The Weekly Toxic Times
From the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health
News highlights for the week of Friday, November 30, 2007
A recap of the top stories on toxins in Michigan, National, and International news.
Michigan News
Bill would give state power to ban bad toys
Detroit Free Press, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007
“The state of Michigan would get legal teeth to ban lead-contaminated toys from stores, under legislation approved by the state Senate today…”
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771127066
Survey shows contaminated food killed at least 300 pets
Ann Arbor News, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
“More than 300 dogs and cats may have died earlier this year as a result of eating contaminated pet food, a new survey shows. The results of the Michigan State University study released Thursday showed that the cause of death may have been related to melamine and cyanuric acid - two food contaminants that are relatively harmless but which turned deadly when they were combined by pet food manufacturers…”
http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2007/11/
survey_shows_contaminated_food.html
Price of poison
Kalamazoo Gazette, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
Article is a series of posts by the newspaper on property contamination in southwestern Michigan. The posts also discuss the Michigan DEQ’s lack of resources. The most recent post provides a map of some of the properties with the highest contamination.
http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/price_of_poison/
Coal-fired power plants are opposed
Detroit Free Press, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007
“While Gov. Jennifer Granholm is in California hawking Michigan's capabilities as a center of new energy technology, seven new coal-fueled power plants are formally proposed or under serious discussion in Michigan…”
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/NEWS05/711280321
National News
An environmental contaminant invades the comb
ScienceNOW Daily News, Monday, Nov., 27, 2007
“Arsenic is poised to become even more notorious. Scientists have found that if a pregnant woman is exposed, the deadly contaminant can alter the activity of several genes in her fetus, potentially increasing the child's risk of cancer later in life…”
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/1126/3
Asbestos turns up in toys, children’s clay
Seattle Post Intelligencer, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007
“Asbestos has been found in a variety of consumer products, including one of this season's biggest-selling Christmas toys, according to the nation's largest asbestos victims organizations. The CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit, two brands of children's play clay, powdered cleanser, roof sealers, duct tapes, window glazing, spackling paste and small appliances were among the products in which asbestos was found by at least two of three labs hired by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization…”
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/341381_asbestos28.html
Interviews: Mark Schapiro, Exposing a toxic U.S. policy
National Public Radio, aired on Monday, Nov. 26, 2007
“Investigative reporter Mark Schapiro explains in a new book that toxic chemicals exist in many of the products we handle every day — agents that can cause cancer, genetic damage and birth defects, lacing everything from our gadgets to our toys to our beauty products…”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16616951
State sues over eased EPA disclosure rule
Los Angeles Times, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
“California and 11 other states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday over a new regulation that exempts thousands of companies from disclosing to the public details about their use and emission of toxic chemicals…”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-toxics29nov29,1,4856617.story
?ctrack=6&cset=true
International News
‘Get the lead out’: Toxic to the brain, lead poses risks to young children
CanWest News Service, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007
“Everywhere he looks Bill Radosevich finds lead: a rubber wagon wheel a toddler loved to put on its side and spin for half an hour at a time (1.5 per cent lead), plastic ducks, backpacks, vinyl lunch boxes, plastic caps on glue sticks, zipper pulls, sipping cups, pacifiers and teething rings. ‘I've got some baby teething rings that have a couple of hundred, to a couple of thousand parts per million of lead,’ says Radosevich, who screens toys for lead for the Minneapolis-based company Thermo Scientific…”
Health Canada warns against even low lead levels in toys
CanWest News Service, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007
“OTTAWA – Nearly one-third of popular children's toys chosen for testing by CanWest News Service contained detectable levels of lead, raising questions about the safety of products being marketed to kids this holiday season…”
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