Working together, we can reduce exposure to toxics.

Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Lisa Arkin ForThe Register-Guard

This is National Pollution Prevention Week. Its purpose is to encourage individuals, agencies and governments to address the threat to our health and quality of life from environmental pollution.

This threat is not always "out there somewhere"; it may be found in the products we bring into our homes. Ten million toys and other products used by children were recalled for violations of chemical safety standards this year. The poisonous toy problem followed on the heels of recalls of toxic toothpaste, lead-leaching lunchboxes and poisoned pet food.

This is not simply a problem of lax regulation in China. It's more alarming and complex: We're using toxic chemicals in the manufacture of consumer goods without a full understanding of their health effects.

With little notice and very little testing, hazardous chemicals reach into our lives through the things we touch, eat and drink. We all carry a chemical body burden - an accumulation of industrial residues that can be passed even to unborn children.

When toxic chemicals leach out of the products we buy, those items can be pulled off store shelves. But that's a limited and reactive response. The true solution is finding safe alternatives. That will require the political will to prioritize a child's health over corporate profits.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski, proclaiming Oregon's own Pollution Prevention Week, stated that preventing pollution "can improve environmental conditions, protect the health and safety of workers, strengthen our community and provide an assurance for our future." The governor's proclamation comes at a time when Oregonians really need his help to create stronger environmental health policies.

The Oregon Toxics Alliance, a statewide environmental health advocacy group based in Eugene, is supporting projects that could take some of the burden of pollution off of our bodies. I'd like to summarize just three:

The Toxics Use Reduction Project aims to reduce the use of toxic chemicals and build marketplace competitiveness. Oregon passed a toxics use reduction plan in 1989 but never funded or fully implemented it.

It is a commendable law, but it's weak. A better model can be found in Massachusetts, where a program established in 1989 has helped businesses avoid the use of more than 500 million pounds of toxic chemicals and reduced toxic emissions by 91 percent. Chemical transportation risks, workplace hazards and toxics in consumer products also were reduced. Massachusetts is proving that reducing toxics is not an economic hardship, but keeps businesses competitive in a global marketplace increasingly aware of toxics issues. Oregon should fully fund and implement our own Toxics Use Reduction Act, and require companies to actually implement their reduction programs and report their progress annually.

The Pesticide-Free Zones Project puts space between people and pesticides. Pesticide drift is like secondhand cigarette smoke. Virtually everywhere pesticides are used, they move through the air at concentrations that can exceed exposure levels deemed "safe" by regulators. Children are especially vulnerable.

The best way to stop pesticide drift is by simply eliminating unnecessary pesticide use, and where there is no alternative, using effective buffer zones. Both Oregon and Lane County have brilliant projects that reduce pesticide use on roadsides.

The alliance is helping key senators convene a legislative working group to examine pesticides' effects on children's health. We urge our state's leaders to make more no-spray and pesticide-free areas a top priority.

The Benzene Reduction Project aims to prevent exposure to a cancer-causing chemical that has no safe level of exposure. Oregonians' cancer risk level from benzine is about twice the national average because a loophole in federal rules allows Northwest refineries to produce gasoline with the highest benzene levels in the country.

We can minimize benzene in the air we breathe easily: Limit idling car motors to 20 seconds, and stop topping off gas tanks. Working with OTA, Multnomah County adopted no-idling and no top-off benzene reduction policies in July. The Eugene School District is urging parents to cut idling when dropping children off at school, and Lane County on Wednesday will consider adopting recommendations to reduce emissions of benzene.

Businesses such as Oregon Roads Inc. and Jackson Auto Care have pledged to endorse the pending Lane County benzene reduction policies. OTA is also working with Ron Tyree of Tyree Oil, who pledged to use a system that captures dangerous benzene fumes before they are released to the air. These are examples of government, businesses and people pulling together to save lives and clear our air.

The adage "the dose makes the poison" no longer applies. No one avoids exposure, even in the womb, to subtle, synergistic and low levels of toxics. This week, please take one action to reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals, (visit our Web site for ideas www.oregontoxics.org).

Commend local businesses and officials for taking initial steps to prevent pollution, and let Gov. Kulongoski know that proclamations must be backed by actions to create a legacy of environmental health in Oregon.

Lisa Arkin of Eugene is the executive director of the Oregon Toxics Alliance.