CCA News & Information Articles

Toxic Air and American Schools 12-11-2008 Put in your local school and find the air readings in your community. Midnight Hour 11-17-2008 - The New Yorker The Bush Administration, probably as a result of its own experience, is now trying to craft rules that are as difficult as possible to reverse. Generally speaking, major federal regulations go into effect sixty days after they are published. On November 20th, it will be sixty days before Bush leaves office. Over at the Federal Register, it’s going to be a busy week. ♦ 39th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION 06-07-2006 Ms. Penny Priddy (Surrey North, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it was revealed earlier today that Health Canada officials sent a document supporting the use of 2,4-D, a dangerous pesticide, to an industry group that is currently lobbying the government to allow the use of this chemical in residential neighbourhoods. Health Canada is in the middle of a safety review of this product, a review that is supposed to be impartial. My question for the Minister of Health is, how can Canadians have faith in the system meant to protect them from dangerous pesticides when the government's own officials appear to be collaborating with companies that use and distribute these harmful pesticides? Hon. Tony Clement (Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that certainly the initial investigation reveals that a document was inadvertently sent out. We continue the investigation. Let me agree with the hon. member that it is unacceptable to send out documents that are not meant to be sent out and we will continue the investigation. Ms. Penny Priddy (Surrey North, NDP): Mr. Speaker, 2,4-D is banned in most major Canadian cities and in the province of Quebec. It has been linked to cancer, neurological damage and reproductive problems, but Health Canada did not even contact leading researchers before distributing this report and deciding whether the pesticide is safe. What action will the Minister of Health take to ensure regulations regarding the health and well-being of Canadians are objectively based on scientific research and not biased by industry lobbyists given that they turned down the pesticide regulation put forward by the NDP? Hon. Tony Clement (Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, CPC): Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, or should know, the document that was released was a series of talking points. It was not a scientific investigation. It was not a scientific document. I will tell hon. members in this House, and I hope the hon. member agrees with me, that we should make the decision based on science, based on the advice of the best experts to protect the health and safety of Canadian citizens. That is what this side of the House agrees with. Certainly, we do not agree with rhetoric. We agree with action to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Critics blast Ottawa over leaked research 08-09-2006 Health Canada's objectivity is questioned after findings on herbicide safety were e-mailed out, posted on Web MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT ENVIRONMENT REPORTER Health Canada says it mistakenly gave an internal government document supporting the safety of 2,4-D, a controversial herbicide banned in many communities as a possible health hazard, to an industry representative who has lobbied for the use of the weed killer Breathing pesticides 'can trigger MS and Parkinson's disease' 08-09-2006 Pesticides can cause brain damage and trigger conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, according to scientists. A landmark study claims that chemicals routinely used by farmers in the UK and around the world can result in neurological diseases. I would like to note that arsenic in cca pressure treated wood is a pesticide application. People should use precautions when dismantling, repairing or being around off-gassing cca wood. Please ensure that cca wood is not below air intake-pipes where off-gassing can be drawn into the home. Also remember using bleaches, power washes, acid solutions or deck washes can pull arsenic from cca decks etc. Take care and please keep safe. Deborah TOXIC SHOCK...CANADA'S CHEMICAL REACTION 05-27-2006 MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TORONTO -- Federal regulators have determined that about 4,000 chemicals used for decades in Canada pose enough of a threat to human health or the environment that they need to be subjected to safety assessments. The sheer number of chemicals needing review means there is probably not a person in Canada who hasn't been exposed to some of them. While many are industrial compounds, others are widely used to make everyday products found in practically every home and office in the country, ranging from hair dryers to water bottles, fast-food wrappers, TVs, computer casings and the inside of tin cans. Shades of Bhopal..................... 01-07-2005 Compare how little we seem to learn from the past find polluters 12-14-2004 Type in your zip code and this site will tell you the local polluters, type of pollution, what is over the law limit, etc. Shattering the Myth of Pollution Progress In Canada 12-12-2004 A National Report by Pollution Watch www.PollutionWatch.org Environmental Defence Canadian Environmental Law Association December 2004 Smog Clogs Arteries: Pollution does lasting harm to blood vessels 12-11-2004 - Science News Online David Shiga There's a new reason to worry about air pollution. Known for many years to harm the lungs, air pollution also damages the circulatory system, a study now suggests A Review of Multi-Threat Medical Countermeasures Against Chemical Warfare and Terrorism 12-12-2004 The Multi-Threat Medical Countermeasure (MTMC) hypothesis has been proposed with the aim of developing a single countermeasure drug with efficacy against different pathologies caused by multiple classes of chemical warfare agents. Although sites and mechanisms of action and the pathologies caused by different chemical insults vary, common biochemical signaling pathways, molecular mediators, and cellular processes provide targets for MTMC drugs. This article will review the MTMC hypothesis for blister and nerve agents and will expand the scope of the concept to include other chemicals as well as briefly consider biological agents. The article will also consider how common biochemical signaling pathways, molecular mediators, and cellular processes that contribute to clinical pathologies and syndromes may relate to the toxicity of threat agents. Discovery of MTMC provides the opportunity for the integration of diverse researchers and clinicians, and for the exploitation of cutting-edge technologies and drug discovery. The broad-spectrum nature of MTMC can augment military and civil defense to combat chemical warfare and chemical terrorism. Chemicals are making people sick. Why aren’t we doing anything? 10-20-2004 .Asthma and allergies are the Rodney Dangerfields of disease — unless, of course, you happen to have them. Years ago in the Texas Lege, a fellow named E.W. Robinson of Amarillo was going through a confirmation hearing on his appointment to the Air Pollution Control Board. Not precisely a militant environmentalist, Robinson allowed that he would be against air pollution that was very harmful to people. EPA Wording Found to Mirror Industry's 09-22-2004 For the third time, environmental advocates have discovered passages in the Bush administration's proposal for regulating mercury pollution from power plants that mirror almost word for word portions of memos written by a law firm representing coal-fired power plants. Plant safety challenged 10-03-2004 Furthermore, burning wood from construction debris is a relatively new idea, and few studies have examined it. Some scientists contacted for this story had lingering concerns about Bio Energy's plans, especially regarding variables in the wood fuel. Two possible pathways for the release of arsenic during pyrolysis of chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood. 09-10-2004 - PUB MED The behavior of arsenic during pyrolysis at temperatures between 135 and 500 degrees C has been widely studied.