Healthy Children Project Monthly e-News

Feel free to let your friends, family and colleagues know about this valuable new resource. Instructions to subscribe or unsubscribe are at the end of this e-newsletter. MI Healthy Children's e-newsletter is part of a collaborative effort with the Learning Disabilities Association of America's Healthy Children Project, the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health website, and the Institute for Children's Environmental Health with support from the Beldon Fund. 

Michigan Makes "Big Ten" in New Pollution Report
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/19430
Michigan generates as much pollution as 91 other countries, which are home to almost 600 million people. Report author Peter Altman, with the National Environmental Trust, says even countries growing as fast as China don’t keep pace with the total amount of climate change pollution coming from the United States.

New Toxic Toys Database

http://www.healthytoys.org

Michigan-based Ecology Center has just released new research on over 1,500 toys in collaboration with the Washington Toxics Coalition and other leading environmental health groups across the country. Parents will be able to easily check how products rank from highest to lowest in terms of lead, cadmium and other chemicals that are associated with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer. Toys made with PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, were also tested.

Testing Toys for Toxins
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712050398
A Michigan environmental health group, The Ecology Center, released research today on toxic chemicals found in more than 1,200 toys, some of which exceeded by 10 times the federal guidelines for lead and some that contained arsenic and mercury.

Clean and Green: Your Healthy Home and Family (PDF)

http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/cleanandgreen.pdf

A Guide to Avoiding Exposure to Toxic Chemicals in Your Home.

Target Will Reduce PVC Use
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119431301352883368.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Amid pressure from consumer, health and environmental groups, Target Corp. said it is reducing its use of the plastic polyvinyl chloride in packaging and children's products, such as lunch boxes and bibs.

Michigan's Governor Granholm Issues Executive Directive No. 2007-23 Promoting Environmental Justice

http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-36898-180696--,00.html

Deca-BDE (Flame Retardant) Fact Sheet

http://mnceh.org/documents/DECAfactsheet.pdf

Deca-BDE is often added to mattresses, drapes, carpets, furniture upholstery, and the plastic casings of electronics. This fact sheet is from the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health.

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Children’s Toys & Products: What’s in Your Child’s Toy Box and Around Your Home? (PDF)

http://ldaofmichigan.org/hcpfs1.pdf

Study: Low Lead Levels Still Dangerous
http://www.environmentreport.org/story.php3?story_id=3752
A new study finds that exposure to even very low lead levels can cause brain damage in children.

Michigan Senate Bill Passes Barring Sale of Toys with Too Much Lead
Following months of controversy over the recall of toys made in China with dangerous levels of lead, the Senate unanimously passed a bill outlawing the sale of toys with too high a level of lead.
While the Senate passed SB 174 on a 38-0 vote, it did not vote on three House bills, HB 4132, HB 4399 and HB 4936, that also put greater restrictions on the sale of lead-tainted objects. The Senate did move those bills to third reading, in place for final passage, though. The Senate action comes during the heaviest shopping time for toys with Christmas less than a month away. The Senate also acted on the day that researchers at Michigan State University announced results of a study that indicated even very low levels of lead in a child's bloodstream, previously thought to be safe, could lead to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. The bill bars any sale of any toy contaminated with lead or other toxic substances, or that does not have labeling identifying the manufacturer, importer or producer. The measure also bars anyone tampering with a toy's label. [Source: Gongwer News Service, November 27, 2007]

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Common Children's Vaccine Recalled
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGAbaEn2I-4TEgFdrye5Hx4h9RbwD8TG6BLG2
More than a million doses of a common vaccine given to babies as young as two months was being recalled Wednesday because of contamination risks, but the top U.S. health official said it was not a health threat. The recall is for 1.2 million doses of the vaccine for Hib, which protects against meningitis, pneumonia and other serious infections, and a combination vaccine for Hib and hepatitis B. The vaccine is recommended for all children under 5 and is usually given in a three-shot series, starting at two months.

Michigan House Votes to Ban Smoking Statewide
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/NEWS06/712060416/1001/NEWS
An outright ban on smoking in workplaces -- restaurants and bars included -- was approved by the House on Wednesday, giving anti-smoking activists their biggest victory in the Capitol so far…”

Materials & Audio from LDDI Teleconference: "Leading Learning and Developmental Disabilities Organizations: New Model Environmental Health Initiatives"
This informative call took place on November 8, 2007 and featured Maureen Swanson, director of the Healthy Children Project, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Laura Abulafia, MHS, director of the Environmental Health Initiative, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Lee Grossman, president and CEO of the Autism Society of America, and Rob Fletcher, executive director of the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed. Conference call audio recording (MP3).

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Michigan's Saginaw River Dioxin Hot Spot Discovered
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19022881&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6
Testing by The Dow Chemical Co. found a sample of river sediment that contained more than 1.6 million parts per trillion of dioxin.

Upcoming CHE Partnership Calls

http://www.healthandenvironment.org/news/calls

LDA of Michigan's Healthy Children Project Offering Conference Co-Sponsorships

http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/conf.cosponsorships.pdf

Several years ago LDA of Michigan joined as a LDA Healthy Children Project (HCP) state partner. The HCP project is dedicated to helping families learn about existing and emerging science linking certain chemical exposures to learning, behavioral, and developmental disabilities. LDA would now like to partner with other organizations to help inform families throughout Michigan about toxic substances in the environment, how they may impact children’s health, and to find out how they may join with others to make a difference in protecting the health of our children. Specifically, LDA would like to co-sponsor up to three (3) statewide conferences of 501(c)3 non-profit organizations which are dedicated to children’s health issues and family memberships. Those selected will receive $500 from the LDA HCP to help support their overall conference. To learn more, download the PDF information sheet and Microsoft Word application form.

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Call toll free at 888-597-7809 or 517-485-8160

Email us at info@ldaofmichigan.org

Write to us at 200 Museum Dr. Ste. 101, Lansing, Michigan 48933

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For more information on The Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan's Healthy Children Project visit http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/healthychild.htm.

 
For more information on The Healthy Children Project visit http://www.healthychildrenproject.org/index.html.

 
For more information on the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative, coordinated by the Institute for Children’s Environmental Health visit http://www.iceh.org/LDDI.html. To join the the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI), please complete the form at http://www.iceh.org/LDDImembers.html.

 
For more information on The Beldon Fund visit http://www.beldon.org/.

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