San Bernardino #1 for soot pollution
San Bernardino had the worst fine particle, or “soot” pollution, among large metro areas in 2004, according to a Jan. 19 report released by Environment California.

The power plants in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, including the Coolwater Generating Station, release high levels of this pollution, which cuts short the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year, according to EPA.

In 2005, the Bush administration’s science advisors and EPA staff scientists concluded that the current health standards for fine particle pollution are too weak to fully protect the public. They recommended that the administration make the standards more protective, which would require power plants and other polluters to clean up.

In December 2005, the Bush administration rejected these recommendations and proposed a minor change to the health standards—the first time an administration has disregarded the recommendations of the independent Clean Air Science Advisory Committee.

But the debate’s not over. This spring, the EPA will hold hearings in San Francisco on the Bush administration’s proposed weak standard.Environment California is working in coalition with the American Lung Association and many other experts, organizations, and community members to make sure that the EPA hears from the public, not just polluters.

Assembly produces mixed results on toxics
California would gain the tools to more easily detect harmful chemicals in our bodies and the environment under legislation approved by the Assembly on Jan. 30. The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan and sponsored by Environment California, is now under consideration in the Senate.

Meanwhile, on Jan. 19 an Assembly committee deadlocked on Environment California’s Stop Toxic Toys Bill. Facing fierce opposition from lobbyists for the chemical and toy industries, the bill failed to move out of the Appropriations Committee due to a 9 to 9 vote.

Earlier in January, Dr. Shanna Swan and Dr. Fred vom Saal testified before the Assembly about their research on chemicals found in a wide range of children’s toys, teethers and other products. Researchers have linked the chemicals, including phthalates and bisphenol-A, to early onset puberty, impaired learning development and immune system, reproductive defects and cancer. Environment California’s bill would prohibit the use of these substances in products
intended for use by small children.