TIP TALKS
The
Newsletter of the Toxics Information Project (TIP)
WINTER 2005
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WORKING
TOWARDS LESS TOXIC LIVING
WHAT DOES
TIP DIRECTOR LIBERTY GOODWIN ACTUALLY DO?
NEW: Lawn
Pesticide Bills Having gotten two bills introduced and
awaiting a hearing before the RI State Senate Environment & Agriculture
Committee on March 16, 2005, Liberty is planning her own testimony, while
seeking and coordinating support and input from others for the legislation.
NEW: RI State
Science Fair: Through a contact made at the RI Flower
& Garden Show in February, Liberty G will be a judge at this event that
involves all the high schools in Rhode Island.
She will offer several awards on behalf of TIP, to projects that tend to
further our mission of Lighting the Way to Less Toxic Living.
NEW: Asthma
Conference. Plans are under way in the RI Asthma
Coalition to offer a conference in October about the environmental connections
to asthma. Liberty G is very involved
in seeking speakers for this event – ones that will highlight the chemical
triggers that are often less spoken about.
She also continues as a member of the School Advocacy Committee.
NEW: Special
Joint Commission to Study A Statewide Coordination of Environmental Health
& Safety Issues, Information & Resources for Rhode Island Schools: Yet another
networking opportunity for Liberty G!
Created last session by the RI General Assembly, this 24-member group
includes representation from practically everyone involved with schools,
children’s health, etc. in the state.
Liberty has been appointed to represent State Senator Rhoda Perry on the
commission.
NEW: Miriam
Hospital Environment Committee. Guess who’s on this just-formed committee,
which will help name an Environmental Consultant for this institution as it
engages in major expansion and renovation?
NEW: Litter
Control Task Force, RI Environment Roundtable. Liberty will
be encouraging attention
to hazardous
waste and substances involving petroleum and pollution in manufacture, such as
plastics.
2005 RI Sustainable Living Festival: Liberty is
again on the SLF 2005 Planning Committee, and TIP expects to have a booth and
two speakers at this June event, held at the Apeiron Institute for
Environmental Living in Coventry.
In Her “Spare” Time: Liberty will be organizing the “Pesticide-Free Playing Fields”
Initiative and its “CALL TO ACTION”; planning and compiling the new “Less Toxic
Landscaping” Resource Guide; running the TIP booth at a variety of environment,
health and school fairs, as well as informational tables at sites such as
Eastside Marketplace & the RI Children’s Museum; writing and editing more
“TIP TALKS” newsletters; writing grant proposals; talking to the Better Breathers
group (and any other that will listen); responding to E-Mail queries and doing
other research; attending conferences and meetings of related organizations in
other states…
MARCH - WINDS OF CHANGE BLOWING? -
In our
last newsletter we looked back at the year just past. This month, more than usually, I am noticing many harbingers of
change, and am truly excited by that.
I’d like to talk just a bit about what’s happening, or trying to happen,
as wintry winds persist and Spring lurks round the corner.
LEGISLATIVE
MOVES: Our own legislative initiatives
were inspired – and copied – from the ones being offered in Connecticut. A similar push to restrict the use of toxic
lawn pesticides for cosmetic use is happening in other parts of the U.S., and
very actively in Canada. There is also
a bill at the federal level on school pesticide use – but it’s our feeling that
the local measures are most likely to pass.
The chemical industry recognizes the vigor of this movement, and is
fighting back hard, with advertising and lobbying. Major components of the struggle are preemptive clauses slipped
through most state legislatures in the last ten or so years, prohibiting towns
and cities from passing their own pesticide control ordinances. That’s why one of our bills would remove
that prohibition. The other would put a
ban on use of lawn pesticides on the grounds of schools and day care
facilities.
CHEMLAWN
UNDER PRESSURE: The Toxics Action
Center, with offices in Massachusetts & Connecticut, is launching a campaign
on March 15 called, “Be Truly Green – Refuse to Use ChemLawn!” The group is demanding that ChemLawn phase
out the use of pesticides and immediately stop use of those considered possible
or likely carcinogens; disclose all ingredients in their pesticide products,
including so-called “inerts”, offer a comprehensive organic lawn-care program
with accredited applicators; and stop using children to sell their products, as
they have done in their partnership with U.S. Youth Soccer. People are being asked to avoid ChemLawn
until these demands are met.
PLAYING
FIELDS VICTORY: Happily, just this week
word came that, under pressure from organizations and parents, the Youth Soccer
Association has already decided to end its contractual relationship with ChemLawn
– a great victory for less toxic playing fields!!
NURSE
EDUCATION ON TOXICS MOVES FORWARD:
Addressing another TIP concern, our wonderful Board member and Treasurer
Chris Pontus, M.S., COHN-S, CCM, has
created an online course for nurses on protecting their charges with fragile
immune systems from toxic fragranced products.
It will be available soon and will provide professional credit to nurses
that take the training. Congratulations,
Chris, for a great project!
ANOTHER
ENCOURAGING NURSE KNOWLEDGE REPORT: A
survey conducted in New York State about two years ago found that 71 percent of
206 school nurses from across the state knew of students and staff whose
learning, health and/or behavior were affected by indoor pollutants such as
pesticides, disinfectants and cleaning products. Health professionals are starting to notice!
FAMOUS LAST WORDS? :
“Preemptive Legislation is Effective”
- Victor Crawford, a former lobbyist for the
Tobacco Institute, summarized the tobacco industry's rationale for seeking
preemption legislation: "We
could never win at the local level . . . so the Tobacco Institute and tobacco
companies' first priority has always been to preempt the field, preferably to
put it all on the federal level, but if they can't do that, at least on the
state level, because the health advocates can't compete with me on a state
level" (from an interview with Victor Crawford appearing
in the July 19, 1995 of JAMA -- Journal of the American. (IT WORKED FOR A WHILE – BUT SMOKING BANS
ARE SWEEPING ACROSS AMERICA NOW! LET’S
SEEK SIMILAR OUTCOMES RE: LAWN PESTICIDES!).
Liberty Goodwin, Director,
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
HELP US PROTECT CHILDREN & THE WATER TABLE
1.
MAKE ONE OR
MORE CALLS TO GET US INFO ABOUT LAWN PESTICIDE USE ON YOUR TOWN’S PLAYING
FIELDS.
2.
PASS ALONG
OUR “CALL TO ACTION” & REPORTING FORM TO OTHERS.
3.
SUBMIT ORAL
OR WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF OUR TWO LAWN PESTICIDE BILLS BEFORE THE RI
STATE SENATE.
ENCOURAGE A
LOCAL CHURCH, PTA OR GARDEN CLUB TO HOST A TALK ON ORGANIC GARDENING OR ON OUR
LAWN PESTICIDE CONCERNS. (WE PROVIDE THE SPEAKER).
CONTACT
LIBERTY GOODWIN, TIP DIRECTOR, FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO OFFER TO HELP. TEL. 401-351-9193, OR E-MAIL: LIBERTY@TOXICSINFO.ORG
CANARY
CORNER
Every baby
is a “canary” – and one of the most vulnerable to harm from chemical
toxins. They depend on us to keep them
safe. Here’s some help.
NEW RESOURCE FOR
"CANARIES" AND PARENTS!
Lynn Tondat Ruggeri, Ph.D. (a
former TIP Advisory Committee member) & Laura Costa,
Ph.D. have written a new informational booklet entitled "SAFER FOR YOUR
BABY: A Guide to Living Better with Fewer Chemicals," which is now
available for online and retail purchase. The booklet is designed for new
and expecting parents, but is useful for anyone who wants to live a
healthier life. The guide shows you simple
ways to protect your family from harmful chemicals commonly found in
personal care, cleaning and pest control products, toys, food, clothing,
home furnishings and decor.
THIS
BOOKLET WILL HELP YOU:
- Choose safer foods, toys, bottles and personal care items
- Understand why babies are more vulnerable to harmful
chemicals
- Identify items to avoid when decorating the nursery and
doing household projects
- Find safer substitutes for the most toxic products in your
home
- Stay up-to-date on these topics by providing resources and
reference including sites with web search options
- Find safe and inexpensive recipes for household cleaning,
simple ways to improve air quality, and important information on
household products that most seriously impact on children's health
...and much more.
The 67-page booklet is
soft-covered, printed on recycled paper with soy ink and
can be ordered online for $5.95 plus shipping and handling at: http://saferforyourbaby.com/_wsn/page4.html It is also available at Books on the Square,
Providence; Back to Basics, E. Greenwich; Food for Thought, Narragansett;
Alternative Food Co-op, Wakefield; Baker Books, N. Dartmouth MA; and Down to
Earth Natural Foods, New Bedford, MA.
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CLEANING PRODUCTS
MAY AFFECT BABIES’ BREATHING
January 11, 2005, By Alison McCook
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
Pregnant women who use a lot of household chemical products are more likely to
have babies with persistent wheezing, new research reports. The products included bleach, disinfectant,
air fresheners, aerosols, carpet cleaners and pesticides. Children with wheezing are more at risk of
eventually developing asthma, explained study author Dr. Andrea Sherriff at the
University of Bristol in the UK.
Moreover, "persistent wheezing stops the child from living a normal
life -- exercising, going to school," she told Reuters Health. This
"may make them susceptible to other conditions, such as
obesity." Although the study did
not measure how much exposure to household chemicals is safe for pregnant
women, Sherriff recommended that they should "be sensible" with
chemicals, and follow the product's instructions, particularly with regards to
ventilation. Previous research has found
that people who are heavily exposed to household products are more likely to
develop symptoms of asthma. Of all
professions, cleaners have one of the highest risks of developing the disease.
To see if prenatal exposure to
these chemicals also increases the risk of breathing problems, Sherriff and her
team asked the mothers of 7019 children about the chemicals they were exposed
to while pregnant, and how often their children wheezed from birth to age 42
months. The women completed surveys while pregnant, and periodically after the
child was born. Slightly more than 6 percent of the children showed signs of
persistent wheezing. The children whose
mothers used the most chemicals were more than twice as likely to persistently
wheeze than those whose mothers used the least chemicals, the authors report in
the journal Thorax.
Sherriff explained that experts
suspect that chemicals may affect infants' breathing by irritating their
airways and lungs. She added that
mothers who use a lot of chemicals during pregnancy will likely do the same
thing once the babies are born, so it's difficult to say whether a baby's
wheezing comes from exposures before or after birth. Alternatively, she suggested that infants who are in an overly
clean environment may not be exposed to the bacteria and germs that help us
build healthy immune systems. "If
we have immune systems which don't work well, then we are more likely to become
allergic to things in our environment, and possibly wheeze as a result,"
Sherriff said.
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PESTICIDES
Why & How to Avoid Them in Lawn Care & Food
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CHEMICAL PESTICIDES - HEALTH EFFECTS
RESEARCH
http://www.chem-tox.com/pesticides/
Pesticide
Inhalation Associated with Brain and Lung Cancer SOURCE: Journal of the
National Cancer Institute, 71(1), July 1983 A study of 3,827 Florida pesticide applicators
employed for 20 or more years found they had nearly 3 times the risk for
developing lung cancer. The same study also showed the pesticide applicators
had twice the risk for brain cancer. There was not any increased cancer risk
when applicators were studied for only 5 years implying it takes over 5 years
to accumulate enough damage to the genetic structure to develop the
cancers.
Brain
Damage Linked to Lawn Pesticides
(Sources: 3 references listed below)
The
pesticide MCPA, used as an ingredient is some lawn pesticides, has been found
to damage a part of the brain known as the blood brain barrier (1). The blood brain barrier is the brain's
primary defense system, which works to keep toxic substances out of the brain
cells and is literally protecting all of us from developing immediate
neurological illness. The blood brain barrier has been found to be defective
more often in patients with Alzheimers and some psychiatric disorders (2). In fact, the lack of functioning of the
blood brain barrier in the human infant has been reported on many occasions as
being the reason why an infant is being found to develop brain damage after
exposure to common chemicals while an adult with a mature blood brain barrier
does not. Unfortunately, EPA neurotoxicologist Dr. Bill Sette stated EPA does
not yet require chemical companies to test any of their pesticides for causing
blood brain barrier damage. Another
study of 56 men exposed to organophosphate pesticides detected memory problems
and difficulty in maintaining alertness and focusing attention (3). Also see: www.chem-tox.com/bbb for more on the
blood brain barrier.
1. Toxicology and Applied
Pharmacology, 65:23, 1982 ;
2. British Journal of
Psychiatry, 141:273, 1982
3. Annual Reviews in Public Health, 7:461, 1986
Common Lawn Pesticide
Linked to Cancer (Sources below)
The lawn
pesticides, mancozeb and chlorothalonil (used by commercial lawn spray
companies as fungicides), have been classified by EPA as "probable"
cancer causing chemicals in humans as they have been found to cause cancer in
animals (1). Mancozeb has also been found to react with sunlight to form a new
compound EPA categorizes as a "known" human carcinogen (1). The
common lawn pesticide 2,4-D has been shown to increase the risk of lymphatic
cancer in farmers six times the normal rate according to a National Cancer
Institute report (2).
- Newsweek,
May 16, pg.77, 1988;
- 2. Science News, September 13, 1986
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ORGANIC CONSUMERS DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS
After compiling over 100,000 laboratory tests, the Environmental Working Group has released a list of conventionally grown produce that is the most and the least contaminated by pesticides. Among the worst were apples, peppers, celery and cherries. Among the best were asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, kiwi, mangoes, onions, papayas, pineapples and sweet peas. Of course, the safest course of action is to buy organic fruits and vegetables. Download the full list here: http://www.foodnews.org/reportcard.php
ONE MORE RESOURCE FOR HEALTHIER LANDSCAPING & LIVING!
Earth
Friendly Alternatives (to
herbicides, pesticides & household chemicals) - A Concise Guide.
Topics include Pesticides Impact on Human Health, Improving the Soil,
Garden Pest Management, Animal Pests, Weed Control, Lawn Care, Watering, Plant
Cures for Toxic Soil, Household Cleaning.
Published by the Stonington Garden Club in
Connecticut. 62 pages, 100% recycled
paper, $6.
Soon
to be available from TIP, to support our work.
