Harmful toxic chemicals added to consumer products, like TVs or carpeting, can escape the product and contaminate our homes, food, breastmilk, and bodies. The same toxic chemicals, including toxic flame retardants, phthalates, and nonstick PFAS, are making their way into the environment and affecting the health of orcas, their young, and their food sources too. Continue reading
Five classes of chemicals in consumer products are emerging as particular concern for the health of both humans and orcas. Continue reading
Seattle – Today, Governor Inslee’s Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force released its recommendations for protecting the endangered southern resident orca population, including recommendations for reducing threats posed by toxic contaminants. Toxic pollution is one of the major threats to orcas, not only affecting orca health but also the availability of their favored food source, Chinook salmon. Continue reading
Shopping at a store shouldn’t involve guesswork about whether a TV contains toxic flame retardants or a shampoo is made with hormone-disrupting chemicals. But the reality is that consumers are hard-put to make healthy decisions for their families because there are few restrictions on the toxic chemicals used in consumer products. Continue reading
Over the last month we’ve been glued to news reports about Tahlequah, the 22-year-old Southern Resident Killer Whale that carried her dead calf hundreds of miles for nearly three weeks. I had tears in my eyes more than once thinking about the baby orca that had deadly chemicals flowing from its mother to its body before it even had a chance to be born. We know that this is what happens with human babies too. Continue reading
Early childhood is a period of rapid development. Babies learn to crawl and then walk, speak in coherent sentences, and begin to develop self-control, all in just a few short years. It is a sad reality that our environment puts a lot of hurdles in the way of young children. Exposure to toxic chemicals in everyday consumer products is one of these hurdles that may impair kids’ ability to learn and reach developmental milestones. Continue reading
Governor Jay Inslee spoke at the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Convention last week. In his remarks, Governor Inslee talked about Washington’s commitment to reducing toxic chemical exposures for firefighters – specifically calling out the state’s first-in-the-nation bans on PBDE flame retardants and nonstick PFAS chemicals. Continue reading
Childcare providers want to create a healthy space for children to learn, play, and sleep. But childcares that use foam nap mats can have higher levels of toxic flame retardants in their dust. We wondered whether it was possible to reduce kids’ exposures to toxic flame retardants in childcares. Continue reading
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning consumers, especially pregnant women and young children, to avoid kids’ products, electronics, mattresses, and home furniture that contain certain toxic flame retardants, known as organohalogens. Continue reading
I learned a devastating fact this month: rates of thyroid cancer have tripled in the last 30 years and researchers have linked the increase to high levels of toxic flame retardants in house dust. Continue reading