On January 12, 2004, PSR-LA coordinated and released recommendations for Improving California’s Public and Environmental Health, a policy agenda
document submitted to the legislature and Governor’s office on behalf of nearly 30 environmental and public health groups in the state. PSR-LA was the lead author of this document that served as the centerpiece of the Environmental Health Legislative Working Group’s (EHLWG) lobby day in January. Areas of concern include asthma and air quality, diesel use reduction, lack of environmental health infrastructure, chemical regulatory change, chemical safety testing, biomonitoring, radioactive waste, perchlorate, and funding for the state’s prevention services. Key messages communicated on Environmental Health Lobby day included:
• Scientists and policymakers need to take a preventive approach to assessing
health threats and mitigating actions.
• Californians have the right to know about environmental risks in their communities.
• Pollution disproportionately impacts low-income communities, communities of color, women of child-bearing age, children during various stages of development, and the elderly. Our laws need to better address these disparities.
• Costs associated with pollution and the enforcement of environmental laws should be shifted from impacted communities, government agencies, and taxpayers to the industry responsible for a polluting products manufacture.
• Californians are at great risk from cumulative exposure to multiple chemicals. Our laws and policies need to account for additive and synergistic
effects of toxic exposure.
Improving California’s Public and Environmental Health reccomends that
state officials and regulators take a preventive approach to protecting public
health by improving testing and screening for chemicals found in our environment and bodies, and emphasizing the importance of increased funding for health tracking services.
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