 Exxon Mobil Fights Plan to Make Toys Safer
Ever wonder what Exxon Mobil is doing with the record $40.6 billion profits the company earned in 2007? Well, one thing they’re doing is lobbying against a Vermont bill that would protect children from toxic chemicals in their toys.
S.261 would restrict the use of toxic phthalates in toys and child care articles such as teethers. Phthalates are chemicals that are added to plastics to make them soft and flexible, and have been linked to a myriad of health problems including altered male reproductive development, genital defects, and increased risk of breast cancer. Many children’s products including teethers, bathbooks, and rubber duckies contain phthalates.
Despite the existence of safer alternatives, Exxon Mobil – a leading manufacturer of phthalates – is aggressively maneuvering to gut this strong piece of legislation. The bill is currently in the House Human Services Committee and is scheduled for a vote on Wednesday, April 23rd.
Compact Flourescent Light Bulb Cleanup
 Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a boon to your energy bill and to the environment. They use less electricity and burn more efficiently. But this comes with a small but important fact. CFLs contain a minute amount of mercury which, if the bulb is broken, can prove dangerous to you and your family. While the threat of a minor accident should not cause you to stop using these modern marvels, it’s a good idea to be prepared and informed in case one breaks in your home.
Here are some simple things to remember if you break a bulb:
- Ventilate the room by opening all windows and doors leading to the room and leave the room for 15 minutes.
- Don’t use a vacuum cleaner to pick up the piece, as you could spread the mercury throughout the house. Instead , use duct tape to pick up the pieces.
- Once you’ve cleaned up the materials, store them in a plastic bag (double bagged) or a rigid container with a lid.
- Wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel.
- Wash your hands.
- Finally, take the trash to your local solid waste district for proper disposal.
These basic steps will help mitigate any problem you’ve had with breakage. For more information on CFLs and how to properly dispose of them check out this info sheet by the Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation. You can also learn more about the risks and safe usage of CFLs by reading this report written by our partners at the Mercury Policy Project.
Exciting New Year Ahead For The Health & Safety of Vermonters
 2008 could prove to be one of the best years on record for smart, forward thinking product and home safety legislation. VPIRG and our allies in the Alliance for a Clean & Healthy Vermont have rolled out an aggressive agenda that will be groundbreaking not only in its breadth and depth, but also in the positive impact Vermonters across the state will see if we are successful.
VPIRG believes that all Vermonters should be protected from unnecessary exposure to toxic chemicals and that our health and safety should be a priority. That’s why this year we are working to:
• Reduce exposure to lead both in housing and consumer goods, especially children’s products.
• Create healthier schools by requiring the use of “green” cleaners and reducing the use of pesticides on school grounds.
• Advance legislation that requires the collection and proper disposal of mercury-containing thermostats.
• Phase out the use of toxic flame-retardants and replace them with safe and effective alternatives.
• Ban “e-waste” from landfills and extend producers' responsibility for their products.
Click here to let your legislators know how important these issues are to you!
Campaign for Corporate Safety
All to often we don't take the time to think about what's in the products we buy. Sadly, many of our corporations do exactly the same thing when making the products we buy. From toys to toothpaste to pet food to spinach, you never quite know what you're going to get these days. We can't all hire our own toy, food and product testers. And we can't rely on one person testing all our toys and 15 inspectors to cover ports across the country.
That's why we're launching the Corporate Safety Challenge -- a New Year’s resolution of sorts for Corporate America and Congress.
Join us in challenging corporations to do better in the New Year by asking them to be proactive in ensuring the safety of their products instead of apologizing for recalls after the fact. Challenge our government to set better standards, hold companies accountable and put enough cops on the product safety beat to get the job done.
Click on the link below to sign our petition and then forward this to your friends and family.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/challenge-corporate-america
For more information contact Charity Carbine at charity@vpirg.org or by phone at 223-8421 x4108
Trouble In Toyland
VPIRG released its 22nd annual "Trouble In Toyland" report detailing the growing dangers in children's toys. For the last few years toy safety records had actually been on an upswing. Sadly however, this year saw a dramatic turn of events as millions of high profile toys from gold star companies such as Mattel were recalled for high levels of lead paint or other dangerous chemicals.
“While we have seen progress after more than two decades of advocacy on behalf of America’s littlest consumers, our researchers still found trouble in toyland on store shelves this month,” said VPIRG’s environmental health advocate, Charity Carbine. “But recent high profile product recalls have given us a chance to urge Congress and the state of Vermont to pass strong product safety reforms, and give kids the best holiday gift of all.”
According to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), toy-related injuries sent almost 73,000 children under the age of five to emergency rooms in 2005. Twenty children died from toy-related injuries that year.
But what can you do right now? Well, check out these tips for safe toys to guide you in your holiday purchases:
- Read and heed warning labels!
- Never give you children small balls or balloons.
- Avoid all toys with small parts for children under three...these are choking hazards.
- Keep magnetic toys away from children under six years of age.
- Avoid any toy that says it contains xylene, toluene, or dibutyl phthalate, as these chemicals are toxic to children.
- If you think a toy has lead paint in it, don't buy it. If you want to test toys you already have, head down to the hardware store for a cheap but effective test kit.
You can also read our full brochure on tips for safe toys by clicking here.
Check out the full report before you go toy shopping by clicking here.
Read the Press Release by clicking here.
Polluters Continue to Contaminate Vermont's Waterways 35 Years After the Clean Water Act
 More than 50% percent of industrial and municipal facilities across Vermont discharged more pollution into our waterways than their Clean Water Act permits allow in 2005, according to Troubled Waters: An analysis of Clean Water Act compliance, a new report released today by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG).
“As the Clean Water Act turns 35, polluters continue to foul our rivers, lakes and streams,” said Charity Carbine, VPIRG’s Environmental Health Advocate. “With so many facilities dumping so much pollution, no one should be surprised that nearly half of America’s waterways are unsafe for swimming and fishing. But we should be outraged.”
The goals of the 1972 Clean Water Act are to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into waterways and make all U.S. waterways swimmable and fishable. Over the last three and a half decades, this landmark environmental law has made significant improvements in water quality, but the original goals have yet to be met.
You can read the full report by Clicking Here and VPIRG's Press Release by Clicking Here.
For more information please contact Charity Carbine at charity@vpirg.org or by phone at 802-223-8421 x4108
Read recent VPIRG blog posts on environmental health for more information. VPIRG To Host Forum With "Exposed" Author
 On Wednesday, October 24th, VPIRG will be hosting a roundtable with Mark Schapiro, author of Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American. We will be discussing this important book and the impacts toxic products have on our every day life.
In Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power investigative journalist Mark Schapiro takes the reader inside the global power shift that has gone almost wholly unreported in the United States. This shift could have enormous impacts on the health and safety of Americans, as well as the country’s economy.
We hope you will join us at the Kellogg Hubbard Library on October 24th from 6 - 7:30pm to share your thoughts on this pressing issue.
For more information please contact Charity Carbine at charity@vpirg.org or by phone at 802-223-8421 x4108
Read recent VPIRG blog posts on environmental health for more information.
VPIRG Report Finds International Paper Plant A Chemical Danger
 VPIRG releases new report calling on International Paper and pulp and paper mills around the country to stop using hazardous chemicals to bleach paper and instead switch to safer alternatives already available.
The report, Pulp Fiction: Chemical Hazard Reduction at Pulp and Paper Mills, reveals that toxic chemicals such as chlorine and chlorine dioxide are frequently used to whiten paper. Exposure to small amounts of these chemicals can cause death or serious respiratory injury. To read VPIRG's press release and see the full report, click here.
Another 300,000 Toys Recalled Over Lead Paint Problems
 The consumer product safety commission recalled more than 300,000 toys manufactured by Martin Design, one of the makers of the popular Sponge Bob Square Pants line of children's products. The products in question are Sponge Bob Square Pants journals and address books that contain dangerous amounts of lead in their spiral bindings. Another 70,000 toy buckets and play pails from Schylling Associates were recalled as well for containing dangerous amounts of lead in their handles.
This recall is the third in as many weeks for products containing lead. "This is simply unacceptable," said VPIRG's Environment Health Advocate Charity Carbine "to have this many products on the shelves endangering children's lives points to a systemic problem in the way we protect our children and do business with the world." Over the last month nearly 2,000,000 million toys have been recalled for containing dangerous amounts of lead.
To read the full article click here. For more information about VPIRG’s environmental health program and what we can do to reduce toxic threats in Vermont, email Charity Carbine at charity@vpirg.org. Check out the State's comprehensive report on lead based products called Get the Lead Out and the 8 steps the government can take to curb lead product importation.
Fisher Price Recalls Nearly One Million Toys Over Lead Paint Woes
 Fisher Price began a massive recall of nearly one million children’s toys on August 1st because of concern over the dangerous levels of lead paint on the toys. The 83 different types of toys recalled include the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora, and Diego characters. You can find out exactly which toys are being recalled here.
Fisher Price stated that they found the dangerous paint while conducting an internal inventory and immediately notified the Consumer Product Safety Commission about their concerns.
While Fisher Price has consistently set the gold standard for product safety, these Chinese-made products do not have to comply with the same safety standards as American products during manufacture. The problem is that more than 80% of toys now sold in the US come from China and the CPSC’s standards for product safety are murky at best.
This recall, like the Thomas the Tank Engine toy recall a few weeks ago, shows just how far we have to go to ensure that children are protected from dangers that sometimes not even the manufacturers know exist.
To read the full article click here. For more information about VPIRG’s environmental health program and what we can do to reduce toxic threats in Vermont, email Charity Carbine at charity@vpirg.org. Check out the State's comprehensive report on lead based products called Get the Lead Out and the 8 steps the government can take to curb lead product importation.
Read recent VPIRG blog posts on environmental health for more information
|
