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Safer
Chemicals Charter
From Niagara Falls to Montauk
Point, we are exposed to hazardous industrial, agricultural, and
household chemicals and carry these poisons in our bodies.
Our air, water and soil, our homes, and the food we eat are all
contaminated. Diseases linked to these chemicals are on the
rise, including birth defects, infertility, asthma, neurological
problems, and some forms of cancer. At the front lines of
this chemical assault -- at the fencelines of polluting facilities, in
workplaces handling hazardous materials, in pesticide-laden
agricultural fields, and in the wombs of mothers -- the burden is
greatest. This chemical burden is unprecedented in human
history and represents a major failure of the current chemical
management system.
Fundamental reform is necessary to protect people, the environment, and
the food web. That reform will require a new vision that
meets the needs of society while restoring and protecting health and
the systems that support us. It will require a transformation
in our thinking and a change in the direction of government and market
priorities. It will require action to phase out the most
dangerous chemicals, to innovate safer alternatives, and to protect
high-risk communities.
Cleaner and safer chemicals, products, and production processes are
feasible. Leading companies are developing and using these
technologies, providing a roadmap for a new approach to production that
supports life and health. While innovative companies are
adopting new technologies, policy change is necessary to transform
entire markets.
A first step to creating a safe and healthy environment is major reform
of New York’s chemical policy. Reform must:
- Require Safer Substitutes and Solutions -- seek
to eliminate hazardous chemical use and emissions by altering
production processes, substituting safer chemicals, redesigning
products and systems, and rewarding innovation. Safer
substitution includes an obligation on the part of the public and
private sectors to invest in research and development for sustainable
chemicals, products, materials, and processes.
- Phase-out Persistent, Bioaccumulative, or
Highly Toxic Chemicals -- prioritize for elimination chemicals that are
slow to degrade, accumulate in the body, or are highly hazardous to
humans or the environment.
- Give the Public and Workers the Full
Right-To-Know -- label products that contain hazardous chemicals, list
quantities of hazardous chemicals used in agriculture and in
manufacturing facilities, provide public access to safety data on
chemicals, and disclose all inert ingredients used in pesticides.
- Act on Early Warnings -- act to prevent harm
when credible evidence exists that harm is occurring or is likely to
occur, even when some uncertainty remains regarding the exact nature
and magnitude of the harm.
- Require Comprehensive Safety Data for All
Chemicals -- assume that a chemical is highly hazardous unless
comprehensive safety data are available for the chemical and require
manufacturers to provide this data for a chemical to remain on the
market -- this is the principle of "No Data, No Market."
- Take Immediate Action to Protect Communities
and Workers – When communities and workers are exposed to
levels of chemicals that pose an immediate health hazard, immediate
action is necessary to eliminate these exposures.
Implementing these reforms is a first step in overhauling an antiquated
chemical management system that fails to protect public health and the
environment. By implementing the Alliance for a Toxic-Free
Future’s Safer Chemicals Charter and committing to the
innovation of safer chemicals and processes, NY’s government
and companies doing business in NY will be leading the way toward a
healthier economy and a healthier society.
Click here
to see list of endorsers
Brominated
Flame Retardant Ban
Toxic
Fire Retardants Persist and Bioaccumulate
Scientists and advocates are increasingly concerned with a set of
chemicals previously assumed safe: brominated flame retardants,
especially polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) The three most common
BDEs are penta-, octa- and deca-BDE, referring to the number of bromine
molecules they contain: five eight, and ten, respectively. These toxic
flame retardants are rapidly accumulating in our bodies and
environment, and have been increasingly linked to serious health
problems.
PBDEs are widely used in televisions, stereos, computers, hair dryers,
toasters, draperies, and upholstery fabrics. PBDEs are found nearly
everywhere scientists look for them, up and down the food chain. The
level of PBDEs in people's bodies is doubling every 2.5 years. American
women's breast milk and breast tissue contain the highest levels found
in people anywhere in the world.
Studies have linked PBDE exposure to disrupted brain development, which
can permanently impair learning and movement, delayed onset of puberty
in males and females, impaired development of reproductive organs,
decreased sperm count, lowered thyroid hormone levels, and thyroid and
pancreatic cancers.
Safer
Alternatives are Available
The bromine industry claims there are no alternatives to deca-BDE, but
companies have already redesigned products to eliminate the need for
brominated chemical additives. For example, Apple is replacing the
plastic exterior casings on its new laptops with metal to negate the
need for flame retardants and Toshiba now uses an inherently flame
resistant plastic for casings of electronics. Many companies have
achieved safer flame retardant features in their products by finding
safer chemical substitutes. For example, IBM mandates its suppliers not
use PBDEs and NEC plans to phase out all BFR use by 2011.
The bromine industry also claims that deca-BDE is safe, because its
molecules are too large to be taken up into the body. However, these
flame retardants have a tendency to "debrominate," or shed bromine
molecules over time, into the more readily assimilated octa- and
penta-BDE.
Senator Marcellino, Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chair
introduced and Assemblymember Thomas DiNapoli, Assembly Environmental
Conservation Committee Chair, sponsored a bill phasing out all three
PBDEs. After intensive bromine industry lobbying, the Senate abruptly
withdrew their bill, and reintroduced one in which all mention of
deca-BDE was stripped. This legislation was dead in the water, since
the revised bill had no support in the Assembly, which still supported
a full phase out. Citizens' Environmental Coalition's collaboration
with our national network enabled us to convince policymakers of the
need to revise the bill to include deca-BDE.
Broad
Support for a Ban
The State Legislature passed a bill which will phase out penta- and
octa-BDE by January 1, 2006 and will create a task force to evaluate
the ready availability of safer, cost- and performance effective
alternatives to deca-BDE, to report back to the legislature by December
31st, 2005. The bill went to Governor Pataki on August 5th, and the
Governor has since signed it into law. CEC applauds NY's government for
taking this action, for which we strongly advocated.
The task force will consist of thirteen members, seven of whom are
appointed by the governor: the Commissioner of Environmental
Conservation, the Commissioner of Health, the Secretary of State, and
four others. Senator Bruno will appoint three task force members and
Speaker Silver will appoint three members. The ten at large members of
the task force should include: two representatives of organizations
whose prime function is the enhancement of the environmental quality of
the state; two representatives from the brominated flame retardant
manufacturing industry; two representatives with expertise in the area
of environmental health from academic institutions; two representatives
from industries that manufacture products that use flame retardants and
two health care professionals with expertise in the area of
environmental health.
CEC will continue to provide relevant information to task force
members, to ensure that its information and resource gathering and
compiling results in a timely, democratic, unbiased report back to the
legislature. For more information about toxic flame retardants, contact
CEC at (518) 462-5527.
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