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| View WELL Network Co-founder Annette Gellert's testimony at a U.S. Senate hearing. |
|
Americans are exposed to chemical substances in
every aspect of our lives, yet we know little about
the safety of the majority of products we encounter
every day. Ninety percent of chemicals on the market
were approved before 1981 and are not subject to the
higher safety standards imposed since by federal
legislation. While we are pleased that California is
taking note of Green Chemistry, regulating chemicals
one by one won't give Californians the protection we
need.
WELL Network believes that proof of chemical safety needs to be the responsibility of the manufacturers, not the public. The European Union has shown the way through REACH, a comprehensive approach to chemical safety that has outlawed some chemicals in the EU that are sold in the U.S. The U.S. needs to adopt EU standards, not only to protect the public health but to be competitive in markets abroad. Read recent article on chemical safetyhttp://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-chemistry30-2008sep30,0,4945142.story |
Among the activities WELL has participated in as part of our Chemicals and Health campaign are:
- WELL Network and the Center for Investigative Reporting hosted a reception for Mark Schapiro, author of the book Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Every Day Products and What's at Stake for American Power, which reveals another "inconvenient truth:” America has become the dumping ground for toxic toys and other dangerous products banned elsewhere. Mark explained governments' divergent responses to the same scientific findings--the European Union's precautionary approach to chemicals, which bans products with suspected toxins, versus the US's fractured response to regulating the same toxic substances, even as consumers become increasingly concerned about them.
- WELL Network hosted presentations on the science, politics, and opportunities for improving women's and children's health.
- The need to create a central database on the effects of environmental degradation on public health was the topic of a presentation by Dr. Sandra Hernandez, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, and Dr. Tom McDonald, toxicologist for CalEPA.
- WELL Network and UC Press co-hosted author John Hart, speaking on the health of San Francisco Bay, the environment, and community health.
- WELL Network's executive committee met with legislative staff to Assembly members Fran Pavley and Fabian Nunez and Senator John Burton to discuss the link between pollution and public health. WELL Network also met with legislative staff and members of the state Commission on Environmental Quality about green planning and how to prevent rollbacks of environmental legislation.
- Environmental Working Group invited WELL Network co-founder Annette Gellert, WELL member Ann Hunter Welborn, and their daughters to speak at a legislative hearing in Sacramento on behalf of a biomonitoring bill. Biomonitoring, a method of determining the type and level of toxics that are accumulating in our bodies, is a critical first step toward establishing an effective, comprehensive California chemical policy. Governor Schwarzenegger later signed the bill into law.
- With the Environmental Finance Center, Region 9, WELL Network co-hosted the California Chemicals Policy symposium attended by more than 120 nonprofit, government, labor, academic, and business leaders. The meeting came two days after the release of a government-funded report from UC Berkeley on safer chemicals, green chemistry, and California competitiveness. To download the report, click here.
- With the UC Berkeley Research Institute on Economics, WELL co-hosted a briefing with Robert Donkers, then-environmental counselor for the Delegation to the European Commission to the U.S. on the EU's REACH program (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals), a comprehensive, precautionary approach to chemicals policies. Mr. Donkers is the principal author of REACH.
- Partnering with Earth Island Institute and the Center for Investigative Reporting, WELL Network co-hosted Dr. Riki Ott, author of the book Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$:The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The spill and cleanup led to greater scientific understanding of oil as a hazardous substance. Dr . Ott's book calls for clean alternatives to fossil fuels, including those used in plastics.
- WELL Network published our first report, “Taking it to the States: A Call for Action on Chemicals Policy, a Green Plan Approach.” The report focuses on California and New York's potential leadership in safer chemical policies. To download the report, click here.
