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The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) is an American non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) organization working to protect children and families from harmful chemicals in air, food, water and in everyday products. Its vision and mission are "(A) world where everyone lives, works, learns and plays in a healthy environment; we protect people from toxic chemicals by working with communities, businesses, and the government to demand and support business practices that are safe for human health and the environment." CEH is headquartered in Oakland, California in the United States, with an East Coast office in New York City. ==Early work== CEH was founded in 1996 by Michael Green, who previously worked for the U.S. Department of Energy.〔Annys Shin, ("Taking Lead Safety Into Its Own Hands." ) ''Washington Post'', November 10, 2007. accessed March 8, 2015〕 The group brings litigation under a California law, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, which was enacted as a citizens’ ballot proposition and is often referred to as the state’s “Prop 65” law. Prop 65 requires companies to provide warnings when their products expose Californians to a chemical or chemicals that are known to cause cancer or serious reproductive health problems.〔California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, ("Proposition 65 in Plain Language!." ) accessed March 8, 2015〕 In one of its early legal cases, CEH tested 16 home water filters and found 6 that were leeching lead into filtered water, above California safety limits.〔CNN, ("Study: Some home water filters may make lead problem worse." ) June 18, 1998. Accessed March 8, 2015〕 CEH brought Prop 65 lawsuits against the 6 companies, and one company withdrew one filter model from the market and offered customers who had purchased the product a refund.〔Alex Barnum, ("Home-Filtered Water Fails Lead Test." ) ''San Francisco Chronicle'', June 19, 1998. Accessed March 8, 2015〕 Beginning in 2000, CEH joined by the California Attorney General, sued 34 companies that made playground equipment or picnic tables from wood treated with an arsenic-based preservative.〔Clifford Rechtschaffen, ("The Continued Success of Proposition 65 in Reducing Toxic Exposures." ) Environmental Law Institute, 35 ELR 10830 (2005). Accessed March 8, 2015〕 Until 2003, most wood sold in the U.S. for outdoor use was treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), an arsenic-based preservative.〔New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, ("Lumber Pressure Treated With Chromated Copper Arsenate." ) Accessed March 8, 2015〕 By late 2001, three national manufacturers of children's backyard play sets agreed to a CEH legal settlement calling for them to stop using arsenic in pressure-treated lumber within three months.〔Jane Kay, ("Firms phasing out arsenic compound." ) San Francisco Chronicle, November 11, 2001. Accessed March 16, 2015〕 By 2003, all of the companies had agreed to stop selling arsenic-treated wood in California and nationwide.〔 In addition to legal work, early on CEH was involved in support of groups fighting for environmental justice. In 1999-2001, CEH collaborated with local environmental justice community groups working to close East Oakland's Integrated Environmental Systems (IES) medical waste incinerator.〔Sheila D'Amico, ("Hazardous Medical Waste Still Burns on High Street." ) ''McArthur Metro'', December 2000. Accessed March 8, 2015〕 The incinerator was considered an environmental justice issue, because it burned waste from all over California and released the toxic byproducts mainly into an African-American and Latino community.〔Dick Russell, ("Health Problem at the Health Care Industry." ) ''Amicus Journal'', Winter 2000. Accessed March 8, 2015〕 The IES incinerator, the last medical waste incinerator operating in California, was closed in December 2001.〔Janine DeFao, ("Oakland medical waste incinerator to shut down." ) ''San Francisco Chronicle'', December 8, 2001. Accessed March 15, 2015〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Center for Environmental Health」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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