CACC joins Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health!
CACC has been accepted for membership in the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health. The Network "...is a coalition of health professionals, health-affected groups, environmental organizations, and others dedicated to a safe and less toxic world for Michigan's children. Through education, outreach, and advocacy, we work to change current policies and practices that result in exposure of children to environmental toxicants." – from the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health website: www.mnceh.org.
CACC is proud to be part of this coalition and join this critical work to protect Michigan’s children’s health! CACC will be posting alerts from the Network on our website: www.caccmi.org.
Campaign for Healthy Toys
Last winter, the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health campaign to get the lead and other toxic chemicals out of toys received international headlines. Parents, teachers, environmental groups, and medical personnel lauded the launch of a new website: www.healthytoys.org where people could check the safety of their children's toys. The website was an immediate success, with over 230,000 visitors to the site in less than a month. The campaign resulted in the recall of many popular toys, and had manufacturers and toy dealers scrambling to identify toys that are indeed, safe for children.
There are currently over 80,000 chemicals in use in the world, the bulk of which are either untested, or tested inadequately to protect human health. The government does not check for toxic chemicals in toys. Children are especially vulnerable to toxic chemicals as their brains and bodies are still developing and their cells replicate faster than adults. Cells are more easily damaged during replication. Neurotoxins, such as lead, result in irreversible damage to the nervous system of a growing child. Many toys contain lead or other toxic ingredients. CACC highly recommends that you check out any toys you wish to purchase for children's use at www.healthytoys.org .