FROM THE CENTER

Various work products of the Environmental Health Strategy Center can be reviewed below. Permission is required to copy these materials for other than personal use.

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Healthy Business Strategies

June 27, 2006 - The Environmental Health Strategy Center released a new report by our national partner Clean Production Action that highlights six companies - including Interface's operations in Maine - that have embraced comprehensive strategies to eliminate toxic chemicals from their products.

Read the report online >> (Exit EHSC site)

Bio-based Pastic Making Gains

Plastic made in Nebraska from corn is making gains in the marketplace - full radio story. The Strategy Center is working to promote plastics made from Maine potatoes as a source of economic growth and environmental health. See one of our efforts here.

Study Finds Industrial Pollution Begins in the Womb

July 14, 2005 - A new national study released by the Environmental Health Strategy Center helps confirm that chemical exposure begins in the womb, as hundreds of industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides are pumped back and forth from mother to baby through umbilical cord blood.

Read the press release >>

Read the report online >> (Exit EHSC site)

Known Hazard, Unrecognized Danger: Lead Exposure in Maine's Workforce

The Environmental Health Strategy Center and the Maine Labor Group on Health documeted exposure of Maine workers to toxic lead on the job. We found that 37,000 Mainers work in occupations that often bring employees into contact with known lead hazards.

Environmental Health Strategy Center and Maine Labor Group on Health, 4 April 05. Read the Report (Microsoft Word) >>

Home is Where the Harm Is

On March 2005, the Environmental Health Strategy Center released a national study reporting on thirty-five hazardous industrial chemicals found in seventy households in seven states, including ten homes in Maine. These chemicals are known health hazards released into homes from common products.

Safer Products Project (Maine sampling conducted by EHSC), 22 March 05.

Read the report and fact sheets >> (Exit EHSC site)

The Persistent Polluters of Maine: The Routine Release of Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic Chemicals (PBTs) to Air, Water and Land by Major Industries in Maine

The Environmental Health Strategy Center and Maine People's Resource Center released a new report on the persistent polluters of Maine, documenting the release of over 100,000 pounds of long-lasting toxic chemicals to our air, water, and soil every year.
Environmental Health Strategy Center, Maine People's Resource Center, and the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, 22 Dec 04. More (PDF) >>

PVC, Bad News Comes in Three's:  The Poison Plastic, Health Hazards and the Looming Waste Crisis
The Environmental Health Strategy Center co-authored and released a national report on PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic which shows that Maine incinerates more PVC waste than any other state (as a percent of total PVC waste generated). The report shows how PVC is the most environmentally harmful plastic.  The report also documents the amount of PVC waste that Maine households and businesses generate each year. 
Center for Health, Environment and Justice and the Environmental Health Strategy Center, 7 Dec. 04.

Executive Summary (PDF) >>

Full Report (PDF) >>

Comments on the Draft Report of the Study Committee to Develop a Comprehensive Plan to Reduce Toxic Emissions and Expand Plastics
Citing PVC plastic (vinyl) as the major source of chlorine in muncipal solid waste, and the preponderance of evidence linking incineration of PVC in waste with dioxin formation, the Center strongly supports efforts to divert PVC away from incineration.
Environmental Health Strategy Center, 20 Dec 02. More (PDF) >>

Recycling
Citing PVC plastic (vinyl) as the major source of chlorine in muncipal solid waste, and the preponderance of evidence linking incineration of PVC in waste with dioxin formation, the Center strongly supports efforts to divert PVC away from incineration.
Environmental Health Strategy Center, 20 Dec 02. More (PDF) >>

Comments on Maine's Proposed Strategy to Reduce the Mercury Content of Products
The Center applauds the proposal to phase out most mercury-containing switches and devices but urges the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to strengthen its proposed strategy by limiting exemptions and tackling mercury lamps, button cell batteries and dental amalgam. Environmental Health Strategy Center, 26 Nov. 02. More (PDF) >>

Persistent Toxic Chemicals in Maine
This is our handout from a workshop presented at Maine Toxics Action 2002, the third annual conference for residents and neighborhoods fighting pollution in our communities. Environmental Health Strategy Center, 16 Nov 02. More (PDF) >>

Reducing PVC through a Pollution Prevention Agreement
This draft paper reviews the progress Maine hospitals have made in reducing the use of PVC plastic. We presented it at CleanMed 2002, an international health care conference on environmentally preferable products and green buildings. Environmental Health Strategy Center, 25 Oct 02. More (PDF) >>