An article to share...

I wanted to share an article that I read on the Oregon Environmental Council site today.

The 21st Century War on Cancer Must Take Aim at Toxics

In honor of Presidents Day, ask President Obama to protect us from cancer-causing chemicals.

Last May, the President’s Cancer Panel's annual report provided strong confirmation that exposure to toxic chemicals is an important and woefully under-recognized risk factor for cancer. The Panel highlighted the need for Congress to reform the broken 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), noting not only that it is “the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants” but also that its weaknesses have constrained the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from being able to properly regulate known and suspected carcinogens.

It's no secret that cancer takes a devastating toll on individuals and families:

• Every minute, at least one American will die from cancer this year
• 1 in 2 American men and 1 in 3 American women will get some type of cancer in their lifetime
• Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children younger than 15
  Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer

With statistics like that, it is the rare person who has not been personally affected by cancer—and the emotional roller coaster that comes with it—at some point in their life. Cancer also takes a devastating toll on our state: It's estimated that the cases caused by unnecessary chemical exposures costs Oregon at least $131 million per year in direct and indirect health-care costs.

Exposure to actual and potential cancer-causing chemicals is widespread. Toxic chemicals that cause cancer are in products like clothing, furniture, cleaning products, and plastics used by children, women, and men on a daily basis. Pregnant women have been found to carry toxic chemicals in their bodies, which leads to babies being born with a burden of chemicals over which they had no control. Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of the dangers of chemical exposure in their daily lives and if they are aware, they do not have adequate information to protect themselves.

So how did we get to a point where only a few hundred of the over 80,000 chemicals on the market today have actually been tested for safety? We have a broken system that favors the big chemical lobby over consumer safety. So we need to make our voices even stronger. We need to get serious about a national cancer prevention program that will eliminate the use of cancer-causing chemicals, such as formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, and lead. We need to change the laws of this country so that it is no longer legal to add chemicals known to cause cancer to products we use every day in our homes, schools, and workplaces. Help us do that in honor of Presidents day by signing this petition to President Obama, asking him to protect us from cancer-causing chemicals. Then ask your family and friends to sign, too.