Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

Tomorrow afternoon, it is anticipated that the federal government will publish their draft decision on whether or not another concerning chemical used in personal care products will be proposed as "toxic" in Canada. If it is, the government can propose actions intended to reduce our exposures.

For those of you watching or reading the news last week, you’ve probably come across a couple of BPA stories making the media rounds. Regardless of whether you have or haven’t seen them, know that both are significant in that they further vindicate Canada’s earlier position on the substance (that it’s harmful) and that they contribute to building momentum for broader BPA bans (including the need to get it out of all food and beverage containers).

Photo from the Associated Press of a necklace, purchased at an Ohio Wal-Mart, that contains high cadmium levels.

Yesterday, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum advised parents to take metal jewelry away from “children who will swallow, suck or chew on it” and that parents should “not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised”.

Good news! Just before the holidays, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), as well as two US manufacturers and the largest US importer of the toxic flame retardant decaBDE, announced a voluntary phase out of the chemical’s production, importation, and sale by the end of 2013. This chemical is part of the polybrominated flame retardant (PBDE) family and is used to make the sole PBDE mixture still widely used.

If you’re looking for some good movie-viewing this holiday season, watch Chemerical! This film by Andrew Nisker (maker of the award winning film Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home) “explores the life cycle of everyday householder cleaners and hygiene products to prove that, thanks to our clean obsession, we are drowning in sea of toxicity.”

Photo courtesy of the Natural Step, Lighthouse Sustainable Building Centre, and David Suzuki Foundation

Looking for a one-stop place with tips on how you can reduce the impact of climate change (and save some money doing so) by making changes around your home? Well look no more!

Photo courtesy of www.cbc.ca

A recent University of Rochester study of women showed that male children exposed to high doses of two phthalates (DEHP and DBP) in the womb were less likely to have “male-typical behaviour”.

A multi-year study which examined 634 workers in China found that workers in BPA manufacturing facilities, in comparison to those working in facilities where no BPA was present, had more than four times the risk of erectile dysfunction, more than seven times the risk of ejaculation difficulty, and almost four times the risk of reduced sexual desire and overall satisfaction with their sex life. Increasing BPA exposure was associated with increasing sexual dysfunction risk.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, My Toxic Baby follows director and new mother Min Sook Lee as she searches for “safe, sane and affordable ways” to raise her daughter in a toxic world.

Playing at the Montréal World Film Festival this fall, A Chemical Reaction is a documentary that tells the story of the historic court case in 2000-2001 between the town of Hudson, which enacted a by-law to ban the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and some of the most powerful chemical companies in North America.