Gail MCCormick is a member of the Massachusetts delegation to the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families’ Stroller Brigade for Safe Chemicals in Washington DC. Gail is a mother of two, a grandmother of three, and a dedicated activist. Though she’s lived in 12 different states in her lifetime, she’s lived in Massachusetts for 17 years and currently calls Arlington home. When her children were young, Gail’s family went through a harrowing experience of toxic chemical exposure that opened her eyes to…

By Cindy Luppi, New England Director, Clean Water Action April is here and for many, the top thing on our minds is the early days of spring–whether we can shelve our winter coats, maybe how close we are to Opening Day. For me, April always reminds me of my grandmother, Aubine. She was born in early April, over 100 years ago in a small town in northern Maine. When I think of her, I think of the popcorn balls she…

By Margo Simon Golden, MPH We have all been touched by cancer.  I was in my thirties, married for nine months, and diagnosed with breast cancer.   Four years later, now ten years ago, my breast cancer metastasized to my lungs.  I am grateful and thankful to all the dedicated men and women, past and present, in all capacities, who helped to develop treatment options and hope that I never run out of options.   I also support  the common sense approach…

By Katherine Friedrich, Based on an interview with Pat Smith Pat Smith had over 30 years of experience as a registered nurse. She’d been working in the same office for five years. She was used to her routine at work and at home. Since she believed products had to smell good to be clean, she used perfumed lotions, scented shampoo, dryer sheets and commercial detergent. When Pat noticed a musty smell in the carpet near her desk at work one…

By Linda Thomas – correspondent for the Medfield Press. Reprinted with permission from the Medfield Press. Cheryl Durr Patry watched as her infant son’s skin turned red. It was dry, itchy and scaly – how his little nails tried to tear it up as he cried. He was borderline colicky, she said. She tried over-the-counter creams and salves, and eliminated different foods from his diet. Then, one day, he sneezed 15 times in succession while sitting on a table she…

By Laura Spark, activist and mother I’d like to keep my kids safe.  But, 8 years ago, I used plastic sippy cups that are now being removed from the market.   I bathed my daughters in  Johnson and Johnson soaps that I thought were “pure and natural” because the label said they were.   After I read about low levels of 1-4 dioxane, a carcinogen, in Johnson and Johnson baby soap, I  I tried shifting to “natural” baby products–only to realize,  months…

By Katherine Friedrich Communications volunteer for The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow I’m ending a three-year relationship with my water bottle. We were very close for a while. But it became clear that our relationship was based on appearances, not on honesty. My water bottle’s transparent façade concealed an unnerving secret. I bought this cute yellow bottle while I was losing weight. I’ve lost 40 pounds in the past three years by making long-term lifestyle changes. Along the way, I…

You are not alone. Take comfort (and discomfort) in the fact that you share this problem with the vast majority of Americans. We’re not talking about your passive aggressive sister-in-law, or the charming so-and-so who swept you off your feet and then left town with your life savings. We are are referring to the fresh-smelling, easy-going, and utterly irresistible toxic products we spend our time with at home, at work, and everywhere we go. Bobbi Chase Wilding, from New York,…

by Elizabeth Saunders, Legislative Director for Clean Water Action My housemates and I have had some toxic relationships.  No, I don’t mean with each other, we get along great.  But there have been times when some of the products that we have used have been exposing us to more toxic chemicals than I like to admit. As an environmental activist whose job is to fight to get toxic chemicals out of our everyday products, I’m more careful than most about…