THE TOX CUT CAMPAIGN
A National Communications Initiative to Educate Americans about
the Health Impacts and High Costs of Toxic Pollution
American Families Deserve a Tox Cut...Now!!
Toxic chemicals are silently poisoning our air, food, and water threatening the health of everyone in this
country…especially our children. Sperm counts have dropped sharply, breast cancer rates are increasing
inexorably, and kids’ chronic diseases including cancer and asthma are epidemic. Millions of Americans
have already Cut Toxics in their homes and workplaces. Now is the time to drastically reduce the
manufacturing of toxic chemicals and embrace viable, cost-effective alternatives which will improve the
health of millions, save thousands of lives and billions of taxpayer dollars.
The risks are real, severely underestimated, and getting worse. Peer-reviewed Scientific research has
either proven or implicated numerous chemicals as triggers for a growing list of diseases including
cancer, asthma, hormonal disorders and neurological dysfunction. In fact, the list of diseases attributed to
toxic chemicals has risen alarmingly over the past 20 years.
•
Several types of childhood cancer including brain tumors and leukemia have increased by 30%
over the past 25 years, making cancer the leading cause of death by disease in children.
•
Asthma has jumped by 40% and has become the leading cause of hospital
admissions for
urban children. The rate of asthma in preschoolers and school-age children more than doubled
between 1980 and1999.
•
Learning and behavioral disorders, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia
and autism, affect more than 200,000 of the new babies born each year.
Inadequate Testing of Toxic Poisons
Given the solid evidence that this toxic assault is compromising our health, most citizens are shocked to
learn that few of the 80,000 synthetic chemicals used daily in the U.S. have been adequately tested for
their long-term effects on human health. Many of these chemicals are used on the food we eat and make
their way to the water we drink. Some of these chemicals and pesticides are from the same family of
chemicals that are used for chemical warfare.
.•
Basic toxicity information is available for fewer than half of the high production chemicals
produced in or imported by the United States.
.•
Many new chemical applications to the EPA include no toxicity data at all.
Nevertheless, 80% of the applications are approved with no restrictions, usually in less than
three weeks.
A Tox Cut would Save Billions of Dollars While Protecting Millions of Lives.
Toxins are also a heavy burden on our economy. For children alone, the annual healthcare costs of
diseases attributed to environmental toxins is a staggering $54.9 billion! Furthermore, the toxins that
have been spread in waste sites across the American landscape suck billions of dollars from tax-payers
pockets to pay for clean-ups and environmental remediation.
All of this is particularly disturbing when one considers how long it can take to discover the dangerous
effects of a chemical. It required decades to prove that cigarettes were hazardous. Without the thorough
testing of the chemicals polluting our air and water and our homes and schools, we are in the dark...
forced to tolerate unnecessary and unacceptable risks to our families.
What Can We Do?
Americans must demand a TOX CUT...today! Our people are suffering, medical costs are soaring, and
our environment is deteriorating. The time for environmental health to become one of our nation's
highest priorities has arrived! Environmental Health for all Americans, but especially our children must
immediately become one of our highest priorities.
The Children's Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC) and the Earth Communications Office (ECO)
have teamed up to lead a public service campaign to insist on “TOX CUT” for all Americans. This
nation-wide campaign is designed to educate the public and policymakers about the connection between
toxic chemicals, health, and public policy. It will motivate all Americans to support policy that will make
environmental health protection a much greater priority. The campaign will harness the support of other
nonprofit organizations, celebrities, mass media, and clever attention getting actions to broadcast the core
message. CHEC and ECO are combining their unique scientific, medical and communications savvy to
call upon the public to support a TOX CUT for our kids.
How Can You Help?
There is no easy answer but for our kids sake it is imperative that we find solutions. CHEC and ECO are
soliciting $50,000 in seed funding to develop the core creative messaging for the campaign. Ultimately,
we are seeking $500,000 - $1,000,000 to facilitate the creation and dissemination of a nationwide
messaging and marketing initiative to promote the "Tox Cut" campaign. This funding would enable us to
leverage between 25 and 35 million dollars worth of free media and production contributions and when
successful will result in saving billions of dollars and thousands of lives.
CHEC is a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about environmental risks to
children's health. Our goal is to eliminate children's exposure to toxic substances by ensuring everyone's
right-to-know what is in their air, food, water and commercial products. We are working to achieve this
through increased scientific research, more protective government policies, and educating and mobilizing
individuals - like you - around the country.
ECO is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that uses the power of communication through the mass
media to improve the global environment. For the past fifteen years, we have created award-winning
communication campaigns that utilize the talent of the finest actors, artists and communications experts
anywhere in the world and have been endorsed by U.S. Congressional leaders, the head of the United
Nations Environment Programme, and by the organizers of the Olympics.