Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

The Centre for Environment at the University of Toronto is hosting a number of seminars in the coming weeks that address environment and health. No registration or fee is required for admission – all are welcome. Visit the Centre for Environment website to find out the full schedule and speaker list, updates, abstracts and speaker bios.

Last month the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that class action lawsuits can be filed against industrial polluters for emitting intolerable odours, dust or noise, whether or not they comply with government emission regulations.

The landmark ruling stemmed from a decision by the court to allow citizens near Quebec City to launch a lawsuit against a cement plant which was emitting irritating odours and dust. The court deemed that polluters could be sued on the grounds that their emissions, “despite being legal, exceed reasonable levels of tolerance in a community.”

When you open a new PVC shower curtain, you’re immediately hit with a strong chemical odor, which may persist in your home for days, weeks, or even months. This “new shower curtain smell” may even make you feel nauseous, give you a headache, or make you feel sick.

Why? Because shower curtains manufactured out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) release chemicals into the air in the communities where they are made, and in your home where you hang it. Some of these chemicals may be toxic to your health.

Flame retardants and other toxic chemicals are traveling the globe to end up in long-lived killer whales, at the top of the marine food chain.

A victory for the public’s right to know in Toronto.