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(Seattle) As Walmart continues to gather kudos for its recent announcement to phase out 10 toxic chemicals from its brand of personal care products, cosmetics and cleaning products by 2015, a study by the Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC) reveals that Walmart is selling jewelry with alarmingly high levels of lead.

The environmental health field has worked for decades to show the environment isn't something "out there", but rather is intimately linked to our health and well-being. Air pollution and asthma, toxic chemicals and infertility, community pollution and cancer clusters, these are all issues the environmental health movement is fighting for. This wonderful infographic gives the background of environmental health as it relates to toxic chemicals.

Thanks to our friends at the North American of Hazardous Materials Management Association (NAHMMA) for picking Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. Our whole coalition appreciates NAHMMA and all they do to protect the public and environment from toxic chemicals!

Our partners have created "The Toxies" funny and creative videos to tell the story about how chemicals are affecting our lives. Please take a moment to watch and share these videos, they are amazing!

When pregnant, I was lucky enough to receive excellent prenatal care. Still, I was bombarded – and frankly, sometimes overwhelmed – with messages about what to do and what to avoid during pregnancy.  And despite doing my best to comply with the prevailing guidance, my son was probably born – like most babies in the United States – with 200+ chemicals in his body.

The handwringing and defensive happy talk is winding down today. The industries that make, use and sell toxic chemicals in everyday products are wrapping up two major industry conferences – a national Safer Consumer Products Summitin Washington, DC and an international Product Safety Workshop in Seattle, WA.

Despite EPA’s definition of “fair treatment,” “meaningful involvement,” and “environmental justice,” communities of color continue to be exposed to higher rates of air pollution, water pollution, toxics in products and contaminated properties. African Americans are more likely to live near landfills and dumps, contaminated Brownfield properties, trash incinerators, power plants, chemical plants, auto body shops, nail salons, and refineries than other Americans.

Last week Walmart announced a first step to address toxic chemicals in their stores, taking the lead in our Mind the Store challenge. Read some of the different responses to the announcement in our first Retailer Roundtable discussion.

I had the opportunity to interview author, business woman, mother and blogger Paige Wolf about her book, Spit That Out! If you've ever had trouble balancing the normal challenges of parenthood with new information about toxic chemicals and other environmental issues, this interview is for you.

No matter how careful a woman is, there is no way to avoid all BPA exposure. And you know what? It shouldn’t be our job! No one, especially a pregnant woman, should have to be a toxicologist to go to the grocery store.