Toxic Hot Seat – Now Available to Download
Last fall, HBO premiered the documentary “Toxic Hot Seat,” which includes clips from an interview with CEH Executive Director Michael Green. The film, now available to download, takes us on a journey with a courageous group of firefighters, mothers, journalists, scientists, politicians, and activists who fight together to expose the decades-long disinformation campaign by chemical companies that resulted in widespread pollution of our homes and our bodies by dangerous flame retardant chemicals.
Chemical companies promised that their flame retardants would be the solution to household fires. In fact, scientists found that these chemicals are not useful in furniture. Even worse, some flame retardants are known to cause cancer, and others may cause neurodevelopmental problems like decreased memory, learning and IQ. These chemicals can disrupt our bodies’ natural hormones, affect brain development in fetuses and young children, and have also been associated with decreased fertility –increased time to pregnancy, decreased sperm quality, as well as decreased weight in newborns. In spite of these findings and in response to the state’s updated fire safety rules, the flame retardant maker Chemtura sued California, in an attempt to overturn the new rules. But the new rules will stand: Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny denied the chemical company’s challenge and upheld the state’s rules.
The chemical industry spent millions of dollars paying lobbyists, publicists, influencers, and “experts” to take part in this cover-up. But Toxic Hot Seat tells the personal stories of a firefighter who survived occupational cancer, a renowned chemist whose work helped remove flame retardants from children’s pajamas in the 1970s, a determined Maine legislator/mom, and advocates like CEH’s Michael Green who helped uncover the lies and finally won an end to unnecessary, toxic practices. Check it out! http://vimeo.com/ondemand/toxichotseat