NEWSTOXICS

Multnomah County Commissioners voted unanimously this morning to restrict the sale of children’s products containing bisphenol-A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical.

The decision comes after more than 1,000 people joined a campaign on Change.org created by Susan Beal, a Portland author and mother of two. Beal delivered the online petition signatures to county commissioners during their hearing Thursday morning.

“I'm so happy and thankful that our county commissioners voted to protect kids from toxic chemicals today,” said Beal. “As the mother of two young children, it means so much to me that now every parent in the county will have guaranteed safer choices for their kids, no matter where they're shopping.”

Nearly 1,000 people have joined a popular campaign on Change.org asking Multnomah County Commissioners to pass restrictions on the sale of children’s products that contain bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical compound linked to various health issues, at their commission meeting on Thursday.

Studies have linked BPA, an endocrine-disrupting chemical, to cancers, cardiovascular disease, early onset puberty, diabetes, and other health issues. BPA is found in everything from the linings of canned foods to sippy cups to credit card receipts.

Susan Beal, a local author and mother of two, launched the campaign on Change.org, which asks the commissioners to support a county-wide ban sponsored by County Chair Jeff Cogen. The ban would apply to sippy cups, baby bottles, and reusable water bottles.

If you’ve ever helped out at a beach cleanup, you’ve seen how pervasive Styrofoam is in the coastal environment. The material is lightweight and it floats, which means it very easily makes its way from land to the beach and into the ocean, where .it’s commonly ingested my marine animals who mistake the small particles for food. Not only is eating Styrofoam toxic to marine critters, these animals sometimes end up feeding the plastic pieces to their babies.

Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is particularly difficult to recycle and it never biodegrades. Styrene, a component of Styrofoam containers, is suspected to cause cancer by the National Toxicology Program. When heated to a high degree, the chemical can leach out of the container and into food.

But despite the obvious hazards Styrofoam poses to the environment and human health, due to its relative cheapness and convenience, it’s still often used in takeout food containers.

For all of these reasons, Brian Schoening decided to start a petition on Change.org urging the City of Hermosa Beach, California to ban Styrofoam takeout containers. He also urged Hermosa Beach diners to ask their favorite restaurants to transition to alternative products. In California, nearly 60 municipalities already have some kind of polystyrene ban in place.

Twenty-nine-year-old Doroteo Lopez has worked on farms his whole life. Currently, he’s employed by Dole in Salinas, California, where he harvests strawberries. Dana Perls, a community organizer with the Pesticide Watch Education Fund, caught up with Lopez to discuss California’s approval of the carcinogenic pesticide, methyl iodide.

Methyl iodide was approved by California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation in December of 2010, despite widespread opposition from the environmental and science communities. The pesticide has been linked to cancers, thyroid disease, kidney problems, and late-term miscarriages, among other health issues. While only a handful of farms have obtained methyl iodide permits, environmentalists are worried that strawberry farms will begin using the pesticide as a replacement for methyl bromide, a soil fumigant that’s being phased out.

Note: This interview was conducted in Spanish and translated into English.  Some words or language may have been changed in the process.

DP: Good afternoon, Doroteo! Thank you for taking the time to talk with me about your work in the strawberry fields and your experience with pesticide exposure.  Let’s start with something about you.

DL: Thank you, Dana. I have been working with Dole for eight years now, harvesting strawberries here in Salinas.  I’m 29 years old, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, where my mother and father still live. I’ve worked in farms my whole life, and have lived in Salinas since 2000.  And I have also been active with the United Farm Workers for at least six years. Previously, I was a worker representative, but I have since stepped back from that position.  Now I continue to fight for the rights of all of the workers out here; for our health, fair wages, and to be treated well.

DP: What sort of problems have you had working in the fields?

DL: All sorts. We work hard—very hard. All of us have families, friends, and partners who have had problems with being treated poorly. Sometimes the names we are called and the way we are yelled at is terrible. We have to fight for all of our rights to fair wages, to have breaks, and to be spoken to with respect.

We have to fight for protection against toxic chemicals used in the fields.  I’ve had terrible stomach aches, burning eyes, and dizziness from the pesticides.  I’ve seen pregnant women in the fields be exposed, and they will vomit while at work.

Gov. Jerry Brown has received hundreds upon hundreds of tweets and Facebook messages today. But we're guessing that his sudden internet popularity isn't making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

More than 500 people have tweeted at Governor Jerry Brown and/or written on his Facebook page wall in just a few short hours, with more people sending messages by the minute. All of these messages have one major theme: The Governor needs to ban the cancer-causing pesticide, methyl iodide — now.

The messages came about as part of a social media day of action orchestrated by Change.org and Pesticide Action Network (PAN). Environmental activists and concerned citizens were encouraged to take to their computers today and flood Gov. Jerry Brown's social media accounts with anti-methyl iodide sentiments. The day has been a huge success so far, with more people joining the day of action by the minute.

With peak fumigation season just weeks away, we need your help urging Governor Jerry Brown to stop the use of the cancer-causing pesticide methyl iodide in California’s crop fields.

Today, August 23^rd, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is teaming up with Change.org to launch a social media day of action. We’re inviting concerned citizens like you to join us on Facebook and Twitter in calling on Gov. Brown to pull methyl iodide from the shelves before fumigation season starts. We need to act quickly!

Here’s how you can get involved: On Facebook, go to Jerry Brown's page and click the ‘Like’ button at the top. Then post this message to his wall: "Governor Brown, please keep California's strawberry fields and communities safe from the cancer-causing pesticide, methyl iodide. http://www.change.org/petitions/fumigation-season-is-here-we-need-action-on-methyl-iodide-3" You can also craft your own message—the more personal the story, the better!

On Twitter, post a message like this: "Hey @JerryBrownGov Pull methyl iodide. Kids, farmworkers & neighbors will thank u http://ow.ly/6amYl @pesticideaction #SafeStrawberry"

More than 16,000 people have called and emailed California Governor Jerry Brown in the last 24 hours urging him to immediately revoke the approval of the carcinogenic pesticide methyl iodide. Scientists say the safety of California’s food, farmworkers, and residents is at stake.

Three farms have already started fumigating their fields with one of the most toxic chemicals on earth. With peak fumigation season mere weeks away, environmental organizations like Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) are worried that other farmers will follow suit. It's likely that more farmers will start using this dangerous pesticide unless Governor Brown takes action immediately.

"We are at a critical point,” said Kathryn Gilje, Executive Director of PANNA. “Fumigation season is nearly upon us, and though there have just been a handful of methyl iodide applications so far, there could be many more in the next 30 days unless Brown takes action now."

PANNA created an online petition on Change.org asking Gov. Brown to reverse the approval of methyl iodide before it is too late. The campaign asks the governor to immediately ban the use of methyl iodide in the state and to appoint a director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation who will allow science rather than corporate interests to guide policy decisions on pesticides.

Six months ago in an 11th-hour move, the Schwarzenegger administration approved the use of the pesticide methyl iodide in California. The decision outraged environmentalists and public health organizations, but for a long time, not a single California farmer actually used the carcinogenic chemical. In the past few weeks, however, citizens' worst fears were realized.

Two Fresno farms recently started fumigating their fields with methyl iodide. With peak fumigation season for strawberry fields coming soon, you can bet that other agricultural operations will follow the Fresno farmers' lead — unless Governor Jerry Brown takes action.

Over the past several months, environmentalists, public health experts, farm worker justice groups, and sustainable foodies have been lobbying Gov. Brown to reject the approval of methyl iodide in the state. He even recently committed to "take a fresh look" at the Schwarzenegger administration's decision to green light the toxic pesticide. With peak fumigation season looming ominously on the horizon, the time for Gov. Brown to act is now.

In a big win for environmentalists and sustainable foodies, Pfizer recently suspended sales of roxarsone, an arsenic-based feed additive traditionally used to control intestinal parasites in chickens. The move came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released data showing that roxarsone increases inorganic arsenic levels in chicken livers. In other words, consumers who chow down on conventionally produced chicken oftentimes ingest small amounts of arsenic.

Roxarsone has been used for decades to control parasites and promote growth in poultry. Factory farm operations also favor the drug  because it “improves” the color of the meat, making chicken cuts look pinker. But according to Food Safety News, the organic arsenic present in roxarsone may be transforming into the more toxic inorganic form of arsenic (found in the livers of chickens treated with the drug).

It's great that Pfizer voluntarily pulled roxarsone from the market after the FDA's findings came out. What Pfizer doesn't want you to know, though, is that while the company is suspending roxarsone due to its arsenic issues, execs are continuing to market another arsenic-based poultry drug, nitarsone. Will consumers have to wait for an FDA study of nitarsone with similar negative results to get Pfizer to drop it?

Last week, Europe's ban on the sale of baby bottles containing the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) went into effect. The chemical, commonly found in hard plastics and can linings, has been linked to a devastating list of health problems. Studies have tied the substance to heart disease, diabetes, childhood asthma, reproductive problems, early onset puberty, and more.

Nine states have already banned BPA in children's products, and Canada even considers the hormone-disrupting chemical to be a toxic substance. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that the concerning chemical does end up leaching out of packaging and into the food system at alarming rates.

So if all of the EU is convinced that the last place BPA should be is in baby bottles, why don't Oregon lawmakers feel the same way? After all, infants are likely the most susceptible group exposed to BPA. Oregon's recent bill proposing a BPA ban in baby bottles and sippy cups, Senate Bill 695, died in the House despite widespread support from health and environmental groups. Traces of BPA can be released from plastic bottles when heated. C'mon lawmakers, we now know that bottles containing BPA put babies at risk for a very lengthy list of health issues!

The ill-fated bill would have banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups by 2012, and it would also have created an advisory group to consider "BPA-free" labels for canned foods and beverages, a feature that would be of great value to conscientious consumers. The bill would also have required the Oregon Health Authority to use BPA-free infant formula containers by 2013. All positive, common-sense changes. Perhaps opposition from Big Chem got the better of lawmakers.