#81 May/June 2006
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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TOP STORIES

Misguided Medication
Federally sponsored research now indicates it's dangerous to many people, but fluoridation still gets the nod from WA officials
by Doug Collins
see related articles in HEALTH section

Drug-free zones fail to protect youth, worsen racial disparity
Key failures of drug-free zones

Movement to change ineffective laws finds growing support in WA and other states
two articles from the Justice Policy Institute
cartoon by John Jonik "War on Pot"

Vote-By-Mail: Expensive & Easier to Manipulate
opinion by Richard Borkowski
see related article in ELECTIONS section

FREE THOUGHTS

READER MAIL
Next stop, bus improvements; Bush on way out
cartoon by Tristan Hobson "State of Denial"
cartoon by David Logan "Republican Balloon"

Searching for Common Ground
by Todd Huffman, MD

ELECTIONS

Voter's Absentee Ballots Not Counted--Twice in Two Months!
by Doug Collins

Court Strikes Down WA Ex-con Poll Tax
from the ACLU of WA
cartoon by David Logan "Give me your tired..."

CONTACTS/ACTIVISM

NORTHWEST NEIGHBORS
contact list of subscribers who like to talk with you

DO SOMETHING! CALENDAR
Northwest activist events

WAR

Spying in Seattle
Surveillance and retaliation for the U.S. Navy
by Glen Milner

Questions in Iraq
opinion by Joseph Sonntag

Bush Seeks Funds for Laser Space Weapon
from Global Network

HEALTH

National Academy of Sciences: Fluoridation Can Be Unhealthy
No Milligrams are Good Milligrams

Oregon newspaper helps expose the risks
two articles by Robert Carton, PhD
cartoon by John Jonik "Parasito Insurance"

Fluoridation and Cancer
It's been known for a long time
from NY State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

Toxic Flame Retardants Still Unregulated in WA
from WA Toxics Coalition

TRANSPORTATION

Wanna Faster Bus Ride?
Driver champions transit change
by Andrew Jeromsky

More Causes of Slow Busses
by Doug Collins

BOB'S RANDOM LEGAL WISDOM by Bob Anderton
WA Bike Laws: They may be different from what you think

ENVIRONMENT

UW Plagued by Biosafety Problems
from Labwatch Seattle

TRASH TALK by Dave & Lillian Brummet
Growing Green Kids
Extend the Life of Books & Magazines

RIGHT BRAIN

Tires
short story by Vincent Spada

"When Not in Victory"
"The Patient"

two poems by Raymond Cavanaugh

About Family:
"Uncle Teddy Pekrul"
"Family Portrait 1920"
"We Three"

three poems by Robert Pavlik

POLITICS

MEDIA BEAT by Norman Solomon
The Lobby and the Bulldozer: Mearsheimer, Walt, and Corrie

BOOK NOTICE: "What Democracy Looks Like"
New book argues that 1999 Seattle WTO protests were a cultural turning point
from the publisher

The Puzzle of Jack Abramoff and Quid Pro Quo
The basic problem with US politics is that it's a pyramid scheme
by Steven Hill

Toxic Flame Retardants Still Unregulated in WA

from WA Toxics Coalition

Despite strong bipartisan support, the Washington state legislature failed for the second consecutive year to pass important legislation to phase out the use of toxic flame retardants called PBDEs that are rapidly building up in breast milk, our bodies, and in wildlife. PBDEs are chemical cousins of long-banned PCBs, and are known to impair learning, behavior, and development in lab animals.

The bill (HB 1488), sponsored by Rep. Ross Hunter and Sen. Debbie Regala, would have been a major step forward in making Washington state a leader in protecting children's health from toxic chemicals in products. A weakened version of the bill passed in the House unanimously. It was restored to full strength in a Senate committee but did not proceed. The bill would have:

* Phased out the most widely used form of PBDE, known as deca, in electronic enclosures for televisions and computers by 2010.

* Phased out deca in residential upholstered furniture and mattresses and mattress pads by 2012.

* Phased out penta and octa forms of PBDEs by 2007. These two forms have already been voluntarily phased out by the U.S. chemical industry but the bill would have prevented Washington state from importing products that contained these chemicals.

* Required the departments of Ecology and Health, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal, to identify a safer, effective alternative before the ban on deca took effect.

Despite having a majority of senators pledging support for the bill, the out-of-state chemical-industry interests lobbied aggressively against the bill, spreading misinformation about its impacts, and convinced a few key senators not to let the bill come up for a vote. The companies who opposed the bill are the same companies--Albemarle and Great Lakes Chemical--that have their roots in leaded gasoline, ethylene dibromide (a leaded gasoline additive and banned pesticide), and methyl bromide (a highly toxic agricultural pesticide). Their claims of deca safety run contrary to our own state agencies findings. The Washington State Departments of Ecology and Health found that deca breaks down into the forms that the PBDE makers agreed to phase out (penta and octa) over environmental and health concerns. In addition, chemical company claims that the bill would negatively impact fire safety standards were proved false by companies like HP, Dell, and Ikea that meet the highest fire safety standards without the use of PBDEs.

The PBDE bill was a priority of the environmental community and was supported by the Washington State Nurses Association, the Washington chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Washington State Departments of Ecology and Health, and many other organizations.

For more info see www.watoxics.org or call 206.632.1545.


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