The Back-to-School Guide for Safer School Supplies provides parents with information on many common back-to-school items – from backpacks to binders – that may contain toxic chemicals and suggests some safer alternatives. For example, a lot of children’s products, including backpacks, paper clips, 3-ring binders, and lunch boxes, are decorated with PVC coatings. Polyvinyl chloride, …
As Vermont families get into back-to-school mode, a group of public health and consumer advocates is releasing a guide to help inform parents of the hidden dangers from toxic chemicals in common back-to-school products.
Evaluating funding mechanisms available to states tackling new comprehensive toxic chemical regulations – this research requires brains and patience, both of which intern Mitty Barnard has exemplified this summer. Mitty comes to VPIRG from Vermont Law School, where she’s on track to complete her law degree in 2013. Prior to coming to Vermont for law …
Intern Dives into Reforming Toxic Chemical Regulations Read More »
South Burlington resident and soon-to-be Connecticut College senior, Scott Britt, is interning with VPIRG’s Field team this summer. As a government major, he’s focused on learning how to inform and engage citizens on important issues of the day, from wind energy to the Bottle Bill. Having wasted no time getting his hands dirty, Scott has …
Several hundred moms, nurses and cancer survivors gathered at the U.S. Capitol to demand action on toxic chemicals. The group rallied in support of Senator Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) Safe Chemicals Act, a bill to overhaul antiquated laws governing toxic chemicals. Hundreds of moms, including VPIRG Environmental Health Advocate Lauren Hierl, flew or bused into Washington …
Update from VPIRG Environmental Health Advocate, Lauren Hierl — May 10, 2011 I knew the chemical industry couldn’t be trusted, but it’s way worse than I thought. This week, the Chicago Tribune published a scathing series of articles about the underhanded tactics the chemical industry has used to stop regulators from banning toxic flame retardants. …
The 2012 legislative session marked another busy and successful year in advocacy for the public interest. We came into the session with ambitious plans – from taking on the Oil and Gas Industry to ban fracking to initiating a campaign to require GMO labeling to standing up to health insurers and making sure they cover the medical care they should. We take our role as “Vermont’s Voice” in the State House seriously – bringing research and policy analysis, strong partnerships and principled organizing and advocacy to the fore.
The end of the legislative session is always lively. While things are changing by the minute, here’s a snapshot of where things stand with the public interest bills on the eve of the session’s close.
Jewelry being sold in Vermont stores contains alarming levels of toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, nickel and arsenic, according to a study conducted by The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit environmental organization that conducts product testing for hazardous ingredients in items average American families use daily. Many of the products tested are aimed at children. …
For Immediate Release: March 13, 2012 Montpelier, VT – Jewelry being sold in Vermont stores contains alarming levels of toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, nickel and arsenic, according to a new study. Many of the products tested are aimed at children. The chemicals found in the jewelry have been linked to acute allergies, birth defects, …
News Release: Alarming Levels of Lead, Cadmium, and Nickel Found in Vermont Jewelry Read More »
