Please Help Save the State Program to Protect Children's Health from
Mercury, Dioxin, and Other Persistent Toxic Chemicals
Washington Toxics Coalition Action Alert - April 8, 2003
Contact your state legislator and the governor today at 1-800-562-6000!
In its budget proposal unveiled last week, the Washington State Senate eliminated
critical funding for a program to reduce and eliminate persistent toxic chemicals.
These chemicals, such as mercury, dioxin, and PCBs are among the most harmful
toxic chemicals that pollute our environment and result in serious health
effects from birth defects and learning disabilities to cancer.
Right now, the Washington House of Representatives is making budget decisions
and it is critical they hear from you so that they include this important
program in their budget proposal. It is also important to contact your senator
so that they support funding for this program in the final budget. Governor
Locke has already recommended that the Legislature fully fund the program
with $800,000. We are asking that the Legislature support $800,000 in the
governor's budget to phase out persistent toxic chemicals.
What You Can Do
1) Please contact your representatives and your senator and ask for their
support of the program. Also, ask to leave the same message for Governor Locke.
Message: Please support $800,000 in the governor's budget to phase out persistent
toxic chemicals.
To contact your state legislators, call 1-800-562-6000, the toll free legislative
hotline. You can leave a message for your legislators and the governor with
the same phone call.
If you need help finding out who represents you, please visit http://dfind.leg.wa.gov/dfinder.cfm.
Background
Persistent toxic chemicals pose serious health risks, particularly to our
children. Just two examples include:
_ A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control confirms that up to 10%
of women have enough mercury in their bodies to pose a risk of neurological
damage to their developing babies.
_ The average intake of dioxin is more than 200 times the safe dose the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) considers safe. According to EPA, as many as one in
one thousand people in the United States may develop cancer from exposure
to dioxin.
Funding for this program will allow the Department of Ecology to implement
a plan to eliminate mercury pollution and to develop a plan to eliminate dioxin
pollution.
Unfortunately, industries that use and emit these dangerous toxic chemicals
into the environment have made defeating the program a top priority and are
lobbying legislators to not fund the program.
Please call your legislators and the governor today and ask them to support
this important children's health program.----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC) is a non-profit organization dedicated
to protecting public health and preventing pollution in industry, agriculture,
and the home. WTC's work is supported in part by dues from our members. If
you are not already a member, please consider joining! Our dues are $30 per
year. Members receive our quarterly newsletter "Alternatives" as
well as periodic action alerts.