Web page potpourri: a column devoted to informative alternative health resources on the internet

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Jan, 2004 by Marjorie Roswell

Chemical Body Burden--Part 2

Last month I covered key reports on pollution in the human body, which is sometimes called the "chemical body burden." This month I focus on activist resources and tools for policy reform. Just knowing about the problem is not enough!

Health Care Without Harm

http://www.noharm.org/

Sadly, health care facilities often expose patients and surrounding communities to poisons. Health Care Without Harm is working to change that. Specifically, the organization targets mercury, PVCs and phthalates, medical waste, healthy buildings, pesticides and cleaners, and green purchasing.

You might not even think to do a thermometer exchange on your own, but the noharm.org document, How to Plan and Hold a Mercury Thermometer Exchange offers a clear and easy approach. The downloadable booklet includes sample posters, a radio script, an event-day checklist, and even a sample invitation to pharmacies to pledge to end the sale of mercury thermometers. In the funding section, the guide helpfully notes that, "compared to many programs, the funding budget for a thermometers roundup can be rather small."

The site offers many such gems, including practical solutions to non-incineration medical waste treatment, and a guide to Environmentally Preferable Purchasing.

Health Care Without Harm is not afraid to tackle difficult issues. For instance, a recent press release is titled Documents Reveal US Government Campaign to Undermine European Union Chemicals Policy. The finding was followed by a letter, co-signed with 70 organizations, to the Bush administration. Health Care without Harm is actually a coalition of concerned organizations. At the highest level of involvement, you could get your organization to join in the coalition. The website provides guidelines. You might also use the site simply because of its great fact sheets and reports.

I note that the site is particularly well-designed, and it meets the needs of a variety of audiences. If you want to truly "first do no harm" in the health care environment, spend some time at noharm.org.

CleanMed Conference

http://www.cleanmed.org/

Save the date for the CleanMed Conference, to be held in April 2004 in Philadelphia. The conference focuses on environmentally preferable products and green building construction in health care. See www.cleanmed.org for more details.

The Precautionary Principle

http://www.sehn.org/precaution.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary Principle

http://www.mindfully.org/Precaution/precaution.htm

http://www.johnsonfdn.org/mission.html

The Precautionary Principle is essentially the "better safe than sorry" principle. You'll want to familiarize yourself with this literature the next time someone tells you that "there's no proof" that a certain chemical is dangerous, or says that a risk assessment showed "no likelihood of harm," One of the core elements in this literature is the Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary Principle, developed in 1998 by a few dozen treaty negotiators, activists, scholars and scientists from the United States, Canada and Europe. ("Wingspread" is simply the name of the conference facility where they met. The last link above offers some interesting background into the place.)

California Safe Schools

http://www.calisafe.org/

In October 2003, the second largest school district in the USA embraced the Precautionary Principle in its policy on Integrated Pest Management. I encourage you to download the policy--it sets a standard for schools nationwide. Here's a small excerpt: "In embracing the Precautionary Principle, the District will use only those pest management methods or products demonstrated to be the safest and lowest risk to children, and strive to use products that demonstrate an absence of the following health effects: cancer, neurological disruption, birth defects, genetic alteration, reproductive harm, immune system dysfunction, endocrine disruption and acute poisoning."

Coming Clean

http://www.come-clean.org/

Coming Clean was formed in 2001, when Bill Moyers exposed chemical industry documents in the PBS broadcast "Trade Secrets." Check out "Ten Reasons to John Our Effort to get the Chemical Industry to Come Clean." Click on "Take Action!" to learn how to sign up for their monthly mailing.

Chemical Body Burden

http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/

This site is also a project of Coming Clean, and shares come-clean.org's succinct style. Chemicalbodyburden.org answers questions such as "What is Body Burden?" and "Don't government regulations protect my family and me?" and "What can we do?" I like the site, both for its content, and its valuable links.

by Marjorie Roswell 3443 Guilford Terrace * Baltimore, Maryland 21218 USA * Phone: 410-467-3727 * Email: mroswell@charm.net

Marjorie Roswell is a web developer at a health policy organization in Baltimore.