|
Senate Passes Bill to Protect Oceans |
|
|
|
Written by The Eureka Reporter
|
|
Thursday, 26 April 2007 |
|
The California Senate passed a bill
recently that will phase out the use of certain chemicals from plastic
packaging used in California by 2015.
Senate Bill 899 will
require the use of plastic packaging that does not contain the toxic
materials styrene, bisphenol-A, perfluorooctanoic acid, vinyl chloride,
nonylphenols and alkylphenols, according to a news release from
Environment California, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, statewide
environmental group.
Because plastic can take hundreds of years
to break down, the group says it presents a persistent and cumulative
threat to oceans and their inhabitants.
According to the
release, plastic contains toxic chemicals that contaminate the water
and the marine life exposed to it. Almost every marine organism, from
the tiniest plankton to whales and polar bears, is contaminated with
man-made chemicals, such as those chemicals used in consumer products
like plastics.
More information about the legislation is available at www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org.
|
