October is Breast Cancer Month but this message can’t wait from Breast Cancer Action. I just received it. See link below.
Will you take a moment to help stop cancer before it starts?
Tomorrow, July 31st, the U.S. Senate is holding a congressional hearing to consider the future of toxic chemical regulation. This hearing is a rare opportunity for us all to tell our Senators what meaningful toxic chemical regulation should look like.
Click here to go to www.bcaction.org to find your senators to send him or her this urgent message.
(When you go to their site, look for the red box on the left that says 7/30/13 with information on chemical reform update)
Demand that your Senators attend the hearing and support only the strongest regulation to protect all of us from toxic chemicals.Â
Take a moment to stop breast cancer before it starts.
After years of hard work, we are thrilled that chemical reform is finally a priority for the current Senate. Recent reform efforts have been both very promising and very disappointing but so far, nothing has been passed and no change enacted.
Act Now – Senators across the country are listening and need to hear from you.Â
Tell them what real chemical reform looks like.
Tell your Senators that strong chemical regulation must address:
- Burden of Proof: the burden of proof for chemical safety must be placed squarely on the shoulders of industry rather than on the EPA having to prove they are toxic.
- Precautionary Principle: a strong chemical safety bill must require that products are proven safe before they enter the marketplace – rather than after they are already in our homes and our bodies.
- Expedited Action on the Worst Chemicals: existing chemical regulation requires unnecessary red tape before the EPA can phase out a chemical identified as dangerous. Instead of creating obstacles for regulators to protect the public, strong chemical reform must allow for expedited action for the worst chemicals.
- Protection for Heavily Impacted Communities: central to any proposed chemical regulation must be a special focus to reduce toxic chemicals in “hot spot†communities heavily impacted by chemical exposures.
- Allowance for Existing Stronger Laws: federal chemical regulation cannot over-ride or water down existing state or regional laws protecting people from toxic chemicals.
- Establish Deadlines and Timetables: this should go without saying, but chemical regulation should have a realistic implementation schedule that requires compliance and gives the EPA the necessary incentives and resources to implement changes necessitated by the new law.
Activists like you influence legislators. In the past, we have shown that when we come together, we can make change happen. Now is the time – please email your Senators today and tell them what strong chemical regulation looks like – before the Senate hearing on chemical reform tomorrow, Wednesday, July 31st. Thank you for taking a stand to ensure that any new chemical regulation is as strong as it can possibly be.
Annie Sartor
Policy and Campaigns Coordinator