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<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/living/green/20131027_GreenSpace__Xyxkxyk_xxy_xkyx_kxy_xky_xkykykx.html">http://www.philly.com/philly/living/green/20131027_GreenSpace__Xyxkxyk_xxy_xkyx_kxy_xky_xkykykx.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<b><font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;font-weight:bold">GreenSpace: Firms act on problem chemicals<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<b><font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;font-weight:bold">P&G, Walmart, and Target are taking a stand on consumer products, to environmentalists' delight.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">ShareTweetShareRedditEmail<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/living/green/20131027_GreenSpace__Xyxkxyk_xxy_xkyx_kxy_xky_xkykykx.html#recent_comm"><font color="#003399"><span style="color:#003399;text-decoration:none">0
comments</span></font></a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;background:white"><font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><img border="0" width="599" height="292" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CED576.66215200" alt="http://media.philly.com/images/600*292/20131027_inq_sandyb27z-a.JPG"></span></font><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;background:white"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/living/green/20131027_GreenSpace__Xyxkxyk_xxy_xkyx_kxy_xky_xkykykx.html?imageId=131905771"><font color="#003399" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#003399;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="300" height="146" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.jpg@01CED576.66215200" alt="http://media.philly.com/images/300*146/20131027_inq_sandyb27z-a.JPG"></span></font></a></span></font><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:1.8pt;mso-line-height-alt:11.4pt;background:white">
<b><font size="3" color="#666666" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#666666;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:bold">Sandy Bauers,
<i><span style="font-style:italic">Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist</span></i> <o:p>
</o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt:11.4pt;background:white"><b><font size="3" color="#888888" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#888888;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:bold">Posted: Sunday, October
27, 2013, 8:51 AM <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Three major U.S. companies took steps recently to replace problematic chemicals with safer ones in consumer products.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Environmental and health advocates are cheering, predicting that the changes will ripple outward and help reshape the market, potentially transforming
thousands of cleaning, personal care, and baby products.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">They say it will greatly increase the safety of the things we spray and spread on ourselves and in our homes.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">So, as with many things of late, while Congress dithers - in this case, over reform of chemical safety laws that even the industry says is
long overdue - the rest of the country moves ahead, even if it's in piecemeal fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">"It's all positive," said Andy Igrejas, executive director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. "Even
when the federal government isn't doing things, the marketplace can. That's what you see here."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">In August, Procter & Gamble noted on its website - no official announcement was made - that two chemicals targeted by advocates would be eliminated
by 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">They are a phthalate used as a perfume fixative and triclosan, an antimicrobial agent used in soaps. Both have been linked to hormone disruption
and other health effects.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">In September, Walmart announced it would require suppliers to disclose all chemical ingredients and eventually eliminate about 10 "prioritized"
chemicals, so far not publicly identified.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">"Using greener chemicals is the right thing to do for our planet, our customers, and our business," said Andrea Thomas, senior vice president
of sustainability for Walmart.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Then Target unveiled an internal sustainability rating system. Vendors of 7,500 products will be asked to complete an assessment, and of a
possible 100 points, a product would lose 50 if it contained chemicals that are on any of six regulatory lists - among them, California's Proposition 65 list of chemicals that cause cancer or affect reproductive systems or development.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The ratings won't be something consumers can refer to when shopping. But the system will "inform" Target's merchandising and product-placement
decisions, the company said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Talk about market pressure! Target is certainly big, but Walmart is the world's largest retailer. Each week, more than 245 million customers
visit Walmart stores. Sales this year are expected to top $460 billion. With a B.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The Environmental Defense Fund deemed Walmart so influential that it opened an office in Walmart's hometown, Bentonville, Ark. It takes no
money from the company, but works closely with it on sustainability.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Meanwhile, some states have enacted restrictions or bans on certain chemicals. Minnesota, for one, bans formaldehyde in children's products.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">So a company seeking to sell cleaners to Walmart, or baby shampoo in Duluth, will likely change its full line, not produce separate products.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The American Chemical Council, which represents ingredient manufacturers, said that companies do extensive safety testing, and that its members
take consumer concerns seriously and would continue to work with retailers "to address our mutual goal of product safety."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">By now, said Sarah Vogel, director of the Fund's health program and the author of a recent book on chemical safety, most manufacturers "are
aware that consumer interest around this is changing. Pretty much all are offering products claiming to be free of chemicals of concern."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><font size="3" color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><br>
Read more at <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/20131027_GreenSpace__Xyxkxyk_xxy_xkyx_kxy_xky_xkykykx.html#uSS9eRoD2teczSUG.99">
<font color="#003399"><span style="color:#003399;text-decoration:none">http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/20131027_GreenSpace__Xyxkxyk_xxy_xkyx_kxy_xky_xkykykx.html#uSS9eRoD2teczSUG.99</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Deborah L. DeBiasi</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><b><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy;font-weight:bold">Email: Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov</span></font></b><b><i><font size="2" color="red"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:red;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic"><br>
</span></font></i></b><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">WEB site address:
<a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/">www.deq.virginia.gov</a></span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Office of Water Permits
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx">http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx</a></span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">PH: 804-698-4028 FAX: 804-698-4032<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
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