Green Chemistry and Safer Alternatives to Toxic Flame Retardants: Achieving Protective Policies Without Compromising Fire Safety
March 16, 2011 @ 9:00am (AKDT)
Toxic flame retardant chemicals known as PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) are widely used in home furniture, electronics, and other products. Mounting research suggests that flame retardants may cause neurological and reproductive harm, thyroid disruption, and cancer.
This teleconference will focus on solutions to PBDEs and how green chemistry can help shape protective public policies. Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is a philosophy of chemical engineering that encourages the design of products and processes that minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances.
Safer alternatives to toxic flame retardants already exist. Policymakers are increasingly recognizing the need to phase out dangerous chemicals in favor of ones that are safer for people and the environment.
Join us for a free, one-hour teleconference on Wednesday, March 16 to:
- Find out about the Green Screen project to identify safer alternatives to toxic flame retardants from Dr. Lauren Heine, Senior Science Advisor with Clean Producation Action.
- Learn how you can support legislation in Alaska to phase out PBDEs. Now is the time to pass Senate Bill 27 and House Bill 63. Samantha Englishoe of ACAT will discuss how you can help.
ACAT PBDEs Fact Sheet:
https://www.akaction.org/wp-content/uploads/45-MD-PBDE-Fact-1.pdf
Featured speakers
Dr. Lauren Heine, Principal for the Lauren Heine Group, and Senior Science Advisor with Clean Production Action. Dr. Heine advises organizations seeking to integrate green chemistry and green engineering into product and process design and development activities – eliminating toxics and the concept of waste, and moving toward economic, environmental and community sustainability. She was previously the Director of Applied Science at GreenBlue where she directed the development of CleanGredients™, a unique, web-based information platform, developed in partnership with the U.S. EPA Design for the Environment Program that promotes green chemistry and environmentally preferable product formulation by providing information on key human and environmental health, safety and sustainability attributes of cleaning product chemicals.
Samantha Englishoe, Environmental Health and Justice Organizer, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, is Gwich’in Athabascan, Kaagwaantaan Tlingit, and a lifelong Anchorage resident. She graduated in 2008 from Seattle University where she majored in political science and pre-law. After graduation, Sam worked as a Public Policy Fellow in the Office of Representative Beth Kerttula and as a Rural Affairs Intern for Senator Mark Begich. She came to ACAT in January 2011 to work on policy and environmental justice issues.