Why the U.S. is losing the fight to ban toxic chemicals On December 14, 2022, expert environmental reporters at ProPublica wrote this excellent analysis on the state of chemical regulation in the United States. This is a must-read article for anyone who cares about public health! Read full story at: https://www.propublica.org/article/toxic-chemicals-epa-regulation-failures
On July 28, 2022, WBUR’s Barbara Moran reported on a new National Academies of Science study that recommends blood tests and medical monitoring for people likely to have high exposure to the toxic chemicals known as PFAS. The report describes the link between blood levels of PFAS and certain illnesses. According to Moran, It concludes there is now “sufficient evidence” of association between PFAS exposure and kidney cancer in adults, decreased infant and fetal growth, decreased immune response, and…
New Washington state bill is the “fastest timeline in the nation” for phasing out PFAS Washington State has passed a new state bill that authorizes state administrators to take steps to ban PFAS in clothing, non-stick pans, cosmetics, cleaning products, and firefighter gear by 2025 In an April 27, 2022 story, Environmental Health News quotes Liz Berry, bill sponsor, who says she filed the bill after reading about a 2021 study on PFAS in breast milk. The study of 50…
Clean Water Action and Toxic Free Futures, two partners in the Mind the Store campaign, recently announced that Burger King had decided to remove all PFAS from its food packaging by 2025 at https://cleanwater.org/releases/burger-king-announces-global-ban-toxic-forever-chemicals-food-packaging
If you are in climate circles, you might be familiar with Daikin America. The company produces refrigerants and air source heat pumps. Their logo often appears in the list of corporations supporting major climate conferences, and the company emphasizes its commitment to sustainability. On September 16, 2021, Toxic Free Future released a new report, showing another side of the company’s operations. Daikin manufacture PFAS for food packaging. PFAS coating prevents wet and fatty food from soaking through paper-based food containers.…
In May 21, 2021, Sierra Club and the Ecology Center tested fertilizer products made from sewage sludge, and found that all contained toxic PFAS, despite several brands being marketed as “eco” or “natural.” Read the report at: https://www.sierraclub.org/sludge-garden-toxic-pfas-home-fertilizers-made-sewage-sludge
Sonya Lunder is a scientist and toxics advisor for Sierra Club. She is also a mother. Read her terrific Ms Magazine editorial, on her reaction to a recent studying finding PFAS in the breast milk of 100% of breastfeeding mothers (50 mothers tested in Seattle). The Infuriating Case of Toxic Chemicals in Breast Milk
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 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
