April 2022 Spotlight
Please forgive this slightly-late April Spotlight. We are pleased to announce an upcoming joint webinar on PFAS, and needed details to be finalized (see the end of this message). Below is Clean and Healthy New York's monthly newsletter to spotlight the latest science, policy developments, and media coverage that sheds light on the state of environmental health in New York, the US, and abroad.
PFAS Found in New York State Wells
Suffolk County does not have the ability to test private wells directly, but they have detected PFAS in county wells since as far back as 2016. Private wells separately found that from 2016 through February 2022, 689 of 1,415 wells had some detection of PFAS in the water. Read more
When Good Seeds Go Bad
Unused seeds should be a great input to other agricultural processes, but instead can become toxic waste. Corn, sorghum, and other seeds used to make ethanol created a byproduct called “wet cake,” which was then applied on fields as a fertilizer. Sounds great. The problem is that most of the seeds were coated in pesticides, including neonicotinoids (“neonics”). This land-spreading has contaminated the environment heavily, including water and food far away. The NYS Assembly has banned neonics in seed coatings, and a similar measure was passed by the NYS Senate last year. Read more
Insurance Companies Revealed for Shirking Lead Costs
Families across the US - and especially here in New York - face the tragedy of their child becoming lead poisoned, even decades after lead paint was banned. And if they are renters, even when their home’s paint is to blame, they often cannot get financial support due to damaging laws passed in the 1990s that let insurers off the hook. The NYS Assembly has passed a bill to close this coverage loophole. Read More.
Starbucks Will Cut Out PFAS From Its Food Packaging
Starbucks has pledged to get PFAS out of its packaging in the US by the end of 2022 and abroad by the end of 2023. Other big fast food chains are also taking the pledge to get PFAS out of their food packaging, including McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Burger King. These commitments come following New York’s law passed last year. Read more
Advocates Hold Hybrid Earth Day Advocacy Day
In Honor of Earth Day, a diverse coalition of 20 organizations gathered to push an Earth Day Package of bills that covered environmental justice, environmental health, land and waste, water, and climate and energy. The morning program included a press conference to speak about the issues that were being raised.
Clean and Healthy New York’s Monthly Webinar Series
For May, we are pleased to announce a joint webinar: Toxic Pfas Chemicals in our Water & Consumer Products: Learn More & Take Action on Monday May 16th at 7 pm. Join Clean and Healthy New York, Environmental Advocates NY, Lower Hudson Group of Sierra Club including Rockland Sierra Club and cosponsors Food & Water Watch, Natural Resources Defense Council, Rockland Coalition to End the New Jim Crow, and West Branch Conservation Association. Register today!
You can view our previous webinars at https://chny.org/webinars. Topics include personal care products, an overview of environmental health and justice policy in 2022, the intersection of race and environmental policy, and the impact of toxics on women.
Building a just and healthy society in which toxic chemicals are unthinkable.
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