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Home » Resources » Press Releases » LancetLancet underlines local groups concern about toxinsA new report from the British medical journal Lancet on the alarming impact of environmental toxins on children’s development “graphically underlines” the importance of the work being done by the Labour Environmental Alliance Society in seeking to reduce toxins in schools and consumer products, said LEAS executive director Mae Burrows.“A lot of people in government and industry haven’t been paying much attention when we’ve pointed to toxins in the school environment or in some common consumer products,” Burrows said. “But governments should be taking notice, because this report shows that the problem is affecting our kids even more than we thought.” Lancet published a report Nov. 8 by Dr. Philip Landrigan and Dr. Philippe Grandjean stating that common environmental pollutants are causing a “silent pandemic” of neurodevelopmental disorders because of the effect of those chemicals on the brain and nervous system development of fetuses and infants. The report in the prestigious British medical journal pointed out that there are more than 200 industrial and agricultural chemicals with a potential to harm children’s neurological development — but that is probably only the “tip of the iceberg” because less than half of all chemicals in use have been fully tested. “There clearly is cause for concern,” Burrows said. At the same time, she added, there are steps that the federal government particularly can take to protect children, including the introduction of ingredient and hazard labelling for consumer products and an expedited review of potentially toxic chemicals under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The Labour Environmental Alliance last year launched a Toxins-Free Schools initiative, and has been working with school trustees, custodians and teachers to identify toxic chemicals in the school environment and eliminate or reduce exposure to them. Last week, Burrows also conducted two days of workshops during a provincial conference of Canadian Union of Public Employees members working in the education sector. Delegates, many of whom work as special education assistants, pointed to a significant rise in developmental disorders among school children, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism — two of the developmental disorders identified in the Lancet article. LEAS research coordinator Sean Griffin, the author of LEAS’ popular CancerSmart Consumer Guide, said that a number of neurotoxic chemicals, including toluene and xylene, are contained in household consumer products. “But the hazard is not identified on the product,” he said. “That’s why we need ingredient and hazard labelling on consumer products as a priority.” New and UpdatedCancerSmart 3.0July 30, 2010 Cleaners and Toxins January 28, 2010 FAQs June 5, 2009 Alliance building wins change on pesticides April 2, 2009 Bisphenol A and right to know November 25, 2008 Support LEASMake a donation |
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