Carleton MPIRG Pushes for Chemicals Ban in Detox Minnesota! Campaign
BY MEGHAN KEANE
“It is time to advance a non-toxic, vibrant economy and protect the public by reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act. I urge you to support the strongest version of this reform. We can’t do it without you!”
Two weeks ago, Sen. Amy Klobuchar received this message over 175 times as part of a campaign run by the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) to encourage legislators to reform current legislation regarding toxic substances. The message graced almost two hundred postcards signed by Carleton students who support this measure.
MPIRG, which has an active chapter at Carleton College, among nine other schools in Minnesota, is focusing its efforts on passing two new bills: one that would require toxin-free cleaning supplies in public buildings and another that would offer tax incentives for businesses that use chemicals that do not cause harm to humans or generate hazardous waste.
“MPIRG has been working in coalition with Healthy Legacy Coalition, among other non-profits, on this campaign for at least the past two years,” says Christa Owens, a student leader of Carleton’s MPIRG chapter. She and her fellow student leaders are already planning events—such as a make-your-own-green-cleaning-supplies day—to raise student awareness for the Detox Minnesota! campaign.
Cups and Bottles
This is not the MPIRG’s first battle for detox policy. Earlier this year, they successfully advocated for legislation that banned the use of the chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) in children’s products in the Toxic Free Kids Act.
The Act ensures that all products containing BPA, which is commonly used to strengthen plastics used in many baby bottles and sippy cups, will be phased out of stores in the state by January 1, 2011. Minnesota was the first state in the country to pass such legislation.
The regulation of BPA was fiercely fought because it was in many cases affecting young children most. According to Jamison Tessneer, the Organizing Director and Public Policy Advocate at MPIRG, BPA in bottles has been “linked to learning disabilities in children, behavioral problems and numerous cancers,” as well as neurological impairments and reproductive problems.
In numerous lab tests, the chemical was found to leach out of the plastic bottles, particularly when heated, and contaminate the food or liquid they contained.
Detox Minnesota
MPIRG’s next goal is to expand their BPA victory with chemical regulation.
Nationally, only about 200 out of 80,000 industrial chemicals have been extensively tested for their effects on human health; the rest are potentially toxic chemicals found in many consumer products.
The Detox Minnesota! campaign, according to Tessneer at the MPIRG, has already educated over 13,000 Minnesotans on consumer chemicals and generated over 4,300 citizen phone calls to state legislators and the governor to express support for chemical reform legislation.
“As you can tell by Carleton student involvement with our grassroots advocacy work, Carleton students have been receptive to the detox campaign,” Owens says. Just over 100 of the phone calls advocating BPA legislation earlier this year came from Carleton students, and students were also responsible for sending over 150 postcards supporting the BPA phase-out to the governor.
More broadly, the campaign holds a valuable lesson for students looking to make a difference in their communities.
“Our main goal is to engage students in the political process and empower them to make progressive policy change,” Owens says.
Copyright @ 2009 Pressville
To contact the author: keanem@carleton.edu
