EDF Health

Yes, Virginia (and all 49 other states), chemicals do cause cancer

By Richard Denison / Published: May 6, 2010

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

Please help me welcome to the true mainstream of scientific and medical thought the seemingly radical yet commonsense notion that chemical exposures are a significant contributor to cancer, many types of which are rising in incidence even as overall rates decline.

This morning, the President’s Cancer Panel released its 2010 report [available here].  The report is remarkable not so much for its core finding that chemical exposures are a major factor in human cancer, but rather because of its source — an authoritative and bipartisan body — and because of the strong linkages it makes to our failed chemicals policies.

Read More »

Also posted in Health policy, TSCA reform / Tagged , , , | Authors: / Read 1 Response

Immaculate deception, part 2: Chemical industry front group calls for ban on bisphenol A

By Richard Denison / Published: December 15, 2009

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

I’ll bet that got your attention.  Surely I jest, you’re thinking.  Well, on December 2, Montana Public Radio’s Evening Edition included a segment in which a spokesperson for the new chemical industry front group, the Coalition for Chemical Safety about which I blogged a few weeks ago, publicly calls for an all-out ban on the controversial endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA).  Here’s the clip (5 MB mp3 file). Read More »

Also posted in Health policy, Industry influence, TSCA reform / Tagged , , , , , | Authors: / Read 3 Responses

A big day for chemicals

By Richard Denison / Published: December 2, 2009

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

Today is a big day in building momentum towards achieving fundamental reform of our nation’s policies intended to ensure the safety of the chemicals we use and to which we are exposed every day.

Here’s a sample of what’s going on: Read More »

Also posted in Health policy, TSCA reform / Tagged , , , | Authors: / Read 1 Response

How to turn a “quick start” into a choke point

By Richard Denison / Published: November 18, 2009

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

Over the last few months, I was heartened to hear a number of industry stakeholders in the debate over TSCA reform embrace the idea of designating in TSCA reform legislation a “jump-start” or “quick-start” list of chemicals of high concern or priority.  The idea was to allow EPA to hit the ground running, by having an agreed-to list of chemicals on which it could immediately initiate action.  Well, it now appears many in industry actually have something far slower and far more cumbersome in mind. Read More »

Also posted in Health policy, TSCA reform / Tagged , , , , , , | Authors: / Read 2 Responses

Immaculate Deception: New “Coalition for Chemical Safety” is actually an industry front group

By Richard Denison / Published: October 26, 2009

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

It’s got pictures of kids and families.  People of all colors.  Gentle hands cradling our fragile planet.  A hard hat resting on a pair of worn work gloves and a hammer.  It says the coalition is “people like you.”  It bears an uncanny resemblance to the website of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign, of which EDF is a founding member.  But dig deeper and you’ll discover that the website of the “Coalition for Chemical Safety” is actually created and run by industry. Read More »

Also posted in Health policy, Industry influence, TSCA reform / Tagged , , , | Authors: / Read 5 Responses

Save OEHHA!

By Richard Denison / Published: May 29, 2009

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

[Note:  This post was originally posted as a comment on Gina Solomon’s blog post on Huffington Post.  The context is a pending budget proposal from the Governor’s office in California to eliminate the State’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) under CalEPA and disperse some but not all of its functions to other agencies.  This proposal, if implemented, would in my view be truly tragic.  If you agree, make your voice heard!]  Read More »

Also posted in Health policy / Tagged , | Authors: / Comments are closed