Inside Prevention

TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch ... and breast cancer

Untold tons of plastic swirling in the ocean is plenty sobering as an environmental concern. But what affect does all that plastic have on our health?

Breast Cancer Fund President and CEO Jeanne Rizzo was invited to tell that very side of the story in November at TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch, an independently organized offshoot of the TED conference:

With thousands of people watching around the world, scientists, activists, environmentalists and health experts gathered to tell the many-sided story of plastic and what we can—and must—do about plastic pollution.

Big thanks to the Plastic Pollution Coalition for organizing this inspiring event! For more TEDx talks from around the world, drop in on the TEDx YouTube Channel.

Contaminated currency (CBS-5 San Francisco, 11/8/2010)

Paper money is contaminated with bisphenol A (BPA) according to a new study by the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition, of which the Breast Cancer Fund is a part. Together we're pushing to reform the way chemicals are managed in the U.S., and BPA is but one example of the chemicals that are nearly impossible for people to avoid without government regulation.

Case in point: the coalition tested paper money from all over the country, and found low levels of BPA on 95 percent of it. They also tested thermal paper receipts and found high BPA levels on half of them.

San Francisco's CBS affiliate reported on the study last night, featuring the Breast Cancer Fund's senior policy strategist, Nancy Buermeyer. You can watch right here:

 

Or, view the clip on the CBS Web site.

Tiburon woman honored for battle to remove toxics from products (Marin Independent Journal, 12/2/2010)

This Marin Independent Journal article highlights Breast Cancer Fund President and CEO Jeanne Rizzo as the recipient of a prestigious environmental leadership award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the Breast Cancer Fund's work to ensure that the California Green Chemistry Initiative stays on track.

Jeanne Rizzo of Tiburon, who heads the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund, received a Northern California environmental "hero" award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for her work on passage of a state "green chemistry" law.

The Breast Cancer Fund helped promote the 2008 law, which empowered the state to ensure consumer products are safe by removing toxic chemicals. The law gave the state Department of Toxic Substances Control until Jan. 1, 2011 to adopt new regulations to enforce the law.

(Read complete article.)

Profiles of Excellence: Jeanne Rizzo (ABC-7, San Francisco)

Last night, the Bay Area's ABC station celebrated our fearless leader, Jeanne Rizzo,for her important contributions to the community. In September, ABC-7 featured Jeanne in "Profiles of Excellence," an Emmy Award-winning series that celebrates the San Francisco Bay Area's rich cultural diversity. If you didn't catch the clip in September, watch it now!

A disappointing result for California

After two years of hard work by countless nonprofits and leadership from the Breast Cancer Fund, today we unfortunately had to oppose regulations set forth by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) outlining what was supposed to be a groundbreaking Green Chemistry Initiative in California.

No one is more disappointed than us. We had hoped that our work with government officials would ensure that the Green Chemistry Initiative in California would be one of the best consumer protection programs in the nation against toxic chemicals in our products. But these just-announced regulations are anything but protective.

From cleaning products to food cans, from cosmetics to furniture, we are surrounded by chemicals—including those linked to breast cancer—that have been virtually unregulated. That's why environmental, health and consumer groups joined together in 2008 to pass two laws (collectively known as the Green Chemistry Initiative) that promised to minimize or eliminate the use of cancer-causing and other toxic chemicals in our everyday products and to promote green businesses and green alternatives.

The initiative held the promise of a day when individuals could go to the store and have confidence that the products they bought would be safe and healthy for their families.

But after fierce lobbying from the chemical and manufacturing industries, the final set of regulations do exactly the opposite of protecting consumers and promoting green business. These regulations are fundamentally flawed because they:

1. do not meet the intent of the original green chemistry law (AB 1879), which calls for the development of safer alternatives based on inherent hazard rather than how much of a chemical is "OK";
2. force government to compile evidence of harm rather than requiring industry to prove safety; and
3. introduce a number of potential loopholes that industry can use to prevent the government from taking action on harmful products and chemicals.

Luckily, there’s still hope. A new administration lands in Sacramento on January 3, 2011, led by Governor-elect Jerry Brown, and you can bet we'll be asking him to protect California consumers by implementing an innovative and comprehensive Green Chemistry Initiative—as it was meant to be.

EPA honors Breast Cancer Fund for environmental achievement

We are thrilled to announce that today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Southwest region awarded Breast Cancer Fund President and CEO Jeanne Rizzo with its 2010 Environmental Achievement Award for Green Chemistry. Here's what the EPA has to say about Jeanne and the Breast Cancer Fund:

Jeanne Rizzo is a tremendous champion of green chemistry, as well as an award-winning film/music/theater producer, and a nurse. Jeanne provides notable leadership in green chemistry and pioneering efforts to reduce everyone's exposure to toxic chemicals. She is the President and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund where she has articulately spotlighted the importance of breast cancer prevention strategies and the need to reduce our exposures to chemicals associated with breast cancer and other health impacts. Under Jeanne's direction, The Breast Cancer Fund just issued an important new report, State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment, that sheds light on the environmental causes of breast cancer and what public policies are needed to reduce breast cancer risk. She has been instrumental in catalyzing green chemistry legislation and initiatives in California and across the country. She advocated for California laws that created the first statewide biomonitoring program, advanced the safety of cosmetic products and initiated California's green chemistry program. Currently, she is advancing policies to reduce our exposure to bisphenol A, among other chemicals.

We're so gratified to be honored by the EPA as it celebrates its 40th anniversary! (Read our press statement.)

Breast Cancer Fund chief's balanced wisdom (Practically Green, 11/30/2010)

Practically Green interviewed Breast Cancer Fund President and CEO Jeanne Rizzo for practical prevention advice:

It’s easy to get alarmed and overwhelmed about all the possible toxins that might lurk in supposedly safe products these days, from shampoo to bed mattresses, from berries to wall paint. We found a seriously experienced public-health advocate for advice on how a normal person gets a handle on this.

Jeanne Rizzo is the President and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund, a leader in disease prevention and strategic policy initiatives....

Read the whole post and pass it on!

ABC-7 investigates BPA in canned food (ABC-7, 11/20/2010)

Our own Connie Engel and Gretchen Lee Salter were interviewed for this investigative piece aired by the San Francisco and San Diego ABC affiliates. The investigative team tested a number of brands of canned foods and then reported the findings back to the manufacturers.

New news popping from this report: ConAgra, makers of Chef Boyardee (which had the highest levels of BPA in these tests) told the reporters that it's switching to a non-BPA liner for its canned foods. That would be huge news for the canned food industry...let's hope it's true and the change is speedy.

(Visit ABC-7 San Francisco's Web site for more.)