safeguarding our future - center for environmental health accessories, lead in artificial turf, ......

Safeguarding our futurePROGRESS REPORT 2013

Dear Friends,

There’s nothing like real, tangible progress to fuel efforts (and enthusiasm!) on safeguarding public health from chemical threats. Since I founded the Center for Environmental Health 17 years ago, we’ve seen countless successes:

• A childhood more free of lead I’m perhaps proudest that we led the fight against lead poisoning threats in children’s products like bibs, lunchboxes, jewelry, and candy – resulting in massive recalls and the first-ever federal law banning lead in all children’s products.

• Less toxic exposure of all kinds CEH also eliminated lead and cadmium in fash-ion accessories, lead in artificial turf, and arsenic in wood playground structures. Now we’re on a similar path with chemical flame retardants widely used in baby gear and furniture.

• Cleaner air and water We’re educating the public and lawmakers on health risks from increased fracking. We’ve also forced dozens of dry cleaners, industrial plants, and others to slash or end dangerous emissions.

It’s remarkable progress – especially for an organization of our size.

Yet our families continue to be unwittingly exposed to dangerous chemicals at a rate that resembles a game of Whack-a-Mole. Worse, protective laws already on the books are under siege like never before.

Attacks are mounting against California’s Proposition 65, one of the toughest regulations that exists on toxic chemicals and the tool behind our greatest victories to date. At the same time, the proposed federal Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013 (Lautenberg/

Vitter S. 1009), as currently written, leaves American families unprotected from toxic chemicals. CEH is a national leader in the fight to strengthen CSIA so that it truly protects the health of our families.

These developments mean that we’re now facing this generation’s most important battle for the health of our children and our communities. As the Director of CEH, and as a father, I hope you’ll continue to join me in this important work. Michael Green

Executive Director

Testing. Negotiating. Testifying. Informing. Reforming.

17 years of watching out for you

Safer LivingThe Center for Environmental Health (CEH) has a 17-year track record of protecting children and families from harmful chemicals in our air, water, food, and in dozens of everyday products. CEH also works with major industries and leaders in green business to promote healthier alternatives to toxic products and practices.

CEH: Safeguarding our future

#1 case in point: The widespread use of toxic flame retardant chemicals in furniture and baby products. California flammability standards have led to the use of toxic chemical flame retardants in foam products nationwide. But U.S. Government studies have shown these chemicals provide little, if any, fire safety. As certain types, such as PentaBDE, have been banned or withdrawn due to health concerns, the industry has simply swapped in others. A top pick: chlorinated Tris – yes, the same cancer-causing chemical outlawed in sleepwear back in the 1970s.

CEH testing has found toxic levels of “Tris” in day care nap mats, changing pads, baby walkers, car seats, recliners, couches, and more.

We initiated the first-ever lawsuit to protect infants and children from Tris in such products; already at least one major manufacturer of nap mats has agreed to remove ALL chemical flame retardants. And we’re simultaneously advocating for non-chemical methods of increasing fire safety.

Another prime example of the toxic shell game: children’s products labeled “BPA-free.” In 2012 and 2013, the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), was banned from use in sippy cups and baby bottles because it can mimic hormones and cause health problems, including miscar-riage. Ongoing CEH testing shows that some of BPA’s replacements, such as BPS, can cause similar effects.

We’re shutting down toxic shell games That’s the name CEH has coined for the short-sighted, and surprisingly common, corporate practice of replacing bad with bad: removing a proven toxic chemical and using, in its place, an untested chemical. It’s legal – and unfortunately, often just as unsafe.

Safer SleepNow I lay me down to sleep… on a carcinogen linked to genetic mutations? Upon finding high levels of chlorinated Tris (a flame retardant prohibited in kids’ pajamas for almost 40 years) in nap mats, crib mattresses, bassinette pads, couches and other foam products, CEH filed suit against the makers and sellers. Already, the toxin is disappearing.

We recognize the unique opportunity afford-ed by this bi-partisan compromise. But we will fight hard to ensure that this industry-crafted bill be amended and strengthened to truly protect public health:

• Deadlines and timetables for chemical review and regulation development must be set. An EPA assessment of dioxin toxicity, begun in 1994, still isn’t done.

• Legal authority of states to protect their resi-dents from toxic chemicals must be protected. The most significant reforms to date have begun on the state level

• Specific protections for vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women, and

low-income communities must be included. Protecting the most vulnerable protects us all.

We’ve testified at a 2013 senate hearing, proposed win-win solutions to the above problems, and continue to meet with Congressional lawmakers.

Meanwhile, here in California, we’re work-ing closely with Governor Brown’s office to prevent changes which would weaken Prop 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforce-ment Act of 1986). That’s the landmark law that’s one of the strongest and toughest on toxic chemical regulation, which CEH has used as a wedge to change regulations on lead in children’s products and many other dangers.

We’re creating, preserving, and strengthening policy reformsCEH has long advocated for overdue, science-based reforms to the weak 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Distressingly, the replacement bill now before Congress – known as the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA) – has serious flaws.

84,000 Chemical compounds

currently in use

<15%Chemical compounds tested for effects on human health:

Less than 15%


Safer Mealtimes Was it okay for her grandson, Jensen, to suck on his vinyl baby bibs, Marilyn Furer asked us. She’d seen news reports on CEH testing that showed lead in vinyl lunchboxes. Sure enough, our tests revealed the bibs’ lead content was 96 times higher than today’s safety standard. Our litigation against the bibs’ maker led to an agreement on strict limits on plastic bib lead content. Today: baby bibs, like lunchboxes before them, are lead-free.

Fracking chemicals – including benzene and toluene – are linked to infertility, miscar-riage, birth defects, breathing problems, and life-threatening diseases, including cancer. In 2013 CEH released “Toxic & Dirty Secrets: the Truth about Fracking and Your Family’s Health”, a detailed report on the impact.

We successfully advocated in New York state to sustain a fracking moratorium, which has been in danger of being lifted. We’ve created factsheets for consumers on how to protect their families from current and proposed fracking projects. And we’re coordinating on-going air-quality tests in several communities.

We’re getting to the bottom of fracking dangersThe growth in hydraulic fracturing, the process used to re-lease natural gas from shale, can put local air and water at risk because of the massive amounts of chemical-laced water pumped into drill holes to break open underground rock.

350+

Chemicals used in natural gas fracking

Known carcinogens:

1 in 4


Safer PlayCurious George is famous for trouble. After CEH testing found toy dolls of the famous monkey contained 80 times the legal lead limit, tens of thousands of units were recalled and pulled from shelves. More toy testing and pressure by CEH and others led to the first strict federal standards for lead in children’s products – a major victory.

We are working with Harvard, Staples and many other large companies to leverage their purchasing power and create demand for furniture and other products free of toxic chemical flame retardants. But sometimes, collaborating with companies won’t get the whole job done. CEH has won groundbreaking legal victories, including the lawsuits against dozens of manufacturers of children’s and adult jewelry containing lead and cadmium, which led to the largest product recall in history and strict limits on children’s jewelry that were included in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

In 2011, we created the first-ever legal settlement requiring personal care companies to actually use organic ingredients in products labeled “organic.”

In 2013 alone, we filed the first-ever lawsuit against companies selling baby products made with the chemical flame retardant Tris, and against four companies that sell dozens of bath products containing cocamide DEA, a chemically modified form of coconut oil known to cause cancer.

We’ve never hesitated to go to court to stop immediate toxic threats.

We aren’t afraid to litigate when necessary Our preferred methodology is to raise the awareness of chemical dangers through rigorous scientific testing and to forge change through informed negotiations with corporate and civic leaders. But our ultimate goal is to protect people and the environment. When necessary, we take court action to force manufacturers and other businesses to do the right thing.

Don’t give up – get outraged

and active. – Charles Margulis from the CEH

MOMS (Making Our Milk Safe) site

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Safer OrganicsIf it says “organic” on the label, that’s what you expect inside, right? Labeling laws require personal-care products to contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. After we sued 26 companies that failed to comply, we won landmark legal agreements with manufacturers that make organic shampoos and soaps purer, or else they must lose the organic label.

Statement of Revenue and Expense Calendar Year Ending 2012

We think of organizations like CEH as organizations that say no. No to violating our mothers, our children, our bodies. A big no. But CEH is also an organization that says yes.

It says one very big yes: yes to never giving up, and yes to giving, and yes to knowing that preventing the poisoning of the world is a giant yes to our children. CEH is a yes to life itself.

And this can’t be overemphasized as to how critical this is for civilization because CEH is eliminating toxic chemicals that fundamentally change what it is to be a human being.Paul Hawken – celebrated environmentalist, entrepreneur, and authorCEH Gala Event, September 10, 2012

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Paul Adelstein Actor & Musician

Kirsten Steward Beckwith (Secretary), Community Volunteer

Lynelle Cameron Autodesk

Cecil Corbin-Mark WE ACT for Environmental Justice

Dr. Michael Dorsey Professor

Tina Eshaghpour (Vice Chair), Philanthropic Consultant

Roger Kim San Francisco Mayor’s Office

Chris Olin (Chair), TAO Capital

Christina Page Yahoo! Inc.

Arlene Rodriguez Philanthropic Consultant

Marni Rosen Jenifer Altman Foundation

Lawrence Smith (Treasurer) CPA, Smith & Company CPAs

Michael Green Executive Director

Kathryn Alcántar California Policy Director, Campaign Director, CHANGE

Sue Chiang Pollution Prevention Co-Director

Caroline Cox Research Director

Marie Farneth Development Associate

Rick Franco Staff Attorney Lakeesha Gage Bookkeeper

Ali Geering-Kline Online Communications Coordinator

Laura Hoover Manager of Corporate & Foundation Relations

Judy Levin Pollution Prevention Co-Director

Charles Margulis Communications Director & Food Program Director Christina Medina Program Coordinator, CHANGE

Ansje Miller Eastern States Director

Eileen Moncoeur Development Director

Ryan Nestle Litigation Assistant

Matt Nevins Research Assistant

Jody Parsons Executive Assistant Charlie Pizarro Associate Director

Brian Rodriguez Research Assistant

Mojgan Vijeh CFO Consultant

Ellen Webb Energy Program Associate

Maggie Young Research Assistant

Staff

Expenses $2,532,703Support and Revenue $2,433,633Investment Interest $74,273

Programs $1,878,470

Court Awards $1,017,228

Other $15,420

Donations from Previous Year*

$220,762

Planned Contribution from Reserve**

$154,000Management and General $263,551

Fundraising $390,682

Product Testing & Compliance Revenue

$429,131

Donations $522,819

*Grants received in previous year, utilized in 2012 **Planned annual contribution from reserve

Net Assets: Beginning of the Year: $4,849,787 Net Assets: End of the Year: $4,375,955

Board of Directors

Design: StudioA2.com

Safer SipsCoke and Pepsi may not be the healthiest drink choices – but they shouldn’t give you cancer. We’ve dogged the soda makers to remove the carcinogenic chemical 4-MEI from its caramel coloring. Coke has done so nationwide; CEH testing shows Pepsi lagging, with promises to retool by early 2014.

Our generous 2012 contributorsThe Rainmakers$25,000 or moreAnonymous (2)The California Wellness FoundationNaomi & Nehemiah Cohen FoundationPassport FoundationPublic Health TrustThe San Francisco Foundation

Toxic Avengers$15,000 - $24,999 Firedoll FoundationMichael KleinLexington Law Group, LLPNew Place Fund

Wellness Warriors $7,500 - $14,999AnonymousEmilia & Tad BuchananMarcus McCoy FoundationMaverick Capital Foundation Kirsten & Michael Beckwith Solidago Foundation

Justice League $5,000 - $7,499Sarah Wayne Callies & Joshua WinterhaltThe Clara FundClif Bar & Company

Harry GottliebJessica & Arthur IclisoyKaiser PermanenteRobert & Sue LebbyMMHBO FundChris Page & Jen Mayer DAFThe Rose Foundation Teamsters Joint Council 7

Organic Organizers $2,500 - $4,999 Clif Bar Family FoundationAlan & Heather ColeChristine & Curtis GardnerMarie McGlashan

Health Heroes $1,000 - $2,499Paul Adelstein & Liza WeilAutodeskDavid BondermanCarl & Fay Simons Family Charitable TrustCharles Schwab FoundationThe Companion GroupCompton Foundation, Inc.Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation InstituteJames & Sonia CummingsKenneth & Mary DoaneBradley DreyfusDylan Todd Simonds Foundation

Tina Eshaghpour & David SilbermanFred Gellert Family FoundationGil FriendRoger & Erin Fuse BrownKathy GerwigMelanie & Michael GreenThe Green OfficeDarian Rodriguez Heyman & Ritu SharmaRon Haak & Darlene MarkovichThe Jellyvision Lab, Inc.Eddie & Mindy LeshinBridgett LutherChris & Denise MathewsHelen Matthews & Charles MargulisMayacamas RanchMediaOne ServicesSteve MilterAnne Muldoon & Andrew ProehlNatural LogicStephen Nemeth, Blake Lindsley & The Lindemann FoundationTeri Olle & John ComerfordPanta Rhea FoundationAlonzo ParsonsDr. Nammy Patel, Green DentistryJodi RivieraSchumacher PhotographyDavid Singer & Diana KappLawrence Smith & Susan Bromann-SmithU.S. Pure Water Corporation

Eco Activists $500 - $999 Maurice & Sally BlanksMichael Bloch & June ResslerLinda BoydLouisa Chiang & Michael TenbrockCathy ClagettDiana Cohn & Craig MerrileesJohn & Joyce FeeneyFuture 500Lorraine Gray & Jordan BreslowKaren Morin Green & Casey Green Laurie Grossman & David WrightCynthia HesterAnnabelle Ison & Dan MahoneyDavid & Amy KleinMarc & Michele KrantzEleanor MargulisMarie Veronique OrganicsPatricia McCormickAnneke Seley & Jack OswaldTal RachleffArlene RodriguezLewis ShenderMike & Heather SimonsVijeh + Mahoney ConsultingSanjay WagleKay Yun & Andre Neumann-Loreck


Safer FoodLead in ginger candy? Arsenic in poultry feed? Lax oversight of pesticides that may be causing massive bee colony die-offs? We’re taking legal action on all of these.

Safer FurnitureCEH protects people from toxic chemicals by working with communities, consumers, workers, government, and the private sector to demand and support business practices that are safe for public health and the environment.

Printed with soy-based ink on chlorine-free, recycled paper.

www.ceh.org

National Office2201 Broadway, Suite 302Oakland, CA 94612510.655.3900

East Coast Office6 East 39th Street, 12th FloorNew York, NY 10016212.689.6999

safeguarding our future - center for environmental health accessories, lead in artificial turf, ......

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