Toxic PFAS Found in 21 Massachusetts sites
https://patch.com/massachusetts/danvers/toxic-pfas-found-19-places-massachusetts
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Minnesota latest state to ban toxic flame retardants
Congratulations to our colleagues at Clean Water Action Minnesota and to Minnesota fire fighters for passing Minnesota’s ban on toxic flame retardants in furniture, mattresses and children’s products. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/05/23/flame-retardant-ban-becomes-state-law
Minnesota firefighters don’t want toxic flame retardants
Minnesota firefighters don’t like toxic flame retardants any more than Massachusetts firefighters. That’s why Minnesota firefighters are working with a Republican Senator Jeff Howe, a former fire-figther, to get toxic flame retardants out of children’s products. The arguments in Minnesota may sound familiar. Firefighters say that flame retardants don’t slow the spread of fire. They become more toxic when burned. Read more here.
Simmons College Engages Students in Talks about Toxics
Simmons University Engages Students in Talks about Toxics MARCH 19, 2019 By Delaney Gagnon – Massachusetts Communications Intern Clean Water Action Share I’ve learned a lot about the dangers of exposure to toxic chemicals through flame retardants at Clean Water Action. They’re everywhere in our homes: in mattresses, furniture, even children’s toys. This is a really important issue to be aware of, but there is a real lack of awareness amongst my fellow college students. My school, Simmons University, offers a…
Are your clothes being greenwashed?
Have you ever walked into a dry cleaner and been bothered by the smell? Your nose knows: that unpleasant aroma could actually be toxic. For the last fifty years, dry cleaners have used perchloroethylene (perc) as their most common cleaning product. Perc is a probable human carcinogen that can cause nervous system, liver, and kidney damage. Dry cleaning workers are at most risk, but when we take dry cleaned clothes home, we expose our families to this toxic chemical as…
Toxic Injustice and the Power of Personal Stories
by Sara Moffett, Western Massachusetts Organizer People often ask me, “What do you like best about working for Clean Water Action,” and my answer is always the same: the people. For me, the most rewarding aspect of my job is connecting with folks on the diverse experiences that drive our efforts for progressive change. We all suffer the impacts of environmental degradation (some more profoundly than others), and we all have unique stories to share. Whether incensing, inspiring, or downright…
Stand up for us, not the chemical industry
It was an unseasonably warm November day when I sat down in my political ecology class at Northeastern University. My professor, Danny Faber, an environmental justice champion in the Boston area, was showing us a film called “Toxic Hot Seat.” The topic seemed mundane: flame-retardants. But after sitting through the compelling and borderline shocking documentary, I was outraged. I had just watched a step-by-step breakdown about how flame-retardants, chemicals that are supposed to protect us from essentially bursting into flames,…
Young advocates for safe cosmetics
“Dear Retail Stores, Listen up!” urges 11-year-old Sophie Alcindor. After learning about the dangers of toxic ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products at her after school program, Sophie decided to take action. In a letter addressed to major retailers, she expressed her desire for change: “We all get it that you want to make money, but are [sic] this neck to neck competition really worth it. Can customers walk in and feel safe without having to feast valuable hours just…
Laura: Mercury does not belong in your mouth
Laura Henze Russell is a member of the Massachusetts delegation to the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families’ Stroller Brigade for Safe Chemicals in Washington DC. Laura grew up on Long Island, New York. The horror of cancer hit home early for Laura when one of her friends lost her mother to the disease in high school. Unfortunately it didn’t stop there. Over time, the the majority of her friends from the neighborhood, and their mothers, have contracted breast cancer. Cancer hit…
