Breast Cancer Action Alert, incl 5/24 event in Arcata

Hello! This is a special e-alert for our California members. There are some
exciting upcoming opportunities in California to take action and do something,
besides worry, about breast cancer.

SPREAD THE WORD - if you like this e-alert, please help us by sharing it with your
friends and family. Forward this message and let them know that they can subscribe
at http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/GetInformed/AlertList.html

WE PUBLISH A SNAIL MAIL NEWSLETTER TOO - We just can't get enough of you ...and hope
that you can't get enough of us! If you're not already on our mailing list we'd
love to send you our bi-monthly newsletter filled with information on treatment,
diagnosis, politics, and scientific updates. (Check out the archives:
http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/GetInformed/Newsletters.html) You can subscribe online at
http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/GetInformed/Subscribe.html


In this issue...

1. TAKE ACTION: Attend the Environmental Health Lobby Days, May 23-24; Next Steps
for Cosmetics Legislation

2. SAVE THE DATE: United for Safety: Health and Environmental Conference, May 14;
Body Burden-The Show, New Performances Added; From Research to Action: Seeking
Solutions, September 9-11


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1. TAKE ACTION: Attend the Environmental Health Lobby Days, May 23-24; Next Steps
for Cosmetics Legislation

Environmental Health Lobby Days, May 23-24, Sacramento

Make your voice heard in Sacramento! Attend the Environmental Health Lobby Days on
May 23rd and 24th. The Environmental Health Legislative Working Group (EHLWG) is a
coalition of environmental health and justice groups throughout California. The
Environmental Health Lobby Days are held each spring in Sacramento to educate the
legislature on current air, toxics, water, and pesticide issues, and to advocate for
current environmental health legislation. The lobby days provide an opportunity for
community activists from around the state to join together and bring their
environmental health concerns to their elected officials. They are also a great
opportunity for people to learn more about how the legislative process works and how
we can all take part in that process. This is also a great chance to encourage
legislators to support the cosmetics bill! May 23rd will be a day of advocacy
training, and May 24th will be a day for meeting with legislators. Travel
scholarships to Sacramento are available; please contact Nick Guroff at
nickguroff [at] earthlink.net or (415) 863-8934 x109 ASAP if you would like to attend.

An additional training will be held in Los Angeles the weekend before the lobby days
for those who want to learn more. Location and contact information is below.

Los Angeles Regional Training
Saturday, May 21 in L.A.
Contact Martha Arguello, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles at
arguello [at] psr.org or (213) 689-9170


Next Steps for Cosmetics Legislation

We celebrated a great success last month when SB 484 passed the Senate Health
Committee on Wednesday, April 20th. It will now go on to the Senate Appropriations
Committee and then to the Senate floor. If passed, SB 484, authored by Senator
Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), will require cosmetics manufacturers to report to
the Department of Health Services (DHS) products containing ingredients that are
linked with cancer or birth defects. THe bill would also give DHS the authority to
investigate the health impacts of these chemicals.

Some members of the cosmetics industry are fighting this legislation with expensive
lobbyists and misinformation, and are meeting with legislators to urge them to vote
against these consumer protections. Your contact with legislators will be crucial
in the coming months in order to make sure SB 484 passes into law.

Please call or write your California State Senator to urge her/him to vote yes on
this bill! Phone and letter script are included below.

Thank you for all that you have done so far, and please continue to help us demand
safer cosmetics in California.


To find your State Senator go to: http://www.senate.ca.gov
Click on "Senators" and then "Your Senator" to get your Senator's name and contact
information.

Sample phone script:

Hello, my name is ____________ and I am a constituent in Senator ______________'s
district. I am calling to urge Senator ________________ to vote yes on SB 484.
This important bill will require cosmetics companies to disclose ingredients in
their products that are linked to cancer and reproductive harm, and will give the
state authority to regulate such hazards. SB 484 is sensible policy that will help
us begin to address significant issue of workplace safety and consumer health.



Sample letter:

The Honorable _________________
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA

RE: SB 484 (Migden)—SUPPORT

Dear Senator ________________

As a constituent in your district, I am writing to ask you to support SB 484,
sponsored by Senator Carole Migden. This important bill will require cosmetics
companies to disclose ingredients in their products that are linked to cancer and
reproductive harm, and will give the state authority to regulate such hazards.

A variety of chemicals in cosmetics have been linked to cancer and birth defects.
Over a third of products on the market contain chemicals with potential links to
cancer. Workers in nail and beauty salons are on the front lines of exposure to
these hazardous chemicals. With cost-effective alternatives already widely
available and in use by many responsible companies, exposure to these chemical
hazards in cosmetics can be entirely avoided.

Self-regulation by the industry has not worked in the interest of public health.
The FDA does not review cosmetic ingredients for their health and safety before they
come to market nor does it have the authority to recall hazardous products. FDA
relies on the cosmetics industry’s self-policing committee, the Cosmetic
Ingredient Review (CIR) panel, for information on product safety. Because testing
is voluntary and controlled by the manufacturers, 89% of the ingredients used in
cosmetic products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA, or any
other publicly accountable institution.

SB 484 is smart, sensible policy that will help address the issue of safety in
personal care products, and will benefit worker and consumer health in California.
As a constituent, I ask for your support on this important legislation.

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2. SAVE THE DATE: United for Safety: Health and Environmental Conference, May 14;
Body Burden-The Show, New Performances Added; From Research to Action: Seeking
Solutions, September 9-11


United for Safety: Health and Environmental Conference, Van Nuys, May 14

California Safe Schools presents "United for Safety: Health and Environmental
Conference." The conference will present some of the programs and policies that
help to protect human health and the environment. Government leaders, school
administrators, and environmental health advocates will be among the featured
speakers. The event is FREE, and there will be food and entertainment. It will be
from 10 AM- 4 PM on May 14th at the Van Nuys High School. Reservations are required
and can be made online at http://www.calisafe.org/more_info.htm For more information,
contact California Safe Schools at (818) 785-5515 or unitedforsafety [at] earthlink.net


Body Burden-The Show, New Performances Added!!

Body burden screening is a form of biological monitoring which tests human blood,
urine, and body fat for the presence of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. This type
of research has been used to study the connections between chemicals and cancer.
Body Burden is also the name of a clown show about breast cancer and environmental
pollution, which will be touring the West Coast this May. Rogersbarn Circus of New
Haven, CT created this show as a "comic challenge to the conventional wisdom that
getting cancer is a result of the personal lifestyle choices that we make." The show
focuses on the politics of cancer which allow toxic and carcinogenic chemicals to be
produced and distributed in the environment. Confirmed venues are listed below. For
more information or to book a performance in your community, contact Jake Weinstein
at (203) 562-1471.

Scheduled Performances:

May 24: Arcata, CA, 7:30 pm
Hosted by Northcoast Environmental Center
Contact Tim McKay (707) 822-6918
Event Location: 575 H Street Arcata, CA

May 26: Garberville, CA, 7:00 pm (dinner theatre)
Hosted by Environmental Protection Information Center
Contact Jan Bramlett (707) 923-2931
Event Location: Beginnings in Briceland

May 30: San Francisco, CA, 7:00 pm
Hosted by Greenaction
Contact Jessica Tovar (415) 248-5010 x.103
Event Location: Balazo Gallery, 2183 Mission Street @ 18th


From Research to Action: Seeking Solutions, September 9-11, Sacramento

This symposium, sponsored by the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP),
will bring together scientists, activists, clinicians, policy makers, and interested
members of the public to learn about the advances in breast cancer research and to
envision new research directions that will make the maximum impact on the disease.
The symposium will feature workshops on topics for non-scientists and scientists, a
panel discussion on the factors that contribute to the unequal burden of breast
cancer, and late breaking research results from CBCRP sponsored investigators.
Breast Cancer Action will be attending and hosting an informational table. The
event will take place September 9-11 at the Sacramento Convention Center and the
Hyatt Regency at Capitol Park. Registration is free and some travel scholarships
are available through CBCRP. To find out more, visit
http://www.cbcrp.org/symposium/

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That's it for this edition! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or
comments about this listserv.

Thanks for your continued support of BCA. Until next time,

Pauli Ojea, Community Organizer
Toll free at 877-2STOPBC (278-6722)
http://www.bcaction.org
http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org

Our members are the driving force behind our efforts to end the breast
cancer epidemic. Because Breast Cancer Action does not accept funding from
the government or the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, we need
your support. You can donate on-line at
http://bcaction.org/Pages/SupportUs/Donate.html, or call 415-243-9301, or
toll-free at 1-877-278-6722. All gifts are deeply appreciated.

Breast Cancer Action has received the highest four-star rating from Charity
Navigator, America’s premiere evaluator of charities. To view the details of our
rating, visit
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/8165.htm


Breast Cancer Action is funded in part by a grant from the California Wellness
Foundation (TCWF). Created in 1992 as an independent, private foundation, TCWF's
mission is to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for
health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention programs.