect children against environmental threats to health. The CEHC accomplishes this by guiding, supporting, and building the programs of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Critical Windows of Development
Critical Windows of Development is a timeline of how the human body develops in the womb, with animal research showing when low-dose exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals during development results in altered health outcomes. It’s an innovative tool from TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc.), the only organization that focuses primarily on the human health and environmental problems caused by low-dose and/or ambient exposure to chemicals that interfere with development and function, called endocrine disruptors. Learn more about TEDX and their other resources.
In this legislation, a household cleaning product is defined as any substance which is produced for use in or around a home. For example: cleaning agents, pesticides, epoxy, paint, and stains are all household products. Currently, consumers are kept in the dark as to what these products truly contain. Harmful chemicals can cause asthma, skin irritations, respiratory ailments, and damage to the reproductive system and the nervous system. For example: ammonium quaternary compounds are disinfectants found in some disinfectant sprays and toilet cleaners that have been identified as inducers of occupational asthma; glycol ethers, such as 2-butoxyethanol, are solvents commonly found in glass cleaners and all-purpose spray cleaners that have been linked to reduced fertility and low birth weight in exposed mice.
Spread the word: share the video with your friends and family and ask them to contact their local Legislature.
Ban Poisonous Additives Act
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Rep. Edward Markey (Mass.) introduced legislation in March 2009 aimed at banning bisphenol A from food and beverage containers. BPA is used in hard plastic bottles, food can linings, dental sealants, CDs and other consumer products, and is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. It was originally developed as a synthetic estrogen, and is now one of the most widely-produced chemicals in the world.
Our nation’s chemical regulatory system, known as TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) is outdated and ineffective. In the 30 years it’s been around, only 5 chemicals – out of the over 80,000 registered – have been restricted. TSCA doesn’t give the EPA the authority to do much of anything, which is why so many risky chemicals are in our everyday products – chemicals linked to health impacts like cancer, asthma, and learning disabilities.
SUPPORT REFORM NOW! Join the Million Baby Crawl!
Also, join us in support of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (http://www.saferchemicals.org/), a national coalition working to reform TSCA. From their website:
What we want
A reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) would serve as the backbone of a sound and comprehensive chemicals policy that protects public health and the environment, while restoring the luster of safety to U.S. goods in the world market. Any effective reform of TSCA should:
Take immediate action on the most dangerous chemicals. Current laws aren't protecting us from chemicals that are building up in our bodies and threatening our health. These persistent, bioaccumulative toxic chemicals should be phased out of commerce. Our exposure to other toxic chemicals that we know can cause serious health problems, should be reduced. Green chemistry research should be expanded, and safer chemicals favored over those with known health hazards.
Hold industry responsible for the safety of their chemicals and products. Due to serious limitations of the current law, very little is known about the vast majority of the tens of thousands of chemicals produced and used in the US. Over the past three decades, the EPA has required testing on just 200 existing chemicals and restricted only five. Companies that make and use chemicals should be required to provide full information on the impact of all their chemicals on health and the environment. The public, workers, and businesses should have access to information about the safety of chemicals.
Use the best science to protect all people and vulnerable groups . Chemicals should meet a standard of safety for all people, including children, pregnant women, and workers. The extra burden of toxic chemical exposure on people of color, low-income, and indigenous communities must be reduced and more studies must be done to detect which chemicals are present in our bodies.
We need to take action at a variety of levels and in a variety of areas to truly create a better future for children. See what you can do in your community.
Trusted Partners offer superior products that meet our high Quality Standards as well as demonstrate long-term commitment to our mission by joining our Partnership program, contributing financially, and voluntarily endorsing the CERES principles.
A Public Service Project In Conjunction with Naturepedic
Today, over 125 million Americans (overwhelmingly children) face an unprecedented rise in cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD/ADHD, learning and developmental disabilities and other conditions. Credible scientific evidence increasingly points to environmental hazards and household chemicals as causing and contributing to many of these diseases.
Some of the suspect chemicals — like phthalates and toxic fire retardants - are present in most crib or bassinet mattresses and have been shown to leach out into the surrounding air. Given that infants are uniquely vulnerable to these chemicals and they spend the majority of their time in bed, it is imperative to provide them with safer sleeping environments.
To help offset the dangers of chemicals in the lives of children, 'Healthy Beginnings for Babies: Free Green Mattress Program for Hospitals - A Public Service Project of Healthy Child Healthy World in Conjunction with Naturepedic' is giving free Naturepedic bassinet mattresses to hospitals to help them get babies off to a good start.
There are 6,400 hospitals in the United States and Naturepedic is willing to provide mattresses to every one of them! Absolutely free. They're even paying for the shipping. And they are asking for nothing in return.
Naturepedic crib mattresses are the only crib mattresses we recommend at Healthy Child Healthy World. They don't contain any of the harmful chemicals people are worried about. Not one.
They use certified organic cotton, food grade polyethylene for waterproofing, and non-toxic fire-proofing methods that meet and exceed all federal and state flammability standards. And they're certified by GREENGUARD - so we know babies will be safe.
The long-lasting, heirloom quality workmanship of Naturepedic mattresses will serve thousands of babies over many years.
If your hospital has a nursery, NICU, birthing rooms, or other related hospital facilities, you can get free Naturepedic crib mattresses. Just call Program Coordinator Joyce White at 1-(888)-704-9305 (TOLL FREE) , or send her an email, or write a letter to:
Joyce White
Hospital Mattress Program
411 Cleveland Street #263
Clearwater, FL 33755
Nominate a Mom on a Mission for 2010
Our judging criteria: We are seeking a heart-lifting, true story that both moves and inspires us by sharing a mother's work to create healthier environments for children and families.
Who is a candidate: Any exceptional mother (currently living in the United States) who seeks to make a difference for the better, generously gives back to others, or overcame adversity with courage.
How to enter: Only ONE nomination per person is allowed. Please enter by sending your “heart-lifting, true story” to award@healthychild.org. Submissions should be no more than 750 words long. Nomination period ends on July 31st, 2010.
Healthy Child Healthy World is igniting a movement of parents.
A movement that protects young children.
A movement that creates cleaner, healthier, and safer environments.
Join us all today to receive our communications, action alerts, and trusted information.
Basic Tips & Tools for Advocacy
Never underestimate your ability to make changes in the world around you. In fact, with all the new technologies that help us connect with one another and share information, it’s probably never been easier. Still, you’ll be much more successful if you remember a few key tips.
Play nice. No matter who you’re talking to, from a neighbor to a Senator, it pays to be diplomatic. Approach people with an open mind and be respectful of their opinions. Nobody likes a know-it-all, so offer your ideas with a bit of humility. Don’t judge, smile a lot, and be grateful for every little step that is made. Be a “helper” instead of a “nagger.” People will be much more apt to change if it feels positive. And, you’ll be more likely to create long-term allies who can continue to help make changes in your community.
Find solutions. It’s easy to complain about problems. It’s smart to find solutions. Whatever issue you want to address, before you do anything, research solutions. Find other people who have successfully addressed the problem you want to address. Look on-line for example policies that outline solutions. Do your best to find solutions that are economically feasible. The more research you do identifying solutions on the front end, the less friction you’ll receive when you go public with your requests.
Be patient. We live in a fast paced world, but it doesn’t mean things change overnight. Be prepared to push for what you want for a long time. Understand that people are busy and that elected officials and community leaders have a long, complicated list of priorities. It may take a while for yours to rise to the top. Don’t take it personally. Have patience, perseverance, and a positive attitude.
Resources:
Creating Healthy Environments for Children: Advocacy Toolkit This 8pg PDF outlines everything you need to know about contacting elected officials, writing letters to the editor for publishing your concerns in local newspapers, and many other easy ideas for spreading the word in your community. Don’t forget the companion DVD that can help you quickly educate others about children’s environmental health issues.
Research Tools on the Web Use this guide to find out about polluters in your community, health impacts of chemicals, and much more.
Community ToolBox promotes community health and development by connecting people, resources, and ideas. While they don’t address environmental health specifically, their tools and information is entirely relevant to anyone looking to start organizing for change in their community. For example, they have an on-line guide that includes nearly 300 different sections providing practical, step-by-step guidance in community-building skills.
Meet Up is the world's largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.
Childcare Centers
Some parents breathe a sigh of relief when they drop their baby off at a childcare center. Others breathe a small gasp as they stifle back tears. Either way, make sure you and your child can breathe easy by helping the facility create a healthy environment.
Eco-Healthy Childcare program from the Oregon Environmental Council provides tips for childcare centers, a checklist, and a list of certified centers from across the nation.
Schools
Schools are our children’s second homes. The moment a parent sets foot in a school and realizes how important this place is to their child’s health and development is oftentimes the moment a community advocate is born. For parents who have taken every precaution at home, it can be a moment of culture shock. Luckily, parents and schools across the nation are blazing a green trail towards creating healthy environments for students to learn and grow in.
Healthy Schools Network is a national non-profit working to create healthier school environments for all children. They coordinate a coalition of over 400 partners, provide a wealth of information and referral services, and coordinate the National Healthy Schools Day every April. Host your own event to raise awareness of the issue and launch a local effort to improve school environments.
My Healthy School is dedicated to providing teachers, administrators, parents and students with resources on how to improve the health of schools across the country. Learn how to serve the most nutritious school food, choose the safest products inside the classroom and out, and teach students how to play an integral role in the future of their planet.
The Green Flag Program is a student-led program to make schools healthier places to work and learn. This flexible three-step program will help you advance your schools environmental behaviors and become a shining example to others. Achieve recognition for all the good work your school already does, and improve your program with the support of teachers and field experts across the country.
The Green Schools Initiative works to catalyze and support “green” actions by kids, teachers, parents, and policymakers to eliminate toxics, use resources sustainably, create green spaces and buildings, serve healthy food, and teach stewardship. They are working to leverage the schools sector to transform the school environment – and the markets that supply schools – to improve health and sustainability. They advocate that school boards and state policymakers develop comprehensive action plans and build the local capacity to implement these plans. Begin with their Sample School Board Resolution: Blueprint for Healthy, Environmentally Sound Schools.
The Go Green Initiative is a simple, comprehensive program designed to create a culture of environmental responsibility on school campuses across the nation. Founded in 2002, the Go Green Initiative unites parents, students, teachers and school administrators in an effort to make real and lasting changes in their campus communities that will protect children and the environment for years to come.
Indoor Air Quality – Tools for Schools is the US Environmental Protection Agency’s program to show schools how to carry out a practical plan of action to improve indoor air problems at little or no cost using straightforward activities and in-house staff. Their Kit provides best practices, industry guidelines, sample policies, and a sample IAQ management plan. The voluntary guidance can save schools time and money so that resources can be directed toward educating children.
Minnesota Healthy Sustainable Schools is an interagency, cross-sector collaboration helping schools on a variety of issues, such as health, performance, and sustainability. Even if you don’t live in Minnesota, download the Guide for Change and Assessment Tool for Change for a wide variety of resources to help you plan, implement, and track your program.
Neighborhoods and Cities
Even if you don’t feel comfortable quite yet rocking your neighborhood boat or shaking up your city council, you can still start laying the groundwork for future changes by starting a neighborhood group, joining your neighborhood association, or sitting in on city council meetings. Get to know the people in your community and the issues they are concerned about. Once you’ve established yourself as a friend and committed citizen, introduce your own ideas.
Use MeetUp.com to find or start a group in your area. Just enter a topic and your zipcode to see if others are already meeting to discuss the issue or to invite others to meet. Meetup is the world's largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.
After you’ve made some allies, here are three ways to start creating a healthier community:
Promote green cleaning with tools from the Federal Office of the Environmental Executive. They also host The Green Cleaning Pollution Prevention Calculator which quantifies the projected environmental benefits of purchasing and using "green" janitorial services and products. It is designed to forecast the environmental benefits of reducing chemical use by doing some or all pollution prevention measures typically involved in the routine interior cleaning of an office building. This tool also enables users to identify which green cleaning measures will have the greatest impact in reducing their use of hazardous chemicals and in preventing pollution.
State Efforts
Legislators are not mind readers and they certainly don’t know everything. They rely on you to contact them with your concerns and help educate them about issues so they can make informed decisions. Try to get in the habit of knowing who your elected officials are and how to contact them. Send letters with your concerns and thank you notes when appropriate (adding a picture or hand written note from your child adds a compelling touch).
You can also get involved in existing efforts such as the following:
SaferStates is a network of diverse environmental and health organizations in states around the country working to change national chemical policy by promoting state-based reforms to protect citizens from toxic threats. Some of these champions include:
Find your state elected representatives. Project Vote Smart gives you not only contact information, but also voting records, latest speeches, campaign contributors, and more.
Make a quick call. Democracy only works if people get involved in politics and that means more than just voting. Oftentimes, it only takes 30 seconds to make your voice count. When bills you are interested in are being considered, take a moment to call your representatives and tell them whether you want them to vote for or against the bill. Find out what types of environmental health legislation are being proposed in your state by using the National Conference of State Legislators database.
National Efforts
We are very lucky to live in a democracy, which means any person can get involved in any aspect of government. From the tiniest town hall to the great halls of Congress, our government not only leaves its doors open to the citizens, it actually functions best when we actively engage in it.
Find your federal elected representatives. Project Vote Smart gives you not only contact information, but also voting records, latest speeches, campaign contributors, and more.
We live on a planet that is increasingly interconnected. Pollution from China is carried on ocean breezes to the shores of California. Likewise, pollution from the U.S. is carried up to Canada, the Arctic, and beyond. While Healthy Child Healthy World works in the United States, we recognize that for a truly healthy world, we all need to work together.
Great things are happening all over the world. And, often, we rely on the experiences and protective policies passed in other countries to bolster our own local efforts. Here are just a very few of the organizations and initiatives we’ve been keeping our eyes on:
Canada
Toxic Nation Canadians are polluted with a toxic mix of harmful chemicals. Toxic Nation shows how your body is polluted. And what you can do to get the pollution out of you and all Canadians.
The David Suzuki Foundation sees a future where Canadians won’t have to think twice about drinking a glass of tap water, eating food from their local grocery store, swimming in a local river or lake, or simply taking a deep breath of air.
Ecojustice is Canada's largest and foremost non-profit environmental law organization. Much of the casework of Ecojustice aims to establish and expand healthy communities coast to coast to coast, connecting the dots that link environmental and public health and ensuring that all citizens enjoy their fundamental right to a healthy environment.
Toxic Free Canada brings workers and environmentalists together in cooperative projects for toxics reduction and a green econom
European Union
REACH is a new European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use. It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007. The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances.
National Toxics Network is a community based network working for pollution reduction, protection of environmental health and environmental justice for all.
As part of our commitment to bring you trustworthy and credible information that empowers you to maintain a healthy and safe home, we are proudly collaborating with WebMD – America’s #1 most-trusted online site for health information – to unveil our ALL NEW Health eHome.
Navigate virtual rooms of a family home
Explore potential dangers and how to avoid hazards
We are wondering...Do you know a Mom on a Mission? Every year we want to honor one special and inspiring American woman dedicated to creating healthier and happier environments for children and families.
Learn how to nominate that special mom, or yourself?
Help spread these messages and activate your family, friends, schools, and community by hosting a Healthy Child Healthy World event, or "Healthy Home Party".
Be a change agent. Learn more aboutengaging, empowering, and enacting change by communicating these safe, green, healthy lifestyle opportunities.
Volunteers and interns have always been an essential and integral part of Healthy Child Healthy World's success. You can donate your professional services, office help, committee members, & more.
Learn more about volunteer and internship opportunities with us.
Information about state and federal legislations and policies enabling you to take action and influence politicians in deciding on current critical issues effecting children.
A simple scientific resource that describes chemicals encountered in your daily life providing you with the description of the chemical, health effects and solutions to exposure, significant statistics and a list of more resources to make you an expert about any chemical listed.
For a detailed list of chemicals, use this database of household products provided by the National Institutes of Health.
Great resources to use at home, or to share with your child’s schools and childcare providers and your community. From educational videos to great handbooks that guide you through safer and healthier lifestyle choices.
An alphabetized list of definitions of the vocabulary used in articles and resources to create a healthy environment for children. For detailed list of definitions of terms used in toxicology, check this IUPAC Glossary provided by the US National Library of Medicine.
A user-friendly and practical lifestyle guide about how to reduce toxic exposure in our homes, our new book is a perfect resource of credible and easy steps to creating a healthier environment and lifestyle for all stages of parenting.
Start here with The 5 Easy Steps and discover that you can do something. Learn the uncomplicated facts, what you can do, and what is important to avoid. We then help you find the products and companies that help you create a safer, greener, healthier life.
A great resource that explains in simple and clear language the important preventive techniques and science to help you guard your child from harmful environmental exposures. Great for those who want to dig deeper and learn about even more meaningful ways to keep their environments free from harm.
Easy one-page guides that take you, step-by-step, through simple and effective prevention methods for all kinds of situations, from improving indoor air quality to picking fruit.
Polycarbonate: The Plastic that Keeps on Giving...BPA
Last year major recreational retailers pulled polycarbonate water bottles off the shelves over concern that BPA could leach into the drinking water. Later in the year, the Environmental Working Group examined baby formula from cans and found that the epoxy lining was leaching BPA into the formula. The latest news is that polycarbonate baby bottles leach BPA into warm milk and formula.
While manufacturers argue that the exposures are too small to have any health impacts (their same old song and dance), studies are piling up linking BPA to breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm counts, miscarriage and a host of other reproductive failures in laboratory animals. It is also linked with immune system alterations, early puberty, developmental problems, insulin resistance, increased risk of type II diabetes, and hypertension.
“Wee Generation’s eco-friendly baby bag is an important development in consumer goods,” said William McDonough, green architect and environmental designer. “The initiative sets the pace for an environmentally-intelligent industry and will continue to change how goods are created and repurposed going forward.”
Whole Life Times:A World Without Men Healthy Child Executive Director, Christopher Gavigan is interviewed in this article about how gender-bending industrial chemicals are skewing the birth ratio in favor of baby girls. Could a world without men be a few short generations away?
Cookie Magazine: Recall Mania Executive Director, Christopher Gavigan and Healthy Child board member, Dr. Harvey Karp, explain how harmful the presence of Bisphenol-A in baby bottles is.
DR.'S VIEWPOINT
The Not-so-little Regulatory System that Couldn’t: How Toys End Up Toxic
By: Dr. David Wallinga
How many times have we heard, “If it wasn’t safe, the government wouldn’t let them sell it.”? While true to some degree -- such as the FDA’s pre-market testing of pharmaceuticals -- a lot of things slip through the regulatory cracks: like chemicals used in every day products. So, in short, our regulations don't always protect us. A hot example from today’s headlines: hazardous chemicals used in everyday children’s products.
More and more parents wonder how this could be happening. This article plows into the somewhat arcane minutiae of why and how the chemical regulatory system that’s supposed to protect us is fundamentally flawed and fails us. Tedious though the details may be, they are worth reading. Until we understand these systemic failures, we are doomed to continue making the same mistakes, putting our children and their children in harm’s way, chemical after chemical. That is, until we can put a better mousetrap in place. And we can.
Spring Cleaning Inside Out – Easy Ways to Detoxify Your Body
Even if it’s too early in your part of the country to begin the yearly ritual of flinging open windows and purging your home of dust and dirt, you can still get a jump on spring-cleaning. Start inside out – by cleaning out your insides. You do your best to avoid toxins every day, but it’s impossible to avoid them entirely. Luckily, there are easy ways your family can detoxify. Follow these steps to help your bodies clean out the chemicals.
Sweat it out. At least three times a week (but ideally one hour every day), work up a good sweat. Exercise is the healthiest thing you can do for your body for a variety of reasons, and when sweat comes out, toxins do too. No need to get a gym membership, make it simple family fun by taking a vigorous hike or bike ride together.
Flush it out. Drink plenty of water every day, especially before, during, and after exercising (drop in a wedge of lemon for added benefits). Eat cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) and high fiber foods to keep your systems flowing.
Love your liver. Your liver is your body’s toxin filter. Keep it healthy by limiting alcohol, caffeine, refined sugars, saturated fats and medication and look into herbs or supplements to support general liver health. (Talk to your physician before starting supplements or herbs).
Relax. Your mental well-being is inherently connected to your overall health and stress slows down detoxification, among other things. Keep family stress levels low, so all your body’s systems are in prime working condition, by taking time to cuddle and read with your kids or by doing yoga and meditation together.
Breathe deeply. Oxygen is essential to cleansing and feeding your body’s cells. Whenever you think of it throughout the day, take some deep cleansing breaths to oxygenate your body.
These tips will not only help you detoxify your body, incorporating them into your daily life will also lead to greater overall health and happiness. Enjoy!
Note: While the aforementioned tips are applicable to your entire family, more extreme detox diets are not intended for children or pregnant women.
THE PURSUIT OF PROTECTIVE POLICY
The Battle Over the Ban: Getting Gender Bending Chemicals Out of Children’s Products
The headlines about toxic toys are increasing and so are policy initiatives to protect our children.
States across the US are reviewing bills and you can help support them with the click of a button. It really couldn’t be any easier. Start with these four things:
Safety Guide to Children's Personal Care Products: The Environmental Working Group has created this new children's products safety guide that helps parents navigate around bogus claims and find safer products with fewer ingredients linked to allergies, cancer, and other concerns for children.
Also, for the next nine days, timely and helpful answers to common FAQ's will be specially featured on our blog to help connect you with the most current information and resources surrounding children's health and the toy toxicity issue.
These FAQ's were highlighted on Friday, March 21st's program NOW on PBS and have been posted on their website.
SHOP FOR CHANGE
Choose Nontoxic Baby Bottles Two baby bottle companies that do not use BPA or other harmful plasticizers are Think Baby and Born Free Bottles.
Find nontoxic plastic and glass baby bottles, sippy cups, and more at these and other retailers highlighted in our Healthy Child marketplace.
RARE OPPORTUNITIES
Nominate your school for up to a $250,000 eco-friendly makeover!
Win the chance to make your school a healthier and safer place by filling out this online survey.
COMMUNITY PARTNER HIGHLIGHT
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Children's health is greatly affected by products their mothers use on a regular basis. We are excited that the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a great consumer watchdog, is out there advocating for and educating about safe product alternatives.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of women’s, public health, labor, environmental health and consumer-rights groups. Their goal is to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the health and beauty industry to phase out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems, and replace them with safer alternatives.
RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS LEADER'S CORNER
Debra Claire, founder and CEO or Perfect Organics explains why sustainable business is essential.
I established Perfect Organics in 2003 because I wanted to create luxurious and effective organic, vegan and chemical-free alternatives to conventional body care products. I firmly believe that there can be no long term health or beauty without clean air, soil, and water and that serves as the underlying philosophy for all Perfect Organics offerings.
When you keep the environment in mind and honor the integrity and efficacy of naturally occurring ingredients while formulating, you come up with a product that feels great, smells incredible, and is healthier and more effective than conventional products.
My kids love the first opportunity of the summer season to kick off their shoes, peel off their socks, and run around outside with bare feet. More and more these days, I am increasingly concerned about the material in between their little toes when they touch down at the park or the playground. It all started when I noticed a big truck dumping new ground covering around my daughter's school playground. I could smell the playground's acrid odor before I saw it (my nose is my initial alarm system for toxic intruders and in this case, the bells were ringing loudly). Upon closer inspection, I saw that the ground covering was a loose fill of what appeared to be shredded tires. Wait a minute, I thought to myself, aren’t tires considered hazardous waste? Isn’t that why we can’t just toss them in the garbage? Why are we using these where our kids play?
In an effort to recycle the growing waste piles of used tires, manufacturers across the country have begun making artificial turf out of the discarded rubber. They are using scrap tires as crumb rubber in-fill on playing fields, as shredded loose fill around playgrounds, as composite solid playing surfaces, and even as landscaping mulch. While it seems an environmentally-friendly option at face value, these materials may impact children’s health as initial research shows potential chemical and heavy metal leaching depending on a wide variety of external factors. Overall, it’s better to be safe than sorry. This definitely warranted an eco-mom investigation and what I discovered was confusing, to say the least. Read More>>>
WHAT'S NEW?
Our new book, Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home, hit shelves in April!
"This is a book that EVERY single parent needs to read…before they read the What to Expect Books or even Dr. Sears books."
The eco-chic bag is on sale now, pick one up here.
Not only will you end up with a great baby bag, but all profits from the sale of the bags will also benefit us!
“Wee Generation’s eco-friendly baby bag is an important development in consumer goods,” said William McDonough, green architect and environmental designer. “The initiative sets the pace for an environmentally-intelligent industry and will continue to change how goods are created and repurposed going forward.”
Dr. Porter has been a professor of Environmental Toxicology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison for over 20 years. He has done extensive research on the effects pesticide use has on human health.
A beautifully manicured lawn or garden is something of an American past-time. But the use of pesticides and herbicides to maintain our lawns poses potential health risks to those most likely to appreciate them: our children. But Dr. Porter, a specialist in Environmental Toxicology, contradicts conventional wisdom by explaining that it's not how much pesticide is used, but often, how little. As he puts it: "the dose make the poison". Read on to discover the findings of his research, and how you can make your lawn and garden organic and safe for your family. Read More>>>
SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER HEALTH
Easy Steps for Healthy Summer Fun
Aaaaaahhhh. Summer. Basking in sunshine, family vacations, almost endless fun and play. It’s every child’s nirvana. It’s fun for parents, too, but we have to be aware of the other side of the coin: beach advisories, insects carrying disease, heat exhaustion and more. Follow these easy steps for a safe, stupendous summer.
Keep ‘em full of fluids. All that activity and sunshine can quickly deplete a child’s system leading to heat exhaustion or worse. Make hydration easy by keeping a reusable water bottle with you at all times. Since the hot summer sun can promote leaching from plastic water bottles, invest in a stainless steel version from sources like Klean Kanteen or Sigg. And nix drinks from the hose, most contain traces of lead and can also be contaminated with lawn chemicals or bacteria.
Keep the bugs from bugging you. Nothing ruins a picnic or hike faster than pesky pests like mosquitoes and ticks. Prevent problems by keeping skin covered, going indoors at dusk, and using the safest repellents.
Use non-toxic alternatives for pet pests. Reduce another pet source of pesticide exposure by wiping Fido’s paws with a damp rag when you get home from walks. You may do your best to keep him off lawns that have the application signs posted, but many people apply chemicals to their lawns without posting signage. If Fido walks on it, he’ll bring it back home.
THE PURSUIT OF PROTECTIVE POLICY
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.
Summer is also peak re-use season; find high-end green items at bargain prices by using Craigslist or Kids Consignment Sales. You can also share quality kid’s items year-round on Zwaggle.
Q&A with Tim Smith, Senior Director of Sustainable Development for Shaklee Corporation
HC: What is innovative about your business?
TS: Shaklee was founded by an entrepreneur who was a pioneer in the fields of health and ecology. Our current CEO, Roger Barnett, is also entrepreneurial and he motivates his staff to be creative in developing the best natural health products...
HC: What motivates you to do the sustainable development work you are doing?
TS: I have always gravitated to companies with social and philanthropic values.
Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home
A user-friendly and practical lifestyle guide about how to reduce toxic exposure in our homes, our new book is a perfect resource of credible and easy steps to creating a healthier environment and lifestyle for all stages of parenting. It’s sure to be a hit on Earth Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and everyday - with information on pregnancy, cleaning, foods, toys, and even green baby showers, healthier air fresheners, gardening, beauty care, and much more!
Besides the up-to-date health content, what sets this book apart are the long list of health experts and notable parents contributing their essay. These contributing "voices" and stories are selectively added to the book to build on the approachable and fresh tone.
Special contributing folks include Meryl Streep (writing the foreword), Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill McDonough, Tom Hanks, Dr. Philip Landrigan, Tobey Maguire, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, Dr. Russell Long, Laura Dern, Dr. Alan Greene, Courteney Cox, Vanessa Williams, Erin Brockovich, Dr. Harvey Karp, Keri Russell, Brooke Shields, Dr. David Orr, Michelle Obama, Dr. Theo Colborn, Sheryl Crow, Gayle King and a quite a few more.
Not Under My Roof!: Protecting Your Baby at Home is a 17-minute educational DVD, co-hosted by Olivia Newton-John and Kelly Preston. Speaking from personal experience, Olivia and Kelly highlight toxic exposures occurring in the home, unique health risks to children, and simple, healthier alternatives.
Creating Healthy Environments for Children:Easy Steps for Homes, Child Care Centers and Schools is a 20-minute educational DVD which includes informational presentations on how to protect children's environmental health, Tool Kits, fact sheets, and quizzes for child care centers and schools, community action guides, and effective ways to make your voice heard and spread awareness about children's health issues in your community.
Purchase a copy for $12.
New evidence indicates that the chemical flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca) may threaten the health of Americans.
Manufacturers of common household products add Deca to plastics or fabrics to make them resist the spread of fire. A growing body of evidence shows that exposure to Deca may cause adverse health effects in developing children, including damage to the nervous system and impaired motor skills.
This study focuses on the most recent science surrounding several emerging chemical hazards—a growing body of evidence showing that chemicals found in the home and in common consumer products may hinder normal development.
A child’s first few years are an exciting time for parents who hope, if for nothing else, that their child starts his or her life happy and healthy. Unfortunately, not all products marketed for children and babies are completely safe for their use. Many contain toxic chemicals that may have detrimental health impacts for children exposed during critical stages of development.
This Healthy Building Network report compares and evaluates different plastic lumber types from an environmental and public health perspective, and offers advice on how to choose a plastic lumber product based upon its health hazards and recycling impacts. The Healthy Building Network rates the environmental preferability of 55 plastic lumber products manufactured by 44 companies based on three criteria:
Materials used
Recycled content
Potential recyclability
This information is intended to inform those who are interested in understanding the range of environmental and public health impacts associated with different plastic lumber products.
Read Ann Cooper's Journey from "white tablecloth" celeberty chef, never cooking for kids nor even knowing what they ate, to an unlikely advocate for childhood nuturition.
A large, uncontrolled scientific experiment has been in progress for the last 60 years, and the questions now is: Can we figure out what the results are? And if those results show we are in danger, what we can do about it at this late date?
This study analyzes the extent to which five popular brands of baby bottles leach bisphenol A, a developmental, neural, and reproductive toxicant, into liquids coming into contact with them.
They found that all five brands leach bisphenol A at dangerous levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory animal studies.
Until March 2007, thousands of kids around the country could be found playing with toy trucks, helicopters, and soldiers sold under the Elite Operations brand name. The toys were fun, and they looked great with their thick coat of glossy paint. Trouble was, that paint was loaded with 5,000 ppm lead, a potent developmental neurotoxicant with no known safe exposure level.
The test results of this study indicates that the United States’ current lack of regulation of bisphenol A exposes infants and children to potentially dangerous levels of this unnecessary toxic chemical. The study confirms the findings of the 2007 Environment California study that tested Avent, Dr. Brown’s, Evenflo, Gerber and Playtex baby bottles. All five brands of the popular polycarbonate bottles tested in Environment California’s study leached bisphenol A the range of 5–10 ppb.3 This report is the first dual-nation study to measure BPA leaching from baby bottles purchased from U.S. and Canadian retailers.
New data collected by Friends of the Earth demonstrates that a high percentage of California’s furniture contains toxic chemicals called halogenated fire retardants.* In hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and animal experiments, halogenated fire retardants have been linked to serious health disorders such as cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption, neurological and reproductive dysfunction and learning disabilities such as ADHD, mental retardation, and hyperactivity. Today, Californians who undergo testing are finding halogenated fire retardants stored in their bodies at increasing rates, with babies and children showing the highest levels.
This report demonstrates that commonly used baby and children’s products, and upholstered household furniture, contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals called halogenated fire retardants.
In hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and animal experiments, halogenated fire retardants have been linked to serious health disorders such as cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption, neurological and reproductive dysfunction and learning disabilities such as ADHD, mental retardation, and hyperactivity. Human testing suggests that most Americans now have halogenated fire retardants in their bodies, with babies and children showing the highest levels.
The plastics problem is growing in scale and complexity due to a collision of factors, including government neglect of the importance of endocrine disruption; the explosive growth of the U.S. and international plastics industry; the absence of any plastic ingredient and source labeling requirements; nearly complete recycling failure for PVC and polycarbonate plastics; environmental contamination of air, water, soils, oceans, fish and wildlife; nearly universal human exposure to BPA and DEHP from food and beverages in high income nations; the dependence of the plastics industry on petroleum; and government failure to require health and environmental testing prior to chemical production, sale, and disposal. Collectively, these pose a serious challenge to the environment and human health.
Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain’s Chemical Smell (June 2008)
New laboratory tests reveal the familiar “new shower curtain smell” may be toxic to our health. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic shower curtains purchased at Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears,
Target, and Wal-Mart all contain avoidable toxic chemicals including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phthalates, organotins and metals.
During the last years ChemSec has actively pushed the new EU legislation on chemicals, REACH, to protect health and the environment by raising the requirements on chemical manufactures and importers to deliver safer products. When REACH is now in place the REACH SIN List helps spurring its implementation. But REACH can also be used in NGO campaigning to help strengthening chemicals regulation in other parts of the world. To inspire and facilitate the work of other NGOs ChemSec has compiled this guide. It includes the basics principles of the new regulation, how to access substance data available through REACH, and how REACH can be used as a model to enhance national regulations.
This report examines the lifetime influences of environmental factors on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and their underlying pathologic mechanisms. The close look into the science of these diseases shows they are related to a number of features of modern society and that Alzheimer’s disease especially is linked to other serious health problems of modern times, called the "western disease cluster."
This report announces a ground-breaking agreement to end the use of a common but not well-known lead product in California — wheel balancing weights.
Lead is a stunningly toxic metal. A long list of problems has been linked to lead exposure: lowered intelligence, behavior problems, cancer, strokes, high blood pressure, kidney problems, anemia, cavities, and delayed puberty. Children are particularly susceptible to lead’s toxic effects.
Chemicals can impact female reprodcutive healthy by interfering with hormones that regulate reproductive system development.
A woman’s body goes through a wide range of changes throughout her lifetime. Each stage of her life, from fetal development through her post-menopause years, involves a direct relationship between her hormones and how her body develops and functions. When this relationship is in balance, it helps create the conditions for good health. When this relationship is out of balance, it can lead to a range of health problems that can be painful and devastating.
Despite marketing claims like “gentle” and “pure,” dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, according to the March 2009 Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, "No More Toxic Tub."
This study is the first to document the widespread presence of both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in bath products for children, including baby shampoos, bubble baths and baby lotions. Many products tested contained both chemicals.
Americans spend more than $1 billion each year on products designed to kill fleas and ticks on household pets, especially dogs and cats. While some of these products are safe, others leave harmful chemical residues on our pets’ fur and in our homes. These chemicals are highly hazardous to animals and humans, can damage the brain and nervous system, and cause cancer. A first-of-its-kind study by NRDC shows that high levels of pesticide residue can remain on a dog’s or cat’s fur for weeks after a flea collar is put on an animal. Residue levels produced by some flea collars are so high that they pose a risk of cancer and damage to the neurological system of children up to 1,000 times higher than the EPA’s acceptable levels.
Children are particularly at risk from these pesticides because their neurological and metabolic systems are still developing. They are also more likely than adults to put their hands in their mouths after petting an animal, and so are more likely to ingest the hazardous residues. We found that residues from two pesticides used in flea collars—tetrachlorvinphos and propoxur, among the most dangerous pesticides still legally on the market—were high enough to pose a risk to both children and adults who play with their pets.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in the epoxy lining of canned foods and beverages and in polycarbonate, a hard, clear plastic. The chemical mimics estrogen in the body and researchers have found links between BPA and numerous health problems including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and metabolic disorders.
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found BPA in the urine of over 90% of Americans tested.
Consumers are paying close attention to BPA and many are advocating for the use of alternatives. State and local governments have moved to ban the chemical from certain products, and federal legislators have introduced bills to regulate or ban BPA. Alternatives to the chemical exist for plastic products and, on a more limited basis, for can linings. The baby bottle industry and packaged food companies such as Eden Foods and Heinz have already begun transitioning to these alternatives. The continued use of BPA in products where a feasible alternative exists presents both financial and reputational risks to companies in the packaged food industry.
Seeking Safer Packaging is a project of Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) and As You Sow. The authors sent letters to 20 companies in the packaged food industry to identify the actions the companies are taking to address concerns regarding BPA. Fourteen companies replied. Company scores are based entirely on their responses to these letters.
This scorecard reviews how leading packaged food companies are responding to increased consumer and investor concern about BPA. Seeking Safer Packaging ranks companies on three factors: 1) efforts to find and implement alternatives to BPA, 2) plans to phase out BPA in products for which alternatives exist, and 3) transparency on the issue.
The scorecard is accompanied by an introduction to health concerns linked to BPA exposure, the changing regulatory climate related to BPA, and studies of companies that have voluntarily removed the chemical from their products.
Green Century and As You Sow recommend that each of the companies featured in this scorecard switch to BPA-free technologies in every product line for which they are available and actively pursue a broader range of alternatives so as to protect public health and reduce their exposure to risks associated with BPA.
A new report from Women's Voices for the Earth argues that it is unnecessary to disinfect one’s homes to the degree that advertisers and manufacturers would have consumers believe.
We are at an incredible turning point in understanding how the environment impacts children's health and development. A groundbreaking endeavor launched on January 13, 2009, The National Children's Study will follow 100,000 American children from preconception until the age of 21 to deepen our understanding of illnesses and diseases such as allergies, asthma, ADHD, childhood cancer, autism, diabetes and obesity.
The study is funded annually by Congress and will be carried out in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as a host of universities, hospitals, research centers and NGOs.
105 Study Centers have been set up across the country, guaranteeing that the children studied will reflect diverse backgrounds and situations, and thus highlight the differences that exist between groups of people in terms of health care access and disease occurrence. Overall, the National Children's Study will be one of the richest research efforts on children's health and long-term development.
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Financial Archive
Healthy Child Healthy World holds funds management as a top priority.
Many companies encourage their employees to make charitable contributions by matching their philanthropic support - some even match at an increased rate of $5 for each $1 given. The impact of corporate matching support can be enormous.
To find out if you work for a company who matches, consult your human resources office, which will provide you with a matching gift form. For further details contact us at: 310. 820. 2030.
Matching gift forms should be mailed to:
Healthy Child Healthy World
Attention: Donations
12300 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 320
Los Angeles, CA 90025
In-Kind Donations
You can share the power of our efforts by donating or offering a substantial discount on items, products or services to Healthy Child Healthy World. We use these in-kind donations for educational events / fundraising events / and other community outreach opportunities.
Interested companies/individuals can contact our national headquarters in Los Angeles to donate in-kind items.
This is a partial list of common donations. If you don’t see an in-kind donation you’d like to make included in this list, please contact us, we appreciate many forms of creative in-kind donations.
Creative / Marketing Service
Advertising
Consulting Services
Public Relations
Legal Services
Event Management
Coupons
Furniture/appliances
Movies/Event/Concert Tickets
Airlines Miles
Vehicles
Hotel stays / Loyalty Points
Travel Packages
Action Kit by Erin Brockovich
Join Healthy Child and support our mission — to protect children from exposure to toxic substances that cause health problems — by taking one or more of these action steps today.
Action 1
SIGN-UP for the Healthy Child Times, our monthly email newsletter that provides healthy living tips, solutions, options, and steps to protect your children’s health.
Forward these links to ten friends you love and learn together about raising healthy families in a toxic world. Urge each person to forward the information to people they know.
Action 2
TAKE a virtual stroll through the HealtheHome for 30 minutes and visit each room in the house filled with everything you need to know about hidden toxins and their healthy alternatives.
Action 3
REPLACE three toxic household cleaning and pest control products with safe alternatives (and throw in a few organic fruits and veggies from a green grocer) and consider switching permanently. You can find recommended products in the Shop Healthy section of our website. Take The 5 Easy Steps to make changes in your home.
Action 4
SPEARHEAD a campaign in your neighborhood to eliminate the use of lawn and garden pesticides and talk with your neighbors about adopting integrated pest management (IPM). Share your success with us. Since pesticides don't stay where you put them, what your neighbors use matters. Visit Beyond Pesticides for more info.
Action 5
GATHER other parents and start a playgroup. Modeled on the one started by Healthy Child's founder Nancy Chuda with her daughter Colette and friends, moms and babies gather for playtime and share what they are doing to keep their homes healthy.
Action 6
SPONSOR a Healthy Child event in your home or in your community. SPREAD the Healthy Child message by organizing a fundraiser or hosting a Healthy Child table at a local health fair or community gathering. Contact us for materials to distribute.
Action 7
STIMULATE discussion in your child's school or day care center, your community center, or parks and recreation department as to what precautions are being taken to ensure that kids are not being exposed to toxic substances in the air, food, water or consumer products in each of these places. Use articles from our site to focus the conversation.
Action 8
SEND a letter or an email to your member of Congressasking him/her to ensure funding for the U.S. EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection — the only government office charged with protecting the environmental health of the nation's children. We hear that this office will be dismantled soon, so your voice needs to be heard.
Action 9
SHARE your ideas with other Healthy Child advocates for children's health by contributing to the Healthy Child Healthy World Blog. Visit our blog to keep up to date with what’s going on and let people know what’s on your mind.
Action 10
SUPPORT Healthy Child by becoming a member or making a contribution. Your financial support will enable us to sustain our national campaign to educate parents throughout the United States on the importance of taking health protective steps for children in their homes, schools, and communities.
Current Legislation
Take Action
You can speak out for children health by clicking on the links below to take action on current critical issues affecting children.
State and Federal Legislation / Policies
Support Children’s Health Legislation.
Take Public Action.
Use Your Voice.
Support – State Legislation: SAFER
Join Healthy Child Healthy World as a key coalition partner and key strategist to The State Alliance for Federal Reform of Chemicals Policy (SAFER). This is a tightly coordinated campaign, whose long-term vision is to establish a new precautionary federal chemicals policy by 2020.
As the European Union moves ahead with new reforms that modernize toxic chemical policies, momentum builds in 8 States for similar measures that would replace commonly used toxic chemicals with safer alternatives. This bill initially targets 10 of the worst toxic chemicals found in common household products such as dry cleaning, pesticides, solvents, building materials, foam cushions, and electronics.
"The United States is becoming a dumping ground for common household products with toxic ingredients exported here from countries that ban their local sale," said Deborah Shields, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition. "If China and Europe can protect the health of their citizens from hazards like formaldehyde in plywood cabinets, why are we lagging so far behind?"
Countries around the globe are taking steps to prevent harm to health from toxic hazards by phasing out the use of toxic chemicals. Because the United States is lagging behind, these countries can continue to sell toxic products here. Late 2006, the European Parliament gave final approval to a sweeping reform of chemical regulations that requires the chemical industry to gather health and safety data on thousands of chemicals used in everyday commerce, and replace the most dangerous chemicals with safer substitutes. The new standards, known as REACH (for Registration, Evaluation, a nd Authorization of Chemicals), will begin in April 2007 and will roll out in stages over the next eleven or more years.
The core strategy of this state-based campaign is to launch and win a critical mass of comprehensive policy reform measures in key states to tip the balance for achieving reform at the federal level.
The ten chemicals initially targeted by the bill are lead, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (Perc), dioxins and furans, hexavalent chromium, organophosphate pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), 2,4, dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4, D).
Currently, coalitions in eight states are part of SAFER:
California(CHANGE) Connecticut (Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut) Maine (Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine) mbelliveau@preventingharm.org / 207-827-6331 Massachusetts (Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow) lketelsen@cleanwater.org 617-338-8131 ext. 206 / jen.baker@masspirg.org Michigan (Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health) tracey@ecocenter.org / 734-663-2400 ext. 109 Minnesota (Healthy Legacy) dmckeown@cleanwater.org / 612-623-3666 New York (Alliance for a Toxic-Free Future) Washington (Toxic Free Legacy Coalition)
If you reside in one of these states, use the contact information to get more deeply involved.
Support – Federal Legislation - KIDS SAFE CHEMICALS ACTION
Children are especially vulnerable to chemical exposure, yet safety regulations are too weak to offer them meaningful protection from untested--and potentially toxic--chemicals in consumer products like baby bottles, water bottles, shampoo and food packaging.
The Kids, Worker and Consumer Safe Chemicals Act (S.1391), also known as the Kids Safe Chemicals Act, would help reduce children's exposure to hazardous chemicals before and after birth and protect workers and other people. The Act responds to the growing body of scientific literature which is identifying chemical exposures as a factor in the rise of disorders and diseases such as certain types of cancer, birth defects, asthma, neurological and developmental disorders and infertility. Biomonitoring studies are finding hundreds of these synthetic chemicals in our bodies, even in infants and fetuses. With approximately 50 percent of breast cancer cases unexplained by factors such as genetics or diet, scientists are increasingly looking into the environmental causes of the disease. The Kids Safe Chemicals Act would provide important safety measures in protecting people's health.
The Kids Safe Chemicals Act would:
Require manufacturers to provide health and safety information prior to distributing a chemical in consumer products, instead of presuming a substance is safe until proven dangerous;
Increase public awareness by providing much needed hazard and exposure information to EPA and the public; and
Require EPA to determine the safety of 300 chemicals within the next five years. By 2020, all chemicals distributed in commerce would need to meet the safety standard.
ACT NOW – send a letter to Congress:
Sign up now and Healthy Child Healthy World will add your name to this letter.
Dear US Senator,
I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor and support for the Kids Safe Chemicals Act (S. 1391) and become a co-sponsor of the legislation. This legislation would provide important safety protections for children, workers, and others regarding exposure to toxic chemicals.
An increasing number of scientific studies suggest that some chemicals may pose serious long-term public health risks, including cancer and childhood developmental disabilities. Powerful evidence suggests that environmental exposures, including everyday household chemicals found in pesticides, cleaning products, fuels, carpets and plastics, may trigger the chronic illness and disease in children.
For the vast majority of chemicals on the market today, there is little or no information available to the public on the potential human health impacts of exposure to these chemicals. The U.S. needs to create a system that provides adequate public information about the chemicals widely used in society and incentives to the business community to search for safer alternatives when hazardous chemicals are identified.
For these reasons, I urge you to co-sponsor The Kids Safe Chemicals Act (S.1391), which would require the submission of health data on commercial chemicals and establish a basic health standard for all chemicals used in consumer products--to protect children, workers, sensitive populations, consumers and others. Thank you for your consideration of this critically important legislation.
Support – Federal Legislation – National Children's Study
JOIN US – Long-term funding for the Largest Study on Children's Health Ever is not secured.
We need your help in showing support for 2008 funding of the National Children's Study.
The National Children's Study is a large longitudinal study intended to follow 100,000 births from pre-pregnancy and/or early pregnancy to adulthood (21 years of age). The Study will evaluate the effects of chemical, biological, physical and psychosocial factors on the health of children and young adults, as well as gene-environment interactions that may help identify individuals who are most susceptible to disease. The major outcomes that will be focused on in the Study include pregnancy outcomes, neurobehavioral development, psychiatric conditions, asthma, injuries, diabetes, obesity and physical development.
The National Children's Study should be a national priority if America wants to remain competitive fifty, or even fifteen years from now. Last year, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine predicted that obesity and diabetes would lead to reduced life expectancy for the first time since the Great Depression. Obese children become obese adults, suffer heart disease and stroke earlier, and burden our health care system. Poor health undermines our economy. Our nation already spends 17% of its gross domestic product on health care. Spiraling health care costs hurt taxpayers, hurt productivity and hurt competitiveness. In the 1940s, we faced a similar epidemic in adults. Heart disease and stroke were killing forty year olds. A study in Framingham, Massachusetts - the Study on which the National Children’s Study is modeled - paved the way for the prevention of heart disease, stroke, breast and colon cancers. Life expectancy has soared since then. Now we face a similar epidemic among our children, and the need for another study like the Framingham Heart Study.
By working with pregnant women and couples, the study will gather an unprecedented amount of data about how environmental factors alone, or interacting with genetic factors, affect childhood health. Examining a wide range of environmental factors – from air, water, and dust to what children eat and how often they see a doctor – the study will help develop prevention strategies and cures for a wide range of childhood diseases. By collecting data nationwide – before diseases arise – the study can test unproven theories and generate hypotheses that will inform spin-off studies for years to come. Simply put, this seminal effort will provide the foundation for children’s healthcare in the 21st Century.
The outcome of these efforts will provide the most complete data to date on the effects of early life exposures to multiple environmental factors, and will be key to understanding the toxicity of a number of environmental agents, life stages of susceptibility, and genetic factors that contribute to susceptibility.
The Study will provide a wealth of data to improve the health of the nation's children for years to come. Thank you for your support and taking action.
ACT NOW – send a letter to Congress to insist on continued funding in 2008:
Make sure you are a member and Healthy Child will add your name and voice to our efforts.
Volunteer
Give Us Your Greatest Gift: Your Time!
Volunteers are an essential force behind Healthy Child Healthy World. The generosity of people like you enables us to carry out our mission and educate the public about preventing toxic environmental exposures. Every year, people across the country give their time and talent to serve in a variety of ways. From helping out at the Healthy Child Healthy World headquarters to helping organize and coordinate events all over the country, we have many volunteer opportunities. Come join in and help us protect children!
If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email with your experience, availability and desired volunteer opportunity to volunteer@healthychild.org or call the Volunteer Coordinator at 310-820-2030.
Volunteer Opportunities Include:
Administrative support: Running errands, staffing the office, proofing, word processing, and desktop publishing -- all the miscellaneous work that keeps the organization 'alive'.
Technical: Web page design and upkeep, fixing code and adding new web programs, server/workstation installation and repair, database repair.
Development work: Event planning, fund raising, grant writing, public relations.
Organizational: Accounting, business management, facilitation.
Artistic work: Graphic design and visual art both for the web site and printed material.
Languages: Translation, interpretation.
Legal: For anyone who is an attorney, paralegal, law student, or trained legal observer.
Our Quality Standards
It is our mission to inspire parents to protect children from harmful chemicals, reduce environmental impacts, and promote resource conservation.
We believe consumer products should not only be safe and non-toxic for people, but they should also be safe and non-toxic for the environment.
We believe consumers value the health and environmental effects of the products they buy, but lack the time to research high-quality non-toxic options.
We welcome the opportunity to partner with products and services that fall within our guidelines and pass our strict screening and due diligence investigations.
We believe our partner companies should have integrity and transparency regarding their products and expect companies to honestly screen their submissions based on our criteria.
In order to fulfill our mission and goals, our Trusted Partners must guarantee their products:
Do not contain ingredients that are chronically toxic – including carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxicants, mutagens, and teratogens
Easy one-page guides that take you, step-by-step, through simple and effective prevention methods for all kinds of situations, from improving indoor air quality to picking fruit.
A great resource that explains in simple and clear language the important preventive techniques and science to help you guard your child from harmful environmental exposures. Great for those who want to dig deeper and learn about even more meaningful ways to keep their environments free from harm.
Our subscription-based newsletter highlights best practices for keeping your children healthy. Learn how to prevent harmful environmental exposures with new information, science articles, current news, Healthy Child updates, non-toxic products, and useful tips.
Great resources to use at home, or to share with your child’s schools and childcare providers and your community. From educational videos to great handbooks that guide you through safer and healthier lifestyle choices.
A simple scientific resource that describes chemicals encountered in your daily life providing you with the description of the chemical, health effects and solutions to exposure, significant statistics and a list of more resources to make you an expert about any chemical listed.
For a detailed list of chemicals, use this database of household products provided by the National Institutes of Health.
An alphabetized list of definitions of the vocabulary used in articles and resources to create a healthy environment for children. For detailed list of definitions of terms used in toxicology,
check this IUPAC Glossary provided by the US National Library of Medicine.
Information about state and federal legislations and policies enabling you to take action and influence politicians in deciding on current critical issues effecting children.
Q: I read the interview with Kelly Preston in Redbook about her son having Kawasaki Disease. My daughter had the same disease in 1997. Thankfully, she's fully recovered now. Just before my daughter got sick, her kindergarten classroom was flooded and the school had the carpets cleaned several times. The kids took a nap everyday on mats placed on the floor.
I’m beginning to wonder if my daughter’s illness could be connected to carpet cleaner. Is there a safer way to clean my carpets at home?
A: We’re very sorry to hear about your daughter's bout with Kawasaki Disease, but are glad to know she's fully recovered. Although some studies have shown an association between carpet cleaning and Kawasaki’s disease, researchers have not been able to prove it.
There are plenty of other reasons to be concerned about carpet cleaners—some contain dangerous solvents and pesticides that children can inhale or ingest when they play on carpet.
Carpets tend to hold onto everything, including pesticides, air pollutants, lead and mercury. Carpets also harbor dust mites and can easily become moldy. Both dust mites and mold are potent asthma and allergy triggers. For these reasons, proper cleaning of carpets is essential.
Q: I’ve been looking for safer cleaning products in my supermarket and found some with ingredients from oranges. Are these safe? Also, do you have "recipes" for different cleaning and disinfecting jobs?
A: There are now a number of cleaners on the market that promote themselves as citrus-based. Usually, these contain d-limonene, a natural oil found in orange and lemon peel. While d-limonene, in the quantities used in these cleaners, is not very dangerous, it can be irritating to eyes and lungs, especially for sensitive individuals and some asthmatics. Another concern is that the cleaner may contain ingredients besides the orange oil that could be dangerous.
Before choosing any cleaning product, read labels carefully. Unfortunately, manufacturers are not required to list ingredients on package labels. Nevertheless, they do carry warnings.
You can also mix up effective cleaners from ingredients in your pantry, like vinegar and baking soda. We encourage you to experiment to find what works best for you.
Q: I am getting ready to paint a mural in my 3-year-old's room. Is the paint sold as "Kid's Paint" safe?
A: Today, the main concern with new paints is their fumes. That “new paint smell” comes from chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are released while paint is wet. Breathing large amounts of VOCs can cause headaches, fatigue, dizziness or difficulty breathing. Longterm exposure to some VOCS, which are found in many household products besides paint, may cause cancer and/or brain damage. Children tend to inhale a larger dose of VOCs than adults, since they take in more air pound for pound. So it’s best to minimize their exposure whenever possible.
Oil-based paints contain the highest level of VOCs, while water-based latex paints generally contain far less. Look on the paint labels and choose paint with a VOC content of less than 200 grams/liter. (The U.S. EPA standard requires the VOC-content of paints to be below 250 g/l.)
For asthmatics and other sensitive individuals, you can also find low- and no-VOC paints. “Natural” paints, while containing natural ingredients, are not necessarily low-VOC. For more information, see Step3 of The Five Easy Steps.
If your home was built before 1978 and you will be sanding the walls, make sure to test for lead paint. Remember to ventilate well while painting. Don’t allow your child in the room while it is being painted and wait until the fumes have completely disappeared before letting your child sleep in the room.
4. Flea Control
Q: Pests bug me! How do we safely treat our yard and home for fleas with a 6-month-old baby?
A: You're right to be concerned about the pesticides used in flea products — many of them can cause cancer or neurological damage. As your child grows up, he or she will probably hug your pet often. This natural behavior increases exposure to any toxic chemicals on the animal. Not to mention the fact that your pet is at risk, too.
There are plenty of less toxic ways to deal with fleas, but keep in mind that none of them provide an instant solution. The first step is prevention by taking care to keep your pet clean, using herbal products, and vacuuming frequently. If the fleas manage to move in, there are several different solutions, from flea combs to diatomaceous earth. For more information, see Step1 of The Five Easy Steps.
5. Insect Repellent
Q: I want to protect my kids from West Nile Virus. What's an effective and safe insect repellent that I can either buy or make myself?
A: DEET is the most common and effective insect repellent on the market today, but at high strengths it can cause skin irritation, headaches or nausea, and may affect a child’s central nervous system. Some DEET products also contain permethrin, a pesticide that should not be applied to skin!
The best protection against bug bites is covering up! Herbal alternatives, while increasing in popularity, vary in efficacy. If you choose to use a product with DEET on your children, make sure it contains less than 10 percent of the chemical and NEVER apply DEET to a child under two years old.
Q: My deck and my children’s playset are made of pressure treated wood, which I’ve heard could be dangerous. What are my alternatives?
A: For many years, more than 90 percent of all pressure treated wood contained chromium copper arsenic (CCA), an arsenic-laden wood preservative to prevent damage from rot, insects and fungi. Arsenic, a known human carcinogen, can leach to the surface of the wood and into surrounding soil, exposing children to unsafe levels. Tests have shown that even years after installation, arsenic continues to leach from pressure treated wood.
In 2002, wood manufacturers agreed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to phase out CCA-treated wood by December 31, 2003. Many manufacturers and retailers have already complied, switching to safer alternatives.
Alternatives to chemically treated wood include recycled plastic or naturally rot-resistant domestic woods like aromatic cedar and black locust. Playground equipment and decking materials may be available in these materials — check with the manufacturers directly.
7. Beauty Products and Breastfeeding
Q: My baby is 7 weeks old, and I am breastfeeding. Prior to being pregnant, I used hair dye and nail polish, but I stopped using them during my pregnancy. I'm wondering if I can resume my beauty rituals — should I worry about toxic chemicals in my breast milk?
A: Kudos for making the commitment to breastfeeding! It’s wise of you to be cautious about what you use while nursing, since many chemicals can make their way into human breast milk. Still experts agree that the benefits of breastfeeding far outweigh any risks.
Many doctors do advise against using chemical hair dyes while pregnant or nursing. The most dangerous hair dyes are the dark colors. There are some natural options though, such as henna and herbal dyes.
Recent reports show that many cosmetics, including some hair sprays, nail polishes and perfumes, contain phthalates, which pregnant and nursing women should also avoid.
Q: I’ve heard that chemicals in plastic containers can leach into some foods when they are heated in the microwave. Is the same true about foods stored in plastic, like take-out containers or plastic wrap? Are there any safe alternatives to these kinds of products?
A: According to several scientific studies, trace amounts of some chemicals can leach from plastic into food. For example, polystyrene from foam cups or containers can leach into hot drinks or meats. Researchers have found that bisphenol-A can enter baby formula when it is heated in polycarbonate plastic bottles. And phthalates, used to soften PVC plastic, can also migrate into foods stored in it. The chemicals in plastics are generally more likely to migrate into high-fat or acidic foods, such as meats, cheeses, tomato sauce, etc., when heated, such as in the microwave. Therefore, it is best to transfer foods to non-plastic containers and making sure that plastic wrap does not touch food when heating it in the microwave.
Plastics to avoid for food storage and heating are PVC (#3), polystyrene (#6) and polycarbonate (often marked #7). Step5 of The Five Easy Steps will help you identify safer choices. For alternatives, see Shopper's Guide to Plastics & Food. There you’ll find a link to a downloadable Plastics Products Chart.
9. Pesticide Spraying Policies in Your Neighborhood
Q: My son is asthmatic and my next door neighbor is constantly applying chemicals to his lawn. I am afraid to send my son out to play because I think he's in danger inhaling all of those chemicals. Is there anything I can do to protect him from these pesticides as well as those used in the park and his school?
A: If you’ve taken step to eliminate pesticides in your home, in can be particularly frustrating to have to deal with pesticide applications by neighbors, schools and parks. As you know, pesticides don't obey property lines and often drift via wind or rain.
Some local and state governments have passed pesticide notification laws, which require homeowners, landlords, municipalities, schools and other to post signs before spraying pesticides to allow citizens enough time to protect themselves by staying away. That would help you know when to keep your son indoors or away from the park.
Even if there is no law on the books where you live, you can still ask your neighbor to let you know when he is spraying. Also ask what he’s using, so that you can get obtain health and safety information from CHEC’s HealtheHouse or other sources, such as those listed in Research Tools on The Web. Perhaps you can convince him that the chemicals are dangerous and provide him with information on alternatives, such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM). You can also try to work with other like-minded neighbors to put pressure on your neighbor. Some schools have adopted pesticide policies that require the use of IPM, usually because parents have put pressure on their school officials.
10. Indoor Air Pollution
Q: I am the mother of a 17 month-old baby. Babies spend so much time indoors, and I’m worried that my baby is breathing bad air.
A: Poor indoor air quality is a common problem in many different kinds of homes—from urban apartments to suburban houses to farms to mobile homes. Air pollutants enter homes from many sources, such as carpets, cleaners, paints, pesticides, personal care products, art supplies, gas appliances, fireplaces, cigarette smoke. Outdoor air pollution can get trapped indoors. And conditions in the home can promote the growth of mold and dustmites.
To assess your home, we suggest you take the Health eHome Quiz to help you identify sources of pollution in your home. The results will also provide you with tips on how to minimize the specific problems in your home.
Q: My child has been ill for some time and I suspect that she may have been exposed to something in the environment. How can I find appropriate medical care? Can you refer me to a doctor in my area?
A: HCHW is not in the position to screen medical professionals for referrals, nor can we offer medical advice. However, there are 11 special centers called Pediatric Environmental Health Speciality Units (PEHSUs) in the U.S. The PEHSU closest to you may be able to assist you or your doctor in treating your child. For a list of the PEHSUs, see Special Centers for Pediatric Environmental Health.
12. Identifying Toxic Substances
Q: What is a toxic subtance?
A: A toxic substance is any chemical or mixture that is harmful to the environment, animals, or to human health if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin. A "poison" is another name for a toxic substance that kills, injures or impairs a living organism.
Toxic substances can be found in many of the common products used around the home, including oven and drain cleaners, laundry detergents, floor and furniture polish, paints, and pesticides. Caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol are other examples of toxic substances.
Just as know when you think of caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol, a person’s response to the same amount of a toxic substance can vary from individual to individual. Therefore, depending on the individual, exposure to a toxic substance may result in no ill effects, effects that are reversible, or effects that have permanent consequences. At high to extremely high doses (much higher than the average person can consume on a regular basis), a toxic substance might be able to cause birth defects or other serious outcomes including brain damage, coma, or death.
13. Identifying Pesticides
Q: What is a pesticide?
A: Pesticides are chemicals used to prevent, repel, or kill pests such as termites, fleas and other insects, mice and other animals, as well as weeds, fungi, and microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. Most pesticides contain chemicals that can be harmful to people, animals, or the environment. Examples of products that contain pesticides include insect repellents, insect bait traps, and pet flea and tick products. Some common household cleaning products also are considered pesticides. These products include disinfectants, mildew and mold removers, some swimming pool chemicals, and some lawn and garden products that kill weeds and insects.
14. Harmful Household Products
Q: How can I tell if the products used to clean or maintain my home are harmful or dangerous?
A: The product label will indicate how toxic or hazardous a product might be. Look for the words "caution," "warning," and "danger." Each of these words represents an elevated level of concern. For example, "caution" means that a product could hurt you; it could bother your skin, make you sick if you breathe the fumes, or hurt your eyes if the product got in them. "Warning" is more serious than "caution" and indicates that you could become sick or seriously hurt with improper handling of the product. "Warning" is also used to identify products that can easily catch on fire. "Danger" indicates serious concern. Be extremely careful when handling products that contain the word danger on the label. If used incorrectly, you could become very sick, be hurt for a long time, go blind, or even die. "Danger" is also used on products to indicate that they could explode if they get hot.
Always read a product’s label first to learn how to use the product and for the safety information. Always use products only for what the label says they are intended for, where the label says they are intended to be used, and never use more of a product (or make it stronger) than the product label states is needed.
15. Accidental Exposure
Q: Where should I call for help if I'm accidentally exposed to pesticides or household products?
A: Check the label for any emergency instructions or an emergency phone number. If the label does not indicate what to do, or if you are unsure of what to do, don't hesitate to call your poison control center (800-222-1222; all poison control centers have the same phone number), call 911, or call your local emergency ambulance number. It’s always wise to permanently post these numbers next to your phone as well as your children's ages and weights and your veterinarian’s phone number too. If possible, have the product container or label with you. If possible, tell the emergency personnel how much chemical came in contact with you or your child’s body and specifically what body part came into contact with the chemical.
Although there may be specific steps to take based on the type of chemical exposure, here are some general "rules of thumb" to follow for four types of exposure scenarios:
Actions to take for four types of exposures:
If a chemical splashes into your eyes, rinse your eyes under a faucet or in the shower for 15 to 20 minutes. Then call the poison control center or other local emergency numbers.
If a chemical splashes onto your skin, remove the wet clothing and rinse the skin under a faucet or in the shower for 15 to 20 minutes. Then call the poison control center or other local emergency numbers.
If poisonous fumes are inhaled, get to fresh air quickly. Open windows and doors. Then call the poison control center or other local emergency numbers.
If someone is not breathing or won’t wake up, call 111 or your local emergency ambulance number.
16. Using and Storing Household Chemicals and Pesticides
Q: What should I know about using and storing household chemicals and pesticides?
A: Tips for safely using products
Always read the label first before buying, storing, or using any household cleaners or pesticide-containing products. Product labels contain such useful information as how to safely use and store the product, first aid instructions, and phone numbers to call for help or additional information. Make sure you are buying the right product for the job; try to buy only what you need, and use only the amount indicated on the label.
Follow all label instructions and precautions. Directions and warning tell you how to use the product safely and correctly. Be sure to follow warnings to open windows, wear gloves, and not breathe product dust and fumes. Keep children and pets away from treated areas as directed by the instructions on the label.
Tips for safely storing products
Follow the storage instructions as listed on the product label.
Always keep products in their original containers with the lids on tight. Never use emptied beverage or food containers, which could be mistaken by children and others to still contain the favorite food or beverage. Even if the label is removed or replaced with a new hand-written label, remember that your child may not be able to read the label. Also, by keeping products in their original containers, the label can be referred to for proper and safe use.
Never spray or store household cleaners or pesticides near pet food or water dishes or in cabinets where human or animal food or medicine is stored.
Keep all products out of the reach of children and pets. Keep all pesticides and harmful household cleaners in a locked cabinet. If your child has gotten into household chemicals or pesticides in the past, be especially careful about storing products safely away. Some children repeatedly get into poisons.
Periodically conduct a home survey of all household cleaning and pesticide product’s check for loose caps and properly dispose of out-of-date products. If the label of a container is damaged and can no longer be read, consider the product harmful or out-of-date and dispose of it properly.
To properly dispose of leftover or unwanted household products or pesticides, call your local solid waste management authority, environmental agency, or health department. Many communities offer a "hazardous waste collection day." Never dispose of these products by pouring them on the ground, in a stream, down the sink, into the toilet or down a sewer. Keep in mind that pets and children can get into trashcans; therefore, do not dispose of unwanted household products or pesticides in this fashion. Never bury or burn the products. Improper disposal pollutes the environment.
Store flammable products outside your living area and away from other appliances, such as heaters, furnaces, outdoor grills, which could cause the product to catch on fire.
Keep all medicines out of the reach of children. Buy only small quantities in child-resistant packaging. Never call medicine candy. Never give or take medication in the dark. Keep in mind that even though over-the-counter medications can be purchased without a prescription, some products can be dangerous to pets and children if swallowed ñ even in small quantities. Ingestion of small quantities of salicylates (ASA or aspirin-containing products, such as Bayer), for example, can be deadly in small children. Visine eye drops with tetrahydrozoline are a commonly used medicine that does not have a child-resistant cap and can be deadly to small children if swallowed.
Policy Reform & Taking Action
Your children can’t stay in the safety of your home, under your watchful eye forever. In order to create a healthy environment, no matter where they are, we have to take action, together, to make the world a healthier place — not just our homes.
We want you to have the tools to make bigger changes. And, trust us, you can – just like our inspiring Moms on a Mission. We’ve been empowering people for years, and they have done some pretty amazing things. What are you waiting for?
ALERT! Help us reform the nation’s outdated chemical regulations! It’s one of the most important things you can do. Act now.
Healthy Community Toolkit
Green Your Home
The Healthy Child Healthy World GREEN HOME GUIDE has been a long time coming. This is our indispensable online guide created for those of you wanting to transform your living space into a healthier, greener and more efficient place to raise your family. We've included easy-to-do tips, expert advice, and smart solutions, which will eliminate any difficulty or guesswork from the process of transforming your home, loft or apartment into that healthy and eco-friendly environment you deserve.
Coming soon...
Healthy Home Parties
Get involved by hosting a Healthy Home Party
a strategic partnership with:
Healthy Child Healthy World, LUNA and Klean Kanteen share your passion for creating healthy environments for children. We want to help you raise awareness through community education. With the information provided in a Healthy Home Party Kit, you can educate and empower your family, friends, schools, and community to protect children’s health and development from common toxins. YOU can make a difference by inspiring others to take Easy Steps to create healthier living environments.
Our Healthy Home Party Kit is available for a minimum tax deductible donation of ONLY $20, thanks to great sponsors such as: Klean Kanteen, LUNA, Weil Baby, Activeion and many more. Every host will receive two packages, one party kit and one ionator HOM (provided by Activeion) for a trial period of 30 days. Due to a large number of orders, ionator HOM units are currently out of stock until the end of March. Please make sure you receive both packages before hosting your Healthy Home Party.
Due to limited resources, we can only provide ONE kit per household, per year. If you want to receive a second Healthy Home Party Kit within the one-year time limit, we require a $100 donation to cover expenses. Please note: We DO NOT ship outside the US or to PO Boxes.
Due to the popularity of our Healthy Home Party Kits, it is currently taking longer to fulfill orders. It can take up to 3-4 weeks for delivery, so please plan accordingly. To make sure you receive a Healthy Home Party Kit before they are sold-out, sign up NOW. It's a great way to spread awareness about children's health issues in your community and have your voice heard.
And this year, hosting a Healthy Home Party just got even easier. Join our network of experts, trusted partners, and fellow party people for a Twitter Party on the third Thursday of every month at 6pm PST. During these live discussions we will:
Offer tips and tricks for hosting a successful party;
Answer any questions you may have been unable to answer at your party;
Introduce you to safer products that are or will be included in the kit; and
Discuss different ways to use the kit to advocate for change in your community.
How to Attend the HHP Kit Twitter Party:
Join our discussion by using the #healthychild hashtag in each of your tweets so we can all follow the conversation.
Follow @healthy_child and @greenandhealthy, so you can respond to the discussion.
Use Tweet Grid to make following the conversation easier.
Health eHouse
This interactive virtual house helps make it easy for you to identify environmental health hazards in the home. It also has a powerful interactive quiz that offers personalized information for everyone’s lifestyle and home.
Today, over 125 million Americans (overwhelmingly children) face an unprecedented rise in cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD/ADHD, learning and developmental disabilities and other conditions. Credible scientific evidence increasingly points to environmental hazards and household chemicals as causing and contributing to many of these diseases.
There are 6,400 hospitals in the United States and Naturepedic is willing to provide mattresses to every one of them! Absolutely free. They're even paying for the shipping. And they are asking for nothing in return.
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Information about state and federal legislations and policies enabling you to take action and influence politicians in deciding on current critical issues effecting children.
A simple scientific resource that describes chemicals encountered in your daily life providing you with the description of the chemical, health effects and solutions to exposure, significant statistics and a list of more resources to make you an expert about any chemical listed.
Great resources to use at home, or to share with your child’s schools and childcare providers and your community. From educational videos to great handbooks that guide you through safer and healthier lifestyle choices.
An alphabetized list of definitions of the vocabulary used in articles and resources to create a healthy environment for children. For detailed list of definitions of terms used in toxicology, check this 
Eat Healthy is a comprehensive, easy-to-read online recipe and healthy food guide.
Great guides from us and our partners for all areas of your family's health. Take these easy steps towards a healthier home and life!
Start here with The 5 Easy Steps and discover that you can do something. Learn the uncomplicated facts, what you can do, and what is important to avoid. We then help you find the products and companies that help you create a safer, greener, healthier life.
A great resource that explains in simple and clear language the important preventive techniques and science to help you guard your child from harmful environmental exposures. Great for those who want to dig deeper and learn about even more meaningful ways to keep their environments free from harm.
Experts answer questions previously asked by many parents striving to create a healthy environment for their children and themselves.
Easy one-page guides that take you, step-by-step, through simple and effective prevention methods for all kinds of situations, from improving indoor air quality to picking fruit.
A printable list of ways you can take easy action steps to create a healthier home and community for your children..jpg)
Huffington Post: 
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Not Under My Roof!: Protecting Your Baby at Home is a 17-minute educational DVD, co-hosted by Olivia Newton-John and Kelly Preston. Speaking from personal experience, Olivia and Kelly highlight toxic exposures occurring in the home, unique health risks to children, and simple, healthier alternatives.
Creating Healthy Environments for Children: Easy Steps for Homes, Child Care Centers and Schools is a 20-minute educational DVD which includes informational presentations on how to protect children's environmental health, Tool Kits, fact sheets, and quizzes for child care centers and schools, community action guides, and effective ways to make your voice heard and spread awareness about children's health issues in your community.
Written by Brenda Platt, Tom Lent and Bill Walsh
Our subscription-based newsletter highlights best practices for keeping your children healthy. Learn how to prevent harmful environmental exposures with new information, science articles, current news, Healthy Child updates, non-toxic products, and useful tips..gif)
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Due to the popularity of our Healthy Home Party Kits, it is currently taking longer to fulfill orders. It can take up to 3-4 weeks for delivery, so please plan accordingly. To make sure you receive a Healthy Home Party Kit before they are sold-out, 
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