Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
This week’s issue of Business Week has an intriguing cover story titled “Look Who’s Stalking Wal-Mart,” with a cute cover graphic. It’s all about the latest retail trend in downmarketing. But in the same issue is another piece that might well be titled “Look Who Retailers are Stalking” – with the “who” being the chemical industry and the why being the need for meaningful chemical policy reform. Read More
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
Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.
Growing up in the 1970s, Mischief Night was a big deal for me. When I was in grade school, hoards of us kids took to our neighborhood just after dark to wreak innocent havoc. More fun than Halloween, I recall soaping up car windows and decorating neighbors’ trees with toilet paper. (What were our parents thinking?)
When a wonder toy called Silly String hit the stores, Mischief Night turned psychedelic with crazy vibrant colors issuing in long streams from an aerosol can! And what was the harm? Silly String simply dried up and blew away. Who knew that we might actually be spewing a brew of toxic chemicals? Read More
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign today released the results of a nationwide poll conducted in August by renowned pollster Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners. The most striking finding: Majorities of Republicans and Independents as well as Democrats strongly support adoption of new legislation that would give EPA the power to immediately restrict the use of dangerous chemicals.
It seems that all that’s left is for Congress to act … Read More
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
When the chemical industry talks about prioritization – a central question in the debate over TSCA reform – more often than not it quickly reduces the question down to the argument that we should focus only on those chemicals, however hazardous or untested they may be, to which we know people are exposed. In a perfect world, that might suffice. But, as this post will explore, the world of exposure assessment is anything but perfect. Read More
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
