Laura Spark – Page 4 – Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow

Vermont Takes First in Nation Action on PFAS

May 14, 2021

May 11, 2021, Vermont Public Interest Research Group: “Today, the Vermont Legislature gave final approval to a nation-leading bill that would restrict the sale of consumer products that contain toxic chemicals known as PFAS. The bill now heads to the Governor for his signature. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), and Vermont Conservation Voters released the following statements in response. “The legislature has taken a major step forward to protect communities and firefighters from toxic forever…

TJX announces new chemical policy

February 9, 2021

Laura Spark

Mind the Store, Toxic Chemicals

TJX just announced a new chemical policy. The store will eliminate bisphenols from cash register receipts and ensure that all its compostable foodware in its corporate cafeterias is PFAS-free. They are engaging chemical policy experts to help them identify ways to get toxic chemicals out of the products they sell. We applaud TJX for moving forward on safety! https://iehn.org/resources/entry/tjx-announces-new-restrictions-on-toxic-chemicals

CNN: “Toxic Chemical May be in Food Wrapper & Take out Containers, Report Says”

August 6, 2020

Laura Spark

Mind the Store, State Campaigns, Toxic Chemicals

On Aug 6, 2020, CNN covered the findings of a recent report on PFAS in food packaging. The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families report, “Packaged in Pollution: Are food chains using PFAS in packaging?,” found toxic PFAS in food packaging at Burger King, Wendy’s and McDonalds. “As the largest fast-food chain in the world, McDonald’s has a responsibility to its customers to keep them safe. These dangerous chemicals don’t belong in its food packaging. I, for one, am NOT ‘lovin’ it,’”…

Common fire retardants killing firefighters UVic report says

June 11, 2020

Laura Spark

Flame Retardants, State Campaigns, Toxic Chemicals

by Stephen Hume, Vancouver Sun, May 15, 2020 Flame retardants routinely added to common household products are killing firefighters, putting children and pregnant women at risk and contaminating the environment while not significantly improving safety, says a new report.Raising the Alarm: The Case for Better Flame Retardant Regulation in Canada was prepared by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre for Local 730 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents firefighters at the Victoria Fire Department. It surveyed…

Staples announces new chemicals policy

December 1, 2019

Laura Spark

Flame Retardants, Mind the Store, Toxic Chemicals

https://saferchemicals.org/2019/10/31/staples-launches-new-policy-to-drive-toxic-chemicals-out-of-office-supplies-electronics-textiles-and-other-products/

WBUR asks: What are PFAS and should I be freaking out about them?

December 1, 2019

Laura Spark

State Campaigns, Toxic Chemicals, Uncategorized

WBUR’s Senior Enviromental Reporter Barbara Moran explains what you need to know about PFAS, a class of thousands of chemicals that are ubiquitous in the environment and harmful in very small quantities. Read WBUR’s article on PFAS.

Toxic sludge from MWRA spreading PFAS throughout New England

December 1, 2019

Laura Spark

State Campaigns, Toxic Chemicals

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has been selling its sludge for the past 30 years, piping biosolids to a Quincy wastewater treatment plant that dries out the slurry and packages it into bags of Bay State Fertilizer. MWRA sells and donates this fertilizer to farms, golf courses, and other properties throughout New England. On December 1, 2019, The Boston Globe reported that MWRA tests, conducted last March, found PFAS chemicals in sludge at levels of 18,000 per trillion. PFAS chemicals…

Toxic Hall of Shame

November 29, 2019

Laura Spark

Mind the Store, PFAS, Toxic Chemicals, Uncategorized

If you are sipping coffee at Starbucks, nibbling on McNuggets, or picking up a sweaters at Marshall’s, you are shopping at one of the retailers that earned an “F” in Mind the Store’s recently released 2019 Retailer Report Card. Fourteen brands earned this grade for their failure to make even the most basic commitments to removing toxic chemicals from their products and packaging. This is the 4th year the Mind the Store has released its report card, which evaluates store…