News From USW: Coalition Fights to Protect Californians From Harmful Chemicals

News From USW: The Sierra Club, United Steelworkers (USW), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), California Labor Federation, Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) and Environment California have joined forces to protect Californians from a harmful chemical associated with Teflon and grease stain repellants.

Today, the groups filed suit over California’s wholesale failure to enforce Proposition 65′s protections from chemicals that cause cancer. The suit cites the state’s failure to even consider listing PFOA, a chemical manufactured by DuPont and associated with Teflon and grease and stain repellants, as known to cause cancer.

After U.S. EPA’s scientific experts recommended that PFOA be considered as “likely to be carcinogenic” last year, the Sierra Club, USW, NRDC, ELF, and Environment California petitioned the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to expedite consideration of whether to include PFOA on the list of chemicals known to cause cancer under Proposition 65. The agency refused.

The groups called the refusal to consider PFOA just one example of serious, continuing problems in listing chemicals under Proposition 65. In the last five years, the Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC) — the Governor’s appointed experts on cancer-causing chemicals — have not independently listed any new chemicals, while removing 4 chemicals from the list.

“The state has put California families and workers at risk by allowing companies to use cancer-causing chemicals without disclosing it,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. “People have a right to know if a product they use every day, like a frying pan, is endangering them. That’s the purpose of Proposition 65.”

USW International President Leo W. Gerard said that public safety should never be sacrificed for the benefit of giant corporations like DuPont.

“Workers, their families and communities in the United States and around the world face enough challenges as a result of unchecked globalization, but we cannot allow the state of California to wait any longer on this serious issue,” Gerard said. “We demand to know what the state is doing to protect these communities.”

Proposition 65 protects Californians by requiring the Governor to update a list of chemicals that cause cancer at least once a year. Once on the list, it is unlawful to knowingly discharge a significant amount of the chemical into sources of drinking water or to knowingly and intentionally expose anyone to the chemical without a warning unless there is no significant risk from doing so. Only expeditious listing of chemicals can accomplish Proposition 65′s protections and warnings.

If successful, the suit will require the State to consider and list chemicals in a prompt manner and compel OEHHA to place PFOA into consideration for listing at the next CIC meeting.