Confronting Toxics

Each year, the $1.5 trillion global chemicals industry produces tens of thousands of substances that permeate the environment and affect the health and well-being of humans across the planet. On any given day, people are exposed to a wide array of chemicals, from industrial pollutants in the air, to pesticide residues in foods, to heavy metals in drinking water. PSR is working to ensure that people are not harmed by toxic chemical exposure.

PSR is a member organization of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign, which is fighting for national chemical policy reform that will do three things:

1. Take immediate action on the most dangerous chemicals. Persistent, bioaccumulative toxic chemicals, which are uniquely hazardous, should be phased out of commerce.

2. Hold industry accountable for the safety of their chemicals and products. Chemical companies should be required to provide full information on the health and environmental impacts of all their chemicals.

3. Use the best science to protect all people and vulnerable groups. Chemicals should meet a standard of safety for all people, including children, pregnant women, and workers.

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Click here to see Environmental Health Resources and Links, compiled by PSR-Maine.

Snapshot of Chemicals in Doctors and Nurses
Read PSR’s October, 2009, report: "Hazardous Chemicals in Health Care." Of 20 health care professionals tested for the presence of industrial chemicals in their bodies, all 20 had at least 24 individual chemicals present, many of which are associated with chronic illness and physical disorders.