State and Local Governments Form Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse to Promote Toxics Reduction

Environmental officials from 10 state and local governments announced today that they have formed an umbrella organization - the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse (IC2) - to promote a clean environment, healthy communities, and a vital economy through the development and use of safer chemicals and products...
  

Read the Press Release from NEWMOA

More information about IC2

Rise in Childhood Cancers Parallels Toxic Chemical Proliferation

Last year the President's Cancer Panel report provided confirmation that exposure to toxic chemicals is an important and under-recognized risk factor for cancer, and recommended that the government take immediate action to reverse this trend. The Panel advised Congress to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act, commenting that this law is "the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants" and noting that weaknesses in the law have constrained the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from being able to properly regulate known and suspected carcinogens...

..."There are so many possible multiple sources of exposure," she said, "baby products, bath products, household products. Lindane is used to treat lice, parents put it on their childrens' heads. Do they know it causes cancer?"

In 2009, nine chemicals, including lindane, were added to a list of toxic substances that are to be eliminated under the Stockholm Convention, an international treaty.

"In Europe, the burden of proof of safety lies with the chemical companies, said Brouwer, "while here the company's right to make a profit is paramount."

New types of tumors are emerging due to exposure to new chemicals, Brouwer said. "Most people believe the government regulates chemicals, but it doesn't," she said, urging Congress to quickly reform the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Read the full article at the enviroment News Service

Find out more about Safer Chemicals, Healthy Children

Learn more about the Toxic Substances Control Act

CDC finds no link between deaths, Chinese drywall

But that doens't mean that there wasn't something nasty in that drywall...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday it has found no link between tainted Chinese drywall and the deaths of 11 people exposed to the imported drywall in Louisiana, Florida and Virginia homes...

Large quantities of defective Chinese-made drywall were imported during a past housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes five years ago. The drywall has been linked to corrosion in thousands of homes, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana...

Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the safety commission, said "hundreds, if not thousands" of homeowners have reported problems with nosebleeds, respiratory problems and other symptoms that could possibly be linked to Chinese drywall.

Read more By Cain Burdeau, Associated Press at The Mercury

California expected to curb chemicals in consumer products

By CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

As Congress struggles to reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, California in the next few months is expected to issue comprehensive rules curbing chemicals in consumer products such as toys, cosmetics and plastics...

...Under current law, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required testing on just 200 of the nearly 80,000 existing chemicals, and restricted only five.

Read the full article at the LA Times

Green Chemistry: Definitions and Principles

The Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry

1. Prevention
   It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created.
2. Atom Economy
   Synthetic methods should be designed to maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product.
3. Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses
   Wherever practicable, synthetic methods should be designed to use and generate substances that possess little or no toxicity to human health and the environment.
4. Designing Safer Chemicals
   Chemical products should be designed to effect their desired function while minimizing their toxicity.
5. Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries
   The use of auxiliary substances (e.g., solvents, separation agents, etc.) should be made unnecessary wherever possible and innocuous when used.
6. Design for Energy Efficiency
   Energy requirements of chemical processes should be recognized for their environmental and economic impacts and should be minimized. If possible, synthetic methods should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.
7. Use of Renewable Feedstocks
   A raw material or feedstock should be renewable rather than depleting whenever technically and economically practicable.
8. Reduce Derivatives
   Unnecessary derivatization (use of blocking groups, protection/ deprotection, temporary modification of physical/chemical processes) should be minimized or avoided if possible, because such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.
9. Catalysis
   Catalytic reagents (as selective as possible) are superior to stoichiometric reagents.
10. Design for Degradation
    Chemical products should be designed so that at the end of their function they break down into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in the environment.
11. Real-time analysis for Pollution Prevention
    Analytical methodologies need to be further developed to allow for real-time, in-process monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances.
12. Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention
    Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process should be chosen to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions, and fires.

From the book Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice by Paul Anastas and John Warner

Check out Advancing Green Chemistry's website for more information

Massachusetts introduces bill for "Safer Alternatives" to toxic chemicals

Source: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pikespice/3774854067/)

Massachusetts legislators are filing a bill this week to protect children, families and workers from harmful chemicals found in everyday household products from window cleaner to shampoo... 

..The legislation, called The Safer Alternatives Bill, would require businesses to replace toxic chemicals with safer ones if there are ones available. It also sets up a review system for other chemicals. This is the 6th year the bill will be filed in Massachusetts, but despite the budget woes of the state, environmentalists say they expect to make headway.

Read the full story by Beth Daley at Boston.com's Green Blog

Call or write your Massachusetts legislator today to let them know you support this bill

Oh the irony! Sunscreen ingrediant linked to skin cancer when activated by sunlight

Source: JulienNarboux (Beach and people.) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

 A key independent science advisory panel has voted to confirm federal researchers' conclusion that retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A found in two-fifths of U.S. sunscreens, speeds the development of skin tumors and lesions when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight...

Read the full article at ewg.org

See EWG's analysis of the raw NTP study data

Find a safe sunscreen with EWG's Sunscreen Guide

Good Guide iPhone app

Source: Goodguide.com

Good news iphone users. You can now scan any barcode and see the Good Guide rating for that product.

Download the Good Guide iPhone app

Laser printers and indoor air quality

 Source: diskdepot.co.uk [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

This is not breaking news, but important nonetheless since we spend so much time indoors in office environments.

Office printer could be posing as much danger to the lungs as a drag on a cigarette, according to air quality tests by Australian scientists.

An investigation of dozens of laser printers revealed that almost 30 per cent emit potentially dangerous levels of tiny toner-like material into the air.

These ultra-fine particles are capable of infiltrating the lungs and causing lasting damage on the scale of inhaled cigarette smoke, said researcher Professor Lidia Morawska, from the Queensland University of Technology.

"Ultra-fine particles are of most concern because they can penetrate deep into the lungs where they can pose a significant health threat," Professor Morawska said...

..."The health effects from inhaling ultra-fine particles depend on particle composition, but the results can range from respiratory irritation to more severe illness such as cardiovascular problems or cancer..."

Read the full article by at in the Brisbane Times

Read the orginal research report by Morawska, et al, in the science journal Environmental Science and Technology

The CBC did their own research, see their study here



Obesogens!

 

...Hidden chemicals, called obesogens, are the building blocks of everyday household items. Researchers say they're wreaking havoc on our bodies by disrupting our hormonal systems, which affect fat cells and gene function."Certain cells that would normally differentiate into cells that would develop into, say, muscle tissue, or connective tissue, would change and develop into fat tissue or fat cells," said Dr. Theresa Piotrowski, medical director of Lahey Clinic's Medical and Surgical Weight Loss Center.

Obesogens include now infamous bisphenol-A, or BPA, phthalates, which are synthetic chemicals found in plastics, and Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is found in non-stick and stain resistant products. Obesogens are also found in plastic shower curtains, canned goods, and cosmetics."Endocrine disruptors are seen a lot in PVC plastics, a lot of kids toys, some household goods, building products, even pet toys," said Mia Davis, organizing director at Clean Water Action.

Studies have shown that 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies and that 75 percent have detectable levels of phthalates in their urine."It can take very, very low doses, the relevant doses that we're all exposed to, to cause a reaction," said Davis...

Read more at thebostonchannel.com