Petition Senator Begich to Protect our Health
 Safer Chemicals Healthy Families is a national coalition. Senator Begich,Please strengthen the Chemical Safety Improvement Act to
Alaskans are more highly exposed to persistent, bioaccumulative chemicals. |
We appreciate that you are joining in the bi-partisan effort to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act by serving as co-sponsors of the new Chemical Safety Improvement Act introduced in May 2013. We are now requesting your leadership to strengthen this legislation in order to ensure that our health and the health of our children is fully protected. Please ensure the following provisions are included in the new legislation:
• Ensure chemicals are safe before they end up in products;
• Increase access to basic safety and health information on chemicals;
• Protect vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and children;
• Ensure protection for “hot spots”—communities most harmed by chemical exposures;
• Ensure expedited action to restrict harmful chemicals, especially persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic chemicals and those known to be associated with cancer, neurodevelopmental problems, and reproductive harm;
• Allow states the authority to pass more protective laws if needed.
This legislation is of particular concern to Alaskans because we receive a disproportionate exposure to chemicals transported into the north from more southern latitudes—persistent organic pollutants including “legacy” chemicals such as PCBs and DDT, as well as currently used pesticides and industrial chemicals. We also may be more highly exposed to chemicals in products because our homes are more insulated and closed in for a greater part of the year. This is a crucial public health issue for Alaskans!
Thank you for your careful consideration of this important bill.
Sincerely,
Ask Alaska Senators to strengthen the Chemical Safety Improvement Act
If you live in Alaska, please call Senator Begich and Sen. Murkowski today and thank them for co-sponsoring the Chemical Safety Improvement Act which was introduced by Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Senator Vitter (R-LA).
See our news release.
Sample phone message:
“I’m a concerned constituent. I urge you to strengthen the Chemical Safety Improvement Act. Help protect our families and future generations from unnecessary exposures to toxic chemicals allowed in everyday products we use in our homes. This issue is important to me because………”
If you live outside of Alaska:
Please contact your representatives in Congress via the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families website.
More information on Senator Begich and the Safe Chemicals Act in the past:
Senator Begich is the only original co-sponsor over the past several years who has not sponsored the Safe Chemicals Act of 2013. Please call him today.
More information on Senator Murkowski and the Safe Chemicals Act in the past:
Although, US Senator Murkowski has not sponsored this legislation, due to your calls she did sign on to a bi-partisan letter in 2012. Visit the Chicago Tribune’s Watchdog Investigative Series Playing with Fire to learn more.
3 GOP senators join call for action on toxic flame retardants: “Bipartisan letter to EPA says chemical safety law ‘must be reformed’. “This reinforces why there is broad agreement that (the chemical safety law) must be reformed to protect American families from dangerous chemicals in a cost-effective way,” they wrote. Read more at Chicago Tribune.
Why should Alaskans be concerned?
See our Toxic Substance Control Act Issues page for some startling health issues Alaskan’s face, with links to their scientific sources. Although we do not know the correlation between each of these issues, the reality is, Alaskans are facing environmental exposure to chemicals which are not even manufactured in Alaska. The way that the law stands now, it is up to us to prove that each individual chemical (of over 80,000 chemicals) causes us harm.
It is time to turn the tables and require companies to prove the safety of a chemical before it’s manufacture.
Additional information and resources are available:
National Safer Homes Health Families National Coalition
- Safer Homes Healthy Families Legislative Update
- National Safer Chemicals Platform
- Show your support for the Safe Chemicals Act!
Alaska Community Action on Toxics – National chemical policy reform program
Alaska Community Action on Toxics – Alaska State Legislation program
