Monthly Archives: May 2016

Dr. Landrigan Comments on TSCA Reform

Environmental health experts have been eagerly awaiting updates to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 for decades, and this May, that day finally arrived. The new bill is named the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act in honor of Senator Lautenberg, who helped introduce the bill in 2013 and has since passed away.

““This new bill is certainly an improvement on the current Toxic Substances Control Act,” said Landrigan, noting that it would increase pre-market safety testing requirements, with a mandatory emphasis on vulnerable populations. The act also removes some “trade secret” loopholes, which allowed companies to hide data on chemical testing. “But it also doesn’t go as far as a lot of us in the public health community were hoping it would go.”” (Click here to view the original article in The Atlantic)

Researchers Examine Toxins in Teeth, Possible Link to Baby Formula

In May 2016, P30 Center Investigators Dr. Robert Wright (Center Director) and Dr. Manish Arora appeared on an episode of NY1 to describe their research on environmental factors in the development of conditions such as autism, asthma and neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Says Dr. Wright, “It turns out for non-infectious diseases it’s not typically one cause, it’s multiple causes and many of them kind of coming together, perhaps causing you to go over a threshold that leads to a disease.” Please click here to watch an excerpt from the show.

Dr. Landrigan Quoted in Time Article about Air Pollution

Dr. Phil Landrigan was quoted in a Time article titled “How Air Pollution Became a Major Issue in London Mayoral Race” in May, 2016. Speaking to the point of bringing air quality to the forefront of the international political agenda, Dr. Landrigan says, “The only way that the world is going to get a handle on the problem is if country by country leaders take ownership of the issue.”

Dr. Galvez Quoted in Time Magazine Article about Microwaving in Plastic

In May 2016, Dr. Galvez addressed questions about what types of containers are microwave-safe in a Time Magazine article titled, “That Plastic Container You Microwave In Could Be Super-Toxic.” Says Dr. Galvez, “It’s really hard to be a smart shopper when you don’t necessarily know what’s in a given product, so ideally the legislation and labeling would be in place so that this wouldn’t be a concern.”