We all want to live in a safe and healthy community with clean air, clean water, and food that doesn’t make us sick, where we are treated with dignity and respect. COVID-19 has opened a raw discussion about our health and the significant and life-threatening disparities that exist across the nation. Studies suggest a significant increase in the likelihood of death and serious illness if you live with air pollution and happen to contract COVID-19.
Black, Brown and Indigenous communities are more likely to suffer from air pollution and other toxics that lower the immune system and increase risk. It’s clear that while we’re all weathering the same storm with COVID-19, we’re not all in the same boat. We’ve seen how some people with “essential” jobs have little-to-no PPE protection against the virus. Many of these same workers come into contact every day with chemicals that put them at greater risk of cancer and other diseases. We need to do something about it NOW.
While we work on finding a cure for COVID-19, cancers and other diseases, we must also take a stand to prevent toxic exposures that weaken our communities and economies.
Together, we can bring about a just transition to a cancer-free economy that works for all of us.
Clean water is necessary for a healthy life! We demand access to safe and clean drinking water and educate ourselves and our communities about contaminants and the best means to filter household water. Bottled water is more polluted than most municipal systems. Download our PFAS In Drinking Water Fact Sheet.
Download the Childhood Cancer Prevention Report and find out why scientists, health professionals, businesses, advocates, faith leaders and advocates are calling for a National Childhood Cancer Prevention Plan and Research Agenda.
Sign the Public Childhood Cancer Prevention Statement at American Sustainable Business Council.
Eliminate carcinogens in home furnishings, products children and parents come into contact with, and other consumer products. Download our How Can I Reduce My Exposure to PFAS fact sheet.
Eliminate pesticide use at home, in schools and in the foods that we buy.
Demand that oil and gas incentives be redirected to incentivize green building and retrofitting.
Push for regulations and encourage manufacturers to create safer chemicals for at-home use, tackling cleaning, personal hygiene and feminine care products first. Use our collective purchasing power to buy the safer products that are already available!
Significantly reduce purchasing and use of plastics in the home, especially those that come in contact with children, food, and even textiles and clothing, all contributing to a global plastic pandemic.
Enforce existing air pollution laws and expand upon them.
Prohibit increased exposure in communities already disproportionately impacted.
Eliminate disparities in air pollution in a given region, by focusing first on cleaning up more polluted places.
Remove toxins from building materials in housing and schools, beginning in low income and communities of color, and where cancer patients are treated first.
Get transportation systems off fossil fuels, especially diesel.
Enforce/establish zoning requirements so that trucking, toxic chemical production, incineration, etc. is not allowed in residential communities.
Hold the government accountable to use preventive and precautionary approaches to chemicals and regulations. Download the Elections Guide
It shouldn’t be our job to prove when products are unsafe in order to be protected. It should be the job of businesses to prove to consumers that their products are safe. Ask your favorite brands to sign the Business Childhood Cancer Prevention Sign On at American Sustainable Business Council.
Read the Joint Statement on Cancer Prevention and find out which organizations and medical associations are supporting cancer prevention.
Download the PFAS Action for Health Professionals Fact Sheet
Workplaces will identify high hazard chemicals/carcinogens and set target dates for phase outs; initiate processes to identify safer alternatives. In the meantime, reduce exposure and provide adequate training and protective gear to employees.
Support union organizing for enforcement of workplace health and safety (and protection for workers who speak out about problems).
Encourage environmental justice and equity to be a lens with which all businesses and governments are required to look at at all levels.