Environmental Health: Urgent Threats on the Horizon

What emerging environmental hazard should be next on the policy agenda? PSR's Environmental Health Policy Institute, an online forum of medical and public health experts, has posted expert responses to this question. Learn more about flame retardants, endocrine disruptors, cell phone radiation, nanoparticles, and the pollution caused by the U.S. military in essays by Arlene Blum, Theo Colborn, Devra Davis, Steven G. Gilbert, and H. Patricia Hynes. And join the conversation to tell us what you think is the next urgent environmental health threat. Don’t forget to check the Institute each month for new topics, new experts, and new responses.

Flaws in Small Modular Reactors

PSR and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research have teamed up on a new factsheet to address the growing myth that small modular reactors (SMR) are the new fix for nuclear industry.  The factsheet finds that SMRs are not only unlikely to be the solution, but may actually exacerbate the cost, safety, and waste problems that are found in conventional reactor technologies.

Exercise Your Power as a Citizen: Vote!

PSR members know that elections are an important part of our democratic process.  We also know that our commitment to “prevent what we cannot cure” goes well beyond the ballot box.  We act to affirm our vision of a peaceful healthy future throughout the year in many different ways.  Still, we recognize that this election will have a profound impact on our ability to advance our vital agenda -- all of PSR’s core issues hang in the balance.

Physicians for Social Responsibility, 1961 - Today

In 1961 a group of physicians -- with their knowledge of medicine and concern for humanity -- resolved to tell the whole story about the grave threat to humanity posed by nuclear weapons proliferation. PSR physicians and concerned citizens have remained inspired for nearly 50 years by an unwavering dedication to the public's health. Your contribution will ensure that the physicians of tomorrow have the resources, tools and inspiration to continue our campaign for a safe and healthy future.

A Moment of Decision is Upon Us!

Ira Helfand, M.D., at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute of Peace, in September for a public discussion about the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, joined by Col. Richard Klass, U.S. Air Force (ret.) of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, and Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, the principal negotiator on New START.

In a rare bipartisan vote, New START was recommended by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (14-4). Now some are trying to delay a vote by the full Senate on this vital treaty. Congress will decide soon if New START will get time on the agenda for the lame duck session. With your help, we have been keeping up a steady drumbeat for ratification. Now we must make a big push to get the floor time needed.  Please call your Senators TODAY urging them to bring this important treaty up for a vote before year end.

PSR Leader Meets with Chief New START Negotiator

Ira Helfand, M.D., at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute of Peace, in September for a public discussion about the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, joined by Col. Richard Klass, U.S. Air Force (ret.) of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, and Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, the principal negotiator on New START.

Thanks in large part to the good work of PSR members and our colleagues in the disarmament community, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in September to support ratification of New START. The bipartisan vote in committee is a positive sign and PSR members are keeping up a steady drum beat for swift ratification of this treaty as an urgent step to enhance our national security.

Is there a Nuclear Revival in the United States?

Michele Boyd, director of PSR’s Safe Energy program, at the release of her new report.

A new report by PSR’s Michele Boyd refutes the nuclear industry’s claims that the U.S. is on the brink of a nuclear renaissance. Far from a revival, the industry continues to be plagued by cost escalation, faulty reactor designs, and unresolved waste issues. Dangerous and still unable to compete in the marketplace—even with massive tax-payer funded subsidies—the industry is cancelling, suspending or delaying proposed reactor projects. The report was supported by the Heinrich Boll Foundation and released at a panel event at Center for Strategic International Studies. Download a free copy of the report.

Give Today

From our campaigns to reduce and eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons to our programs for stronger policies protecting human health from environmental threats, PSR is having an impact on the issues you care about most. There is much more to be done to continue the progress even as we prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. Your support is critical at this moment. Please make a tax-deductable contribution to PSR today. It will ensure that we have the resources necessary to deliver the strongest effort possible in the months ahead. Thank you!

Help contain coal ash threats

Coal ash is a toxic threat to public health across the nation.  Let's seize this opportunity to work with the EPA to secure robust national regulations for safe coal ash disposal.

PSR and Earth Justice co-release new Coal Ash report

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and Earthjustice announce the release of a groundbreaking report "Coal Ash: The Toxic Threat to our Health and Environment." It places a magnifying glass over the damaging impacts toxic pollutants in coal ash can have on human health and the environment. The report comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducts public hearings in eight cities across the country on its proposal to regulate coal ash. The proposal is open for public comments until Nov. 19.

Shocking News -- bipartisanship breaks out in Washington, DC!

PSR Board President Dr. Jeff Patterson (r) with Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of Two Futures Project, in Nashville to meet with Tennesseans about the ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Thanks in large part to the good work of PSR members and our colleagues in the disarmament community, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to support ratification of New START. The growing bipartisan consensus has taken hold in this key committee. Following speaker tours in Tennessee and Georgia by PSR President Dr. Jeff Patterson and PSR Board Member Dr. Ira Helfand, Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) supported New START! We must keep up the steady drum beat for swift ratification of New START as a modest and urgent step to enhance our national security

Last-ditch effort for more nuclear subsidies

Tell your Senators and Representatives to oppose these last ditch efforts to authorize more nuclear loan guarantees. Help us prevent wasteful spending on dangerous reactors that endanger the public’s health and strain our already overburdened economy

PSR calls on EPA for Tougher Regulation of Toxic Coal Ash

PSR testified recently before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the health risks associated with coal ash, at the first of seven EPA hearings on disposal of this dangerous coal combustion waste product.

Barbara Gottlieb, deputy director of environment and health, and Alan Lockwood, MD FAAN, a member of the PSR board, outlined the dangers to health from toxicants that leach, leak and spill from coal ash disposal sites around the country.

Experts address scientific uncertainty

PSR’s Environmental Health Policy Institute, an online forum of medical and public health experts, has posted expert responses to a new topic: How can we set science-based policies in the face of scientific uncertainty? This month read essays by Martha Dina Arguello, Lin Kaatz Chary, Steven G. Gilbert, and Michael McCally. Learn what the experts think; build your advocacy skills; and join the conversation. Check back each month for new topics, new experts, and new responses.

EPA Rejects Petitions to Overturn Greenhouse Gases Endangerment Finding

After months of investigation, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rejected the claims of 10 petitions that questioned the EPA's 2009 determination that greenhouse gases are a threat to human health. These petitions were yet another attempt to prevent the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by the Clean Air Act.

PSR supports rigorous regulation of coal ash

Coal ash, the residue left over after coal is burned, contains some of the world’s deadliest toxics: arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, selenium and others.  Despite its toxicity, disposal of coal ash is not regulated by the federal government.  Instead, the states apply a patchwork of rules, some of them inadequate to protect human health and the environment. 

PSR urges its members to submit comments to the Environmental Protection Agency, insisting on strict federal regulation of coal ash disposal sites that now leak deadly toxics into surface water and drinking water.

Countdown to Feature Film on Nuclear Weapons

In the midst of an exciting year for advancing Nuclear Disarmament world-wide, the makers of "An Inconvenient Truth" are releasing a new feature film on the dangers of nuclear weapons. This film, "Countdown to Zero," features key leaders in the arms control community including PSR Board Member Dr. Ira Helfand speaking to the need for the abolition of nuclear weapons before the threat of a nuclear detonation is realized. Read more to get information on a screening near you and how you can help.

Energy Industry Deregulation: First Oil, Now Nuclear

At a press briefing on June 23, experts raised serious concerns about provisions included in proposed climate/energy legislation that would undermine Nuclear Regulatory Commission safety reviews and deregulate new reactors in much the same way that the oil industry safety regulations were skirted before the BP oil disaster.

Dr. Jeff Patterson, PSR Board President (left) emphasized that "One of the crucial lessons from the oil spill in the Gulf is that measures to accelerate licensing, cut corners on safety and generally undermine regulation can lead to tragic consequences."

Read more (pdf)

Defeat of Senator Murkowski's Dirty Air Act represents monumental win for safeguarding public health

On June 10, the U.S. Senate rejected, 47 – 53, a "Dirty Air Act" resolution sponsored by Senator Murkowski (R-AK), which would have gutted the Clean Air Act's ability to crack down on the dirtiest climate polluters.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been authorized to use the Clean Air Act to control greenhouse gases coming from sources like Big Oil and Dirty Coal.  The Senate decisively supported that vision. Read Dr. Peter Wilk's response to the defeat of the Dirty Air Act.

New START vote scheduled for mid-September

After over 2 months and 20 Senate hearings, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled the vote on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) for mid-September.