Over 80,000 industrial chemicals are currently on the market, and nearly 1,000 new chemicals are added every year with minimal testing. Many of these are used in the products we use to clean our houses, our workplaces and our children's schools or in the products we eat and put on our bodies. Most of us have traces of close to 200 chemicals in our blood, including the residues of long-banned industrial pesticides like DDT, heavy metals, as well as more recent additions such as furniture flame retardants and antibacterial compounds.
Emerging science shows that even low levels of exposure to many of these chemicals can affect our children's development, our likelihood of cancer and other diseases, and may be contributing to the biggest health issues of our times: obesity, Type 2 diabetes, childhood cancers, asthma and infertility.
Do we really need all these chemicals in our consumer products, and are they affecting our overall health? Recent changes in regulation in Europe and many U.S. states are pushing for more public information on chemicals in consumer products and the substitution of safer alternatives or the complete redesign of products and processes. This presentation will explore the potential hazards of chemicals in our daily lives in the home, in our schools, and in our workplaces, and what we can do about it.
Ann Blake, Ph.D., is an independent consultant whose work spans setting standards for environmentally preferable purchasing and chemicals policy reform legislation. Ann's current clients include the City of San Francisco's Department of Environment, the health advocacy NGO Women's Voices for the Earth, and the consumer education database GoodGuide.com. Prior to consulting, Dr. Blake worked for the California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Toxic Substances Control as a hazardous waste inspector, and Pollution Prevention Coordinator. Dr. Blake has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, and Ph.D. in molecular genetics and neural development from the University of Oregon.
