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 East Coast offices in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina.
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". The 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. 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
Lead in children's products In 1999, CEH filed suit against pharmaceutical companies and retailers, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Rite Aid Corp., Safeway, Walgreens and others for sales of baby powders that the group alleged contained harmful levels of lead. The suit noted that the baby powders contained zinc oxide, which can contain lead, and that babies can be exposed if they inhale the compounds, and/or can absorb them through irritated skin, and/or could ingest them if they get the powder on their hands or mouth.Jane Kay, "Group wants lead out of baby powder". San Francisco Examiner, November 19, 1999 Accessed March 8, 2015 Ultimately, several manufacturers agreed to significant reductions in the lead in the products, up to 80% less for the products that had tested highest for lead. In a similar suit, CEH and the California Attorney General sued makers of Kaopectate for high lead content in its products; the company agreed to reduce the levels of lead in its children's Kaopectate by 95%, and by 80% in its adult variety.
In 2004, CEH and other groups filed lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of Mexican candies.Jennifer Yu Sacro, "Proposition 65 and Food: You Have Now Been Warned". American Bar Association Business Law Today. May/June 2009. Accessed March 8, 2015 In 2006, the California Attorney General, along with CEH and the Environmental Health Coalition reached a legal settlement with the companies, including subsidiaries of Mars and Hershey, calling for the companies to reduce the lead levels in their products.State of California Office of the Attorney General, "Attorney General Lockyer Announces Settlement With Hershey and Mars Subsidiaries To Reduce Lead In Mexican Candy Popular with Children". Press release, June 29, 2006. Accessed March 8, 2015
Later in 2004, CEH again joined the Attorney General in a lawsuit against companies, including popular mall stores such as Claire's Boutique, Hot Topic and Zumiez, and department stores such as Target, Macy's and Nordstrom, that sold costume jewelry marketed to children, teens and adult containing high levels of lead.Candace Heckman, "Lead risk cited for toy jewelry sold in vending machines". Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 8, 2004. Accessed March 16, 2015 In 2006, seventy-one companies, including Target, Kmart, Macy's, Nordstrom, Sears, Disney Stores and others, agreed to a legal settlement with the Attorney General and CEH that created the nation's first legally binding standards for lead in jewelry.Janine Defao, "71 firms agree to sell kids' jewelry with reduced lead". San Francisco Chronicle, January 28, 2006. Accessed March 16, 2015
In 2007, CEH testing found high levels of lead in a Curious George doll and other toys, leading to the organization's lawsuit against Marvel and other companies, including Toys R Us Inc., Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, K-B Toys, Target, Costco, and others for selling toys containing lead.Marc Lifsher, "Toy may have high lead level". Los Angeles Times, October 11, 2007. Accessed March 16, 2015 At the time, there was no federal law limiting lead in children's products, other than for paint on products.Douglas Fischer, "Nonprofit finds big problems in kids' products". Oakland Tribune/Inside Bay Area, February 3, 2008. Accessed March 16, 2015 In 2008, CEH leveraged the California Prop 65 law to help win passage of the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, designed to establish the first-ever comprehensive federal lead safety standards for children's products.Mike Lee, "Landmark toxics law celebrates 25 years". U-T San Diego, July 23, 2011. Accessed March 16, 2015
Purses, cola, flame retardants, fracking and avgas (2009-2015) In 2009, CEH filed a lawsuit after tests showed high lead levels in purses sold by 16 retailers.Jane Kay, "Lawsuit claims lead levels in purses too high". San Francisco Chronicle, June 25, 2009. Accessed March 16, 2015. By 2010, the group had tested purses from 100 top retailers, finding many with high lead levels.Lisa Fletcher, "Lead Found in Women's Handbags". ABC News, January 22, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2015 In June of that year, CEH reached a legal settlement with more than 40 companies who agreed to stop selling items containing lead in excess of safety levels.Linda Doell, "Wal-Mart, Macy's, other retailers agree to cut lead in purses, belts and shoes". Daily Finance, June 4, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2015 But ABC World News reported in 2012 that even after signing legal agreements to meet the lead limits, some companies continued to sell lead-containing purses. Their report says that CEH testing found 43 of the 300 purses tested with lead.Elisabeth Leamy, "Purses With Lead Sold at Popular Retailers, Consumer Group Finds". ABC News, June 20, 2012. Accessed March 16, 2015 In 2013, The New York Times reported that the group found a steady reduction in lead contamination from accessories over all, but continued to find lead contamination in some fashion accessories sold to budget-conscious teenagers and young women at some retailers.Deborah Blum, "Fashion at a Very High Price". The New York Times, December 20, 2013. Accessed March 16, 2015
Cola companies, including PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, were reportedly using caramel coloring for their colas that contain a carcinogenic chemical called 4-MEI. The companies pledged to switch to a reformulated coloring without 4-MEI, but NPR reported in 2013 that CEH testing found 10 Pepsi products bought outside of California still contained high levels of the chemical, while 9 of ten Coke products contained just trace levels or no 4-MEI.Allison Aubrey, "Coke Changed Caramel Color To Avoid Cancer Warning; Pepsi In Transition". National Public Radio, July 3, 2013. Accessed March 16, 2015 In 2015, CEH reached a legal agreement with Pepsi requiring the company to limit the levels of 4-MEI in its products sold in California to no more than 100 parts per billion. In the legal settlement, Pepsi asserted it had been compliant with California regulations all along.Elaine Watson, "Pepsi Strikes Deal with Health Advocacy Group Over 4-mei Levels in Soft Drinks". Food Navigator, September 17, 2015. Accessed August 31, 2016