Report

Environment California's 2013 Legislative Agenda

Environment California is your statewide environmental group that works to win real results for California's environment. Here is a list of Environment California's 2013 legislative priorities.

News Release | Environment California

California Health, Worker, Consumer, Physician and Environmental Groups Support Strong Safer Consumer Product Draft Regulations

SACRAMENTO – California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) unveiled a groundbreaking, proposed regulation today – the Safer Consumer Product regulation - aimed at protecting consumers from the health risks of  toxic ingredients in everyday products while promoting innovation by California businesses.  We say it’s about time.

California Fracking? No Way

Wednesday, July 18, 2012
By | Dan Jacobson
Legislative Director

Fracking is a dirty and dangerous technology and we shoudl stop it from happening in Califoirna

News Release | Environment California

GOV BROWN TAKES STEPS TO REDUCE EXPOSURE TO TOXIC CHEMICALS

Sacramento, CA- Governor Brown directed the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation to review its four decade old flammability standard and recommend changes that would protect consumers from dangerous chemicals. See the Governor’s full release here (http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17598)

Toxic Flame Retardants

Monday, May 7, 2012
By | Dan Jacobson
Legislative Director

We have been fighting for YEARS to reduce our exposure to dangerous chemicals. For too loing we have seen stories about dirty air, polluted water, and toxics in our home- even in our cribs and baby products. How very frustrating.

Report | Environment California Research and Policy Center

Wasting Our Waterways

The Environment California Research and Policy Center report documents and analyzes the dangerous levels of pollutants discharged to America’s waters by compiling toxic chemical releases reported to the U.S. EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory for 2010.

News Release | Environment California Research and Policy Center

STATE SETTLES SUIT WITH BRAZIALAN BLOWOUT

This week California’s Attorney General settled a suit with the makers of “Brazilian Blowout” on the grounds that it had mislabeled it’s product as formaldehyde free, when in fact this was not the case. Formaldehyde is a potential carcinogen with dangerous impacts to the eyes and lungs. 

Report | Environment California Research and Policy Center

Green Chemistry at Work

Leading California businesses are showing that consumer products don’t have to contain toxic chemicals, threaten public health, or produce large amounts of waste in order to work. These businesses are making California healthier and wealthier by designing products to be safe from the start, following the principles of green chemistry.

This report highlights 12 Golden State businesses or institutions that are identifying unnecessary hazards in their facilities, in their manufacturing processes and in the products they sell – and acting to eliminate them. In the process, these pioneers are demonstrating how a strong state-wide green chemistry policy can give birth to a new way of doing business – benefiting the people of California and setting an example for the nation as a whole.

Green chemistry is a design and business philosophy that seeks to make products safe from the start and prevent pollution at its source.

Report | Environment California Research and Policy Center

Moving Toward a Green Chemical Future

The U.S. government’s current regulation of industrial chemicals is based on the presumption that these chemicals are innocent until they are proven to harm human health or the environment. This presumption is startling, especially when you consider:

    There are an estimated 80,000 chemicals registered for commercial use in the U.S.[1]
    Only a very small percentage of these chemicals have been tested for safety to human health. [2]
    An estimated 2,000 new chemicals are introduced each year, or an average of seven new chemicals each day. [3]

To date, California has relied on the federal government’s failed regulatory system to protect its residents from industrial chemicals used in commerce. California has no regulatory framework for reviewing these chemicals prior to their introduction to the market and use in consumer products. Nor does the state have a comprehensive program for assessing the safety of those chemicals currently in use.

Report | Environment California Research and Policy Center

Toxic Baby Furniture

Furnishings containing formaldehyde – a toxic chemical linked with allergies, asthma, and cancer – can contaminate indoor air within California homes. Babies and young children are particularly vulnerable to harm.

To evaluate the potential dangers children face, EnvironmentCalifornia Research & Policy Center purchased 21 products intended for use in a baby’s nursery and hired a professional laboratory to test them. We found that six of the products produced high levels of formaldehyde vapor. In particular, several brands of cribs and changing tables emit formaldehyde at levels linked with increased risk of developing allergies or asthma.

To protect children from formaldehyde and other chemical hazards, California should adopt a new approach to chemical regulation, encouraging manufacturers to design products that are safe from the start.

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