You may be shocked to hear that the laws regulating industrial chemicals have not been updated since 1976, according to Ted Schettler, M.D., science director for the Science and Environmental Health Network.  This puts the burden of knowing about what chemicals are and aren’t safe on the consumer.  In this article, Martha Stewarts gives an array of helpful tips on what to avoid, like shower curtains made of PVC.

Early in the morning on November 30th, seven tanker train cars derailed in Paulsboro, New Jersey.  One broke open, sending the toxic chemical vinyl-chloride, used to make PVC plastics, contaminating the Paulsboro citizen’s residential and commercial neighborhoods.  Now hundreds of residents are fighting back.

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The medical device manufacturer Ethicon has pledged to go PVC free, and is now ahead of schedule.  Because of new research showing that PVC has detrimental health affects when used in medical devices like IV lines, the company has “eliminated the majority” of PVC from its products, and “the little trace that is left is being eradicated as we speak,” said an Ethicon plastics expert.

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New York Mayor Bloomberg has cut his ten year timeline for removing dangerous chemicals from classrooms in half.  Lighting fixtures in New York schools have been leaking PCB, a toxic chemical, linked to cancer and immune disorders.  Manufactureres of the product wear protective gear and goggles, but New York children had been exposed to it with no protection against it.  After years of the New York City Department of Health downplaying the risk, the removal of these chemicals is a victory for teachers, parents, and kids.

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No, we don’t just mean packing green peppers, green beans, and spinach.  There are some easy ways to make sure your child’s lunch is green just in the packaging.  Using reusable bags and avoiding packaged foods, which may contain PVC that can leach dangerous chemicals into your child’s lunch, are easy, eco-friendly steps you can take today.

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