Attempts In California to Ban Toxic Chemicals From Food Packaging Advance in State Senate

April 2008

For Immediate Release: April 10, 2008
Contact: Bill Walker, (510) 444-0973 x301

OAKLAND, Calif., April 10 – Environmental Working Group (EWG) Vice President/West Coast Bill Walker issued the following statement applauding the recent passage of California Senate Bill 1313, by Sen. Ellen Corbett, to ban the use of PFC chemicals in food packaging out of the Committee on Environmental Quality.

“PFCs may be the worst, most notorious chemicals ever made and it is outrageous that they are still on the market,” said Walker. “We applaud Senator Corbett and the committee for passing this landmark legislation and look forward to working with them to ensure that the strongest ban becomes law.”

PFCs are found in the blood of more than 98% of Americans, and are often in children’s blood at higher levels than in adults’. They build up in the food chain and contaminate wildlife around the globe. EPA considers PFCs likely human carcinogens, and they are known to induce testicular and mammary cancers in animals. PFCs are also associated with impaired fetal development, altered male reproductive hormones, and effects on the liver, thyroid gland, and immune system.

Unlike other pollutants, all of which break down in the environment eventually, PFOA never breaks down. Every molecule that is produced today will be around forever, continually redistributing throughout the environment, food chain, and population. Every day PFCs are used means more pollution and more people are harmed.

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EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment.