Every day, we are exposed to toxic chemicals in food, water, the environment, and consumer products. While most Americans assume that products must be tested for safety before they are put on store shelves, many of the items in stores and our homes contain chemicals known to be toxic. Many more chemicals in everyday use have never been tested for safety. Cleaning agents, personal care products, household furniture, food packaging, and children’s toys all contain chemicals of concern.
Many of these chemicals are linked to serious health problems that are on the rise in Massachusetts and nationally such as certain cancers, infertility, developmental delays, and asthma. Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals and communities of color and low-income communities are often disproportionately exposed.
Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow
In 2002, Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund and allies founded the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow (AHT), a coalition of Massachusetts residents, scientists, health professionals, workers and educators seeking preventive action on toxic hazards. AHT and Clean Water work together to protect people from toxic chemicals. We advocate for a precautionary approach, with chemicals tested and proven safe before they are put in consumer products and released to the environment. We fight for the elimination of toxic hazards known to harm health and the environment.
Legislative Priorities
Our legislative priorities are:
- Ban PFAS (per and polyfluoroaklyl substances) from consumer products and protect Massachusetts residents from PFAS in air, water and soil. Get toxic chemicals out of children’s products.
- Require manufacturers selling children’s products, personal care items, and formulated products (gels and liquids) in Massachusetts to disclose to the state if their products contain toxic chemicals.
Mind the Store
Clean Water partners with Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families to convince major retailersto get toxic chemicals out of their products.
Read more about Mind the Store.
Administrative Advocacy
Nano-technology: Clean Water is pressing the state of Massachusetts to develop systems to oversee the emerging nano-technology industry.
Nano-materials are tiny engineered particles which may be hazardous to our health. Nanomaterials are between 1-100 nanometers in size. A nanometer is 1/billionth of a meter, often just a few atoms in size.
Clean Water has submitted a petition to the Toxics Use Reduction Act Administrative Council asking the council to list carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers on the Massachusetts Toxic and Hazardous Substances List.
