43 results for author: Jamie Pang
UPDATE: Victory! Judge dismisses Oregon Toxic Free Kids Act Litigation
As we reported at the start of the new year (see below), American Apparel, the Toy Association, and its member coalition- Safe to Play, had filed a lawsuit during the week of Christmas, claiming that Oregon’s Toxic Free Kids Act (TFKA) is preempted based on the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) and Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA).
Thankfully earlier this summer, the federal district court in Portland, Oregon dismissed the toy industry's lawsuit. Specifically, Judge Simon held that at least 69 chemicals regulated in Oregon’s Toxic Free Kids Act are not even addressed in the federal statutes. Therefore, the Toxic Free Kids Act is not ...
Eco-Healthy Homes: safer children’s spaces at Hacienda CDC
Many people these days are familiar with the fact that products for the home, from toys to cleaning products, can contain toxic chemicals. This fact alone is cause for concern. But, did you know that women, children, people of color and people living on lower incomes are at a greater risk of toxic chemical exposure? Or that access to consumer safety information may not be available to non-english speakers? Or that, because of their small size, kids are much more vulnerable to the health impacts of exposure to toxic products?
In 2020, OEC partnered with Hacienda CDC, an affordable housing provider in Portland,to host focus groups to educate ...
Climate Change is Impacting Youth Mental Health
Do you find yourself or the youth in your life feeling anxious or depressed over the idea of climate change? A new study shows this is a problem sweeping Oregon and beyond. The Oregon Health Authority just released a report, Climate Change and Youth Mental Health in Oregon, documenting the impacts of climate change on the mental health of youth (ages 15-25). This study was completed under the direction of Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-04, also known as the Oregon Climate Action Plan.
The study, one of the largest in the nation to date, documents a growing youth mental health crisis in Oregon. Climate stressors, including climate anxiety, ...
Oregon adopts permanent worker protections for heat and smoke just in time for this summer’s extreme weather events
Victory! OEC and our coalition of environmental, health and science, small business, and labor partners have spent the last year and a half staunchly advocating for the most protective workplace regulations possible in Oregon.
We’re happy to announce that the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) responded with new, permanent rules that will hopefully set the tone for a new national standard. The heat and smoke rulemakings are a response to Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-04, which mandated Oregon OSHA to develop these standards in order to protect workers on the job from excessive heat and smoke.
It is no ...
Grinchlike behavior: Toy Association delivers lawsuit against safer toys just in time for the New Year
In one of the most Grinch-like moves of 2021, American Apparel, the Toy Association, and its member coalition- Safe to Play, filed a lawsuit during the week of Christmas, in an effort to ensure that they can continue delivering toxic toys to Oregon kids. They claim that the final rules of Oregon’s Toxic Free Kids Act (TFKA) is preempted based on the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) and Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), and that compliance with phaseouts, especially if they have to pay the fees to apply for waivers, will cause them “irreparable harm.”
This move came six and a half years after TFKA was enacted, and over 9 months ...
Hold the wrapping paper! Most of that gift-wrap is not eco-friendly nor recyclable
It is that time of year again—no matter what holiday you celebrate, or what religion you subscribe to, it is difficult to be unaffected by the enthusiasm of the season of giving and reflection. It is predicted that the average American will spend $942 on holiday gifts this year. It is no secret that as consumerism spreads, landfills also fill up, and the Earth suffers. According to Stanford University, Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holiday period than any other time of year. And most of that holiday wrap is not eco-friendly or recyclable.
A whopping 40% of the world’s industrial logging goes into ...
Removing Barriers to Safe Home Cleaning Products
Many popular and inexpensive home cleaning products contain toxic chemicals. There are alternatives, but they can be expensive or require extra steps. What happens when those barriers are removed? OEC partnered with Hacienda CDC to find out.
Hacienda CDC Eco- Healthy Home Survey
In the Fall/Winter of 2020, socially distanced, in-person focus groups and bilingual online surveys were held in Hacienda CDC’s housing communities to listen to residents' concerns about toxic chemicals in the home. COVID-19 hit the Latino/x community particularly hard, and the increased levels of disinfecting increased families’ and kids’ exposure to dozens of ...
Summer isn’t the only time to worry about woodsmoke
As we roll into fall, many people start cleaning out their wood-burning stoves and fireplaces to start heating their homes, or just to get that cozy ambiance. What many people don’t realize is that, when a lot of people are burning wood in their homes, the cumulative effect on air quality can be similar to a wildfire. OEC has been advocating to reduce harmful air pollution from urban wood fires and to provide healthier options for those that rely on woodburning as a primary heat source.
Specifically, OEC has been working closely with Woodsmoke Free Portland and the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners over the past six months on the Multno...
Without TFKA expansions, OHA forced to choose 5 chemicals to regulate
There’s thousands of potentially harmful chemicals in products that are marketed to kids. As of now, OHA can regulate just a few of them. We need to change that.
In 2015, OEC’s advocacy lead to the passage of a groundbreaking law, the Toxics Free Kids Act (TFKA), which required manufacturers of children's products sold in Oregon to report certain products containing High Priority Chemicals of Concern for Children’s Health (HPCCCH) (“high priority chemical list”), and ultimately phase them out. However, the chemical and toy industry successfully limited the law, so that the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) could not regulate more than five ...