TIP TOPICS --KIDS & TOXICS
Protecting the Most Vulnerable & Using Healthier Alternatives
NEWS NOTES
NEW FOR 2009: The Good Green Schools Guide for facilities managers, an info flyer to pass along to friends, family, teachers & health professionals. (A TIP Healthy Schools Initiative). Find this & more at: www.toxicsinfo.org/healthyschools.htm
“AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION”: Liberty Goodwin, TIP Director, had been writing a column by this title for the publication Families Today, distributed in local library’s children’s sections, doctor’s offices and elsewhere. Publication has been halted (hopefully temporarily), but we will be posting all the OOP columns here very soon.
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YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO HELP EDUCATE PARENTS & OTHERS ON HOW TO PROTECT KIDS FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THEIR TOYS & OTHER PRODUCTS!
NEW FOR 2009: THE HEALTHY SCHOOLS INITIATIVE
Assisting schools to transition to green cleaning and pesticide reduction, with the help of parents & school professionals. Safe Schools Flyer
TELL US WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE SCHOOL WHERE YOU WORK OR THAT YOUR CHILDREN ATTEND. TAKE THE BRIEF SCHOOLS SURVEY: School Survey Flyer
PASS ALONG THIS SCHOOL MAINTENANCE DIRECTOR/STAFF SURVEY TO THOSE CARING FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS IN YOUR TOWN. Maintentance Director Survey
BACKGROUND: This initiative is a follow-up to our 2008, Kids & Toxics Information Exchange, described in this little flyer:.Kids & Toxics Information Exchange Flyer
NEWS NOTE: Liberty Goodwin, TIP Director, had been writing a column titled “AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION” for the publication Families Today, distributed in local library’s children’s sections, doctor’s offices and elsewhere. Publication has been halted (hopefully temporarily), but we will be posting all the OOP columns here very soon.
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YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO HELP EDUCATE PARENTS & OTHERS ON HOW TO PROTECT KIDS IN RHODE ISLAND FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THEIR TOYS & OTHER PRODUCTS!
WHY TAKE ACTION? It makes no sense to continue to expose children to chemicals that raise such serious questions when alternatives are readily available and in use around the world. Do you want your children or grandkids to be subjected to suspect carcinogens and hormone while waiting for 100 percent certainty about their safety? Could you look them in the eye if they developed any of the health effects about which we’ve been warned?
LEGISLATION: The RI Children’s Product Safety Act: did not succeed last year. Federal legislation was passed to strengthen regulations and oversight of a variety of products by the consumer product safety commission. However, it only mentions phthalates by name, not bisphenol-A. Also, federal agencies have a track record of sometimes taking many years to even begin work on mandated actions. And the research on which they rely is often tainted by industry involvement. ALREADY THERE ARE COMPLAINTS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION - SEE OUR LEGISLATION PAGE FOR UPDATES.
THE BEST PROTECTION FOR OUR KIDS IS EDUCATED CONSUMERS!
HERE’S HOW TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION:
1. GET ON THE TIP E-MAIL LIST AND RECEIVE THE LATEST INFORMATION ON SAFER PRODUCTS AND WHICH TO AVOID.
2. GET USEFUL INFORMATION FROM ARTICLES BELOW AND FROM OUR “HEALTHY HOLIDAYS HANDBOOK” ON ENTERTAINING AND GIFT-GIVING, NOW ON OUR WEBSITE AT: www.toxicsinfo.org/basicInfo/HealthyHolidaysHandbookHtml.htm
3. PASS ON THIS INFORMATION TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY
4. BECOME A MEMBER OF TIP, SUPPORT OUR WORK AND RECEIVE OUR INFORMATIVE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER! www.toxicsinfo.org/subscribe.htm
Contact me with any questions or to help with further action.
Liberty Goodwin, Director, Toxics Information Project (TIP),
P.O. Box 40441, Providence, RI 02940,
E-Mail: liberty@toxicsinfo.org, Tel. 401-351-9193.
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ARTICLES ON KIDS & TOXICS AND HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVES
Buyers At Risk: Christmas Season Of Toxic Recalls, By Mark Schapiro. www.toxicsinfo.org/kids/Buyers%20At%20Risk.htm (Must read article on consumer safety) Mark's book, Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power, is available from us at the TIP Store.
SEE “SAM SUDS & THE CASE OF THE POISON PLASTIC”, THE HILARIOUS CARTOON ON AVOIDING PVC (POLYVINYL CHLORIDE),
GO TO: WWW.SAMSUDS.ORG OR WWW.BESAFE.ORG
Toys
All I want for Christmas Are Some Lead-Free Toys
Time Magazine Tips for Safe Toys
USPIRG Trouble in Toyland 2007 Report
Toxic Toys, by Mark Schapiro
Less Toxic Fire-Resistant Sleepwear
Greenpeace 2003 Toy Report Card
Autism
Autism and Endocrine Disrupters
Treatment Tips: A Brief Overview of Common Problems and Fixes
Making the Link Between Chemicals and Learning Disabilities
Autism: It's Not Just in the Head
Autism in Children Linked to Environmental Factors
Babies
FDA Petition on Bisphenol-A in Plastic Baby Bottles & Food Packaging
Folate Shields the Fetus Against a Chemical in Plastics
New C8 (Teflon, PFOA) Study Finds Baby Development Problem
Endocrine Disruptors
New Study: Common Air Fresheners Contain Chemicals That May Affect Human Reproductive Development
Sex Education: A Primer on Chemicals, Fertility, and Reproduction
Germs
Too Clean? Fight Against Germs Fuels Allergy Increase
War on Bacteria is Wrongheaded
Phthalates (plasticizer chemicals which make plastics soft)
The Association Between Asthma and Allergic Symptoms in Children and Phthalates in House Dust
Schwarzenegger Signs Bill Banning Chemical in Toys
Toxic Phthalates Found in "Phthalate-Free" Products
Schools
Green Schools Offer Healthier Classrooms and Might Boost Test Scores
Is Dissection Necessary in Rhode Island Schools? Do Kids Have to Participate? Why is This a Health/Environment Issue?
Which Plastics are Safe for Lunchbox Use?
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New England Inhalant Prevention Coalition update, 3/07
2006 Articles
One in Six High School Students Has Asthma
Toxic Elements Found in Cord Blood
AMA: Kids Exposed to Pesticides on School Grounds
A Mother's Story of Pesticide Poisoning
Calcium Can Reduce Effects of Lead Exposure
Children, Pesticides and Schools
Children Harmed when Pesticides are Used at School
EPA Sued Over Children's Exposure to Pesticides
Inhalant Abuse, the Silent Epidemic
Inhalants Kill, a mother's plea. A different reason to throw away that can of air freshener.
Is Pollution Making Our Minds Melt? / Drawings by Yaqui Kids
Non-Toxic Treatment for Head Lice
Plastic Baby Bottles — Are They Safe?
