La Campaña para Soluciones más Saludables / Campaign for Healthier Solutions (CHS, por sus siglas en inglés) publicó hoy los resultados del esfuerzo de todo un año para recopilar, analizar y examinar los productos de las tiendas del dólar en busca de sustancias químicas preocupantes. Los productos preocupantes resaltados que se compraron en Dollar Tree/Family Dollar y/o Dollar General incluyen: Loción para bebé “Baby Shark” que contiene un químico liberador de formaldehído; crema hidratante diaria que contiene un producto químico prohibido en los cosméticos europeos; pulseras con iluminación, rosas de plástico y mini cubetas de dulces contenían plomo; los productos infantiles hechos de cloruro de polivinilo o PVC y los recibos de compra de ambas tiendas del dólar contenían bisfenol-S.

The Campaign for Healthier Solutions (CHS) today published the results of a year-long effort to collect, test, and screen dollar store products for chemicals of concern. Highlighted products of concern purchased at Dollar Tree/Family Dollar and/or Dollar General include: “Baby Shark” baby lotion containing a formaldehyde-releasing chemical; daily moisturizer containing a chemical banned in European cosmetics; light-up children’s bracelets, plastic roses and mini candy pails containing lead; children’s products made with polyvinyl chloride or PVC, and receipts containing bisphenol-S. Published the week of Mother’s Day, “Product Testing for the People: Pitfalls, Persistence, and Progress in Transforming Dollar Stores” provides safe shopping tips for families and actionable recommendations for Dollar Tree and Dollar General to expand, improve, and enforce their chemical policies. The report also highlights loopholes in federal law that allow companies to sell products containing chemicals of concern, showing the importance of corporate action. Take action! 

Today 34 individuals and organizations sent a  letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, opposing an unprecedented Presidential exemption that would allow hundreds of chemical plants to simply ignore stricter emissions standards that were finalized last year.  Among these was the “HON rule”, which requires over 200 chemical plants - shown to contribute to high cancer risk in fenceline communities - to conduct fenceline monitoring for six cancer-causing air pollutants and take action to prevent leaks if emissions exceed certain thresholds. A recent request from chemical industry lobbyists seeks to exempt all HON facilities from complying with the new standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency just hid data that mapped out the locations of thousands of dangerous chemical facilities, after chemical industry lobbyists demanded that the Trump administration take down the public records. The webpage was quietly shut down late Friday, according to records viewed by The Lever — stripping away what advocates say was critical information on the secretive chemical plants at highest risk of disaster across the United States. The data was made public last year through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Risk Management Program, which oversees the country’s highest-risk chemical facilities. These chemical plants deal with dangerous, volatile chemicals — like those used to make pesticides, fertilizers, and plastics — and are responsible for dozens of chemical disasters every year. A spokesperson for Coming Clean, an environmental health group focusing on the chemical industry, told The Lever that the organization was “surprised” to see the webpage taken down and that its staff had accessed the data as recently as Friday morning.“We know that industry had suggested it, so it seems like [regulators] are following industry’s lead,” the spokesperson added.