Diesel Pollution Makes Us Sick

Diesel engines emit a mixture of particles, metals and gasses including over 40 "hazardous air pollutants" as classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act. Diesel pollution can trigger asthma and cause lung cancer, stroke, and heart attack, contributing to 21,000 early deaths a year. Nationally, diesel exhaust poses a cancer risk that is 7 times greater than the combined risk of all air toxics assessed by EPA. Diesel exhaust is particularly dangerous because it is emitted at ground level - just where people breathe it in¹ .

Each year, 120 or more supporters, friends and leaders in the work of the Clean Water Fund in Southeast Pennsylvania gather along Philadelphia's historic boathouse row, in a beautiful setting that overlooks the Schuylkill River.

Location(s)

Clean Water Action is pleased to serve as a sponsor for the 12th Annual Citizens in Action Workshop. We hope that you will attend and take advantage of this opportunity to learn from a variety of experts and visit with elected leaders including Representative Frank Hornstein.

Learn about:

• How you can get involved in the political process.
• Becoming a community activist.
• How to use the new tools available for communication.

Take part in roundtable discussions about issues that matter to you. Hear and speak with local and state elected officials, including Representative Frank Hornstein.

The workshop is free and open to the public.

Executive Summary

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Bisphenol A, a hormone-disrupting chemical that is the building block of polycarbonate plastic, has been found to leach out of six major brands of popular baby bottles sold in the United States and Canada. Baby's Toxic Bottle: Bisphenol A Leaching from Popular Brands of Baby Bottles, commissioned by a coalition of U.S. and Canadian environmental health organizations, tested plastic baby bottles in the U.S. and Canada, including products made by Avent, Disney/The First Years, Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex, for leaching of bisphenol A. The U.S. bottles were purchased in nine states at major retailers: Babies"R"Us, CVS, Target, Toys"R"Us, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart. Tests found these popular bottle brands leach levels of bisphenol A (5-8 parts per billion) when heated. Laboratory experiments with animals show that exposure to this level of bisphenol A causes a range of adverse effects.¹

Erin Brockovich and Clean Water Action staff speak out in support of new Public Health Goal for chrome VI; public comment now accepted until November 2, 2009

Better late than never: Fifteen years after the Academy Award-nominated movie Erin Brockovich brought the dangers of hexavelent chromium exposure to the attention of the public, and five years after a legislature-mandated deadline for the state to set a drinking water standard, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) finally began to take action. It's probably not a coincidence that the state finally began the process of setting a standard after Clean Water Action and other allies notified them of our intent to initiate legal action for the state's failure to meet its statutory obligation to set a drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium (chromium VI).

On October 19, 2009, OEHHA held a workshop giving an overview of their draft Public Health Goal (PHG) for chromium VI. The proposed PHG specifies a maximum level of 0.06 parts per billion level (ppb) of chromium VI in drinking water (read the draft here). Clean Water Action believes this is a health protective level and supports the proposed goal. At the workshop and at a press conference that preceded it, speakers Erin Brockovich (Brockovich Research & Consulting), Virginia Madueno (Clean Water Action California, Central Valley Organizer), and Renee Sharp (Environmental Working Group California, Executive Director) urged OEHHA to expedite the finalization of this standard. Scott Davis, a resident of the impacted community of Merced, California, also spoke at the press conference. At the workshop, former State Senator Deborah Ortiz (author of SB 351, which mandates the drinking water standard) underscored the real-world impacts of chromium VI and called for the process to move forward quickly

OEHHA has set a deadline of November 2, 2009, for accepting public comment. You can help urge speedy finalization of this PHG by sending a letter to OEHHA; click here for a sample letter: Sample Letter Cal OEHA Chromium VI PHG.

If you or someone you know has been exposed to pesticides: Call 911 if there is an emergency

If the victim is unconscious, having trouble breathing or not breathing call 911 and seek medical attention.

Photo courtesy Michelle Tribe, via Creative Commons and Flick'r

Pesticide Concerns
Pesticides are all around us. They are in our homes, parks, schools and often used to grow our food. Unfortunately pesticides do not always stay on target; they can drift and cause harm even if they are applied properly.

Pesticides by design are intended to kill. Herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodentcides, germicides, sanitizers and disinfectants are all considered pesticides. Being able to buy pesticides in a store does not mean they are safe. Many pesticides require special training to apply. You must follow directions on the labels; even then you and your surroundings are subject to some risk. Most pesticides are poisons.

Location(s)

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009
Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Place: Andover-Newton Theological School, Newton Center, MA

Patrick Lucey, an aquatic biologist from British Columbia, has been an international leader in advancing new approaches to integrated water and energy management. Join us for an inspiring presentation on his work to transform barren, non-functioning landscapes into lush, lucrative enterprises. The evening will include dessert, a celebration of victories, and a forecast of what is ahead.

It's true: We told them to take a hike, and they did. Happily.

Location(s)

April 15th , 2009 10:30-11:30am, Minuteman Park, Hartford (directions below)

Tired of wondering how much toxic BPA you ate for dinner? Frustrated that the federal government has failed to take the most basic step of phasing out this hazardous, unnecessary substance from food and beverage containers?

Location(s)

Saturday, April 4, 2009 (8 am - 5 pm with reception to follow)
Rutgers University School of Law, 123 Washington Street, Newark, NJ

Attend the New Jersey Environmental Federation's 23rd anniversary conference!