Today's industries use over 80,000 chemicals, and they create thousands more each year.  Before using new chemical concoctions and releasing them into the world, companies are not required to prove that the chemicals are safe.

It's true:  Industries create new chemicals.  They use them.  Then we all wait to find out if these chemicals make us sick.

The current systems that regulate (or fail to regulate) the chemical industry place the burden of proof upon communities and families. Communities and families must prove chemicals are dangerous to their health before anything is done, if at all. The chemical industry uses science to cloud policymakers' decisions regarding the "acceptable levels of danger" of various chemicals.  The Center for Environmental Health believes that if the science shows that a chemical can be dangerous to children, families, and communities in even small doses, that chemical should not be on our market to begin with.  The battle for healthy communities will continue until the chemical industry is regulated toward good health versus healthy profits. 

Communities all over the nation, all over the world, use science as a tool to fight the chemicals that are making them and their families sick. Science can be a double-edged sword. There will always be more to know and to prove. Often, communities get bogged down in bureaucratic processes that require more information before action is taken. However, science has also helped communities paint the picture of illness and impact on their bodies and lives that will stir policy decision-makers to protect their constituents or force corporate offenders to halt harmful practices.

Learn more about how science has and can be used to a community's benefit in the links provided here community resources. 

Join us in supporting and fighting for environmental justice!