Highlights

The Trump election represented a body blow to the fight against climate change.  In this new era, state leadership is more important than ever.  That’s why 40 labor, environmental, faith, and community groups have come together and launched Jersey Renews, a coalition that’s rallying support for Garden State policies that will lead to climate justice, clean energy, and good jobs. Join us for one of our Jersey Renews kick-off meetings: Monday, March 27 7:30 to 9:00 pm St. Luke's Episcopal Church 73 S. Fullerton Avenue Montclair RSVP  Monday, April 3 12:00 to 2:30 pm Kroc Corps Community Center 1865 Harrison Avenue Camden RSVP Monday, April 10 6:30 to 8:00 pm Labor Education Center 50 Labor Way New Brunswick RSVP You’ll hear from dynamic speakers who will describe how intelligent state policies can help us reach the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals we need, maintain and create good jobs, and give us cleaner air in our communities.  New Jerseyans will elect a new governor later this year.  We need all the candidates to know that there’s powerful support for taking action on climate change. And, because we need to join our efforts to [...]

After the Flint lead crisis entered the public consciousness, the crisis of lead in drinking water became known as a national public health crisis. WEC was proud to stand with Environment NJ and NJ PIRG to announce the release of their jointly authored groundbreaking report ‘Get The Lead Out’ at the New Jersey Statehouse on March 16.  The report grades individual states on their response to the lead crisis and makes several recommendations for how policy makers can decisively address the lead crisis. New Jersey earned a C-, ahead of several other states, but still far from adequate.  Barely average doesn’t cut it when it comes to the health and safety of our children.  The recommendations outlined in the “Get The Lead Out’ report, if implemented, would result in significant public health improvements.  We hope that this report’s recommendations are seriously considered by our nation’s public servants, as they consider legislative solutions to the insidious crisis of lead in drinking water.  Our children deserve nothing less.   “The Healthy Schools Now coalition applauds Environment New Jersey for releasing their landmark 'Get The Lead Out' report. This groundbreaking report makes clear that the public health crisis of lead [...]

Call your US Senators to oppose passage of H.J.Res.83.  As we know, worker health and safety are closely linked to accurate workplace injury and illness data. Better records benefit both employees and employers by allowing each to become more aware of hazards, recognize patterns, and take corrective actions. In short, accurate records help protect workers, while less-complete records have the potential to put them at greater risk. This data – and by extension, worker health and safety – are being threatened by H.J.Res.83. In a misguided attempt to reduce perceived regulatory burden, this fast-moving legislation would use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to permanently overturn OSHA’s final rule which clarifies that an employer is obligated to establish and maintain accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses throughout a five-year record retention time-frame. ACT NOW. It is highly likely that the Senate will vote on H.J.Res.83 soon.

As many Americans are painfully aware, income inequality in the United States today is extreme and growing exponentially. In fact, as of 2014, the top CEOs takes home 844 times what the average worker makes. And New Jersey is no stranger to the effects of runaway inequality, according to a recent story on WNYC, being home to some of the wealthiest and some of the poorest individuals in the country. This extreme distribution of wealth is no accident, with extreme income disparity being more common in urban centers, and with income inequality (according to the Gini index, a frequently used measure for inequality) being lower between 2006-2010, a period immediately preceding the great recession. “The statewide rise in New Jersey income inequality is also reflected in the data for individual counties, which all except Cape May saw upticks in their Gini index scores.”   Meanwhile, Governor Christie has worked to cut taxes and fees for corporations, plunder the state budget, and attempted to cut himself a juicy book deal. Extreme income inequality is no accident; it occurs when economic and corporate elites work together to rig an economy against ordinary, working people. While Wall Street [...]

The New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) and Healthy Schools Now coalition recently released a report Health and Safety Guide: Mercury Hazard in Schools from Rubber-Like Polyurethane Floors. Written by WEC’s industrial hygiene consultants, the report alerts school officials and maintenance staff of the potential health risk of rubber-like polyurethane floors and recommends actions to reduce or eliminate resulting mercury exposure. Rubber-like polyurethane floors using 1,000 to 2,000 parts per million of phenyl mercuric acetate (PMA) catalyst have been installed in school multipurpose rooms, gyms, cafeterias, auditoriums, stages and indoor and outdoor tracks since the 1960s.  PMA breaks down and releases odorless, colorless mercury vapor at room temperatures. The floors and items that have been in contact with them emit mercury vapor indefinitely. Exposure is worse if floors are damaged or deteriorated, in hot rooms with poor ventilation or without air conditioning, or if outdoor air is not being pulled in. If floor removal is not going to take place in the near future, measures to limit mercury exposure should be implemented immediately.  At a minimum, these measures should include ensuring that rooms with rubber-like polyurethane floors have cool temperatures, good ventilation and ongoing air sampling.  [...]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is exercising their new authority under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amended the outdated (and ineffective) Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). EPA named the first ten priority chemicals for assessment and is tasked with evaluating these chemicals to ensure there is not an unreasonable risk of injury to health.  In determining risk, EPA is required to consider vulnerable populations including: workers, infants, children, pregnant women and the elderly. WEC is highlighting the chemicals in a series of blog posts with information on how to make your voice heard and tell your story about chemical exposure. Chemical Eight of Ten: Pigment Violet -29 (Perylene-3,4:9,10-tetracarboxydiimide) This chemical is a red-purple dye used to coat products and is found in inks, toners and polymers. Pigment Violet-29 is used in printing and recorded media reproduction and in the manufacture of plastic products, machinery and vehicles. Pigment Violet 29 is suspected of causing cancer and reproductive problems. Chemical Nine of Ten: Trichloroethelene (TCE) TCE is used in the manufacturing of refrigerants and is used as a commercial degreaser. It is also used as a spotting agent in dry cleaners, [...]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is exercising their new authority under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amended the outdated (and ineffective) Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). EPA named the first ten priority chemicals for assessment and is tasked with evaluating these chemicals to ensure there is not an unreasonable risk of injury to health.  In determining risk, EPA is required to consider vulnerable populations including: workers, infants, children, pregnant women and the elderly. WEC is highlighting the chemicals in a series of blog posts with information on how to make your voice heard and tell your story about chemical exposure. Chemical Five of Ten: Hexabromocyclododecane (a.k.a. HBCD or HBCDD) Hexabromocyclododecane, or HBCD, is used as a flame retardant in expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) and extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) used in the building and construction industry, mainly in the form of insulation boards. HBCD is also added to plastics used for electronics and appliances to make them more fire resistant and mixed into the back coating of textiles. While it is no longer widely used in the coatings of new home furnishings like upholstery, window blinds, draperies and wall coverings, HBCD is [...]