Washington, DC – Today, Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and David Vitter (R-LA) jointly introduced the Chemical Safety Improvement Act. The bill, sponsored by seven Democrats and seven Republicans, aims to reform the outdated federal toxics law currently on the books that both industry and public interest groups say has become unworkable.

Andy Igrejas, executive director of ‘Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families’, a coalition of 450 public health, environment, business and labor groups, issued the following statement:

“Cracking down on harmful chemicals has strong public support across the political spectrum and you see that reflected in this group of Senators. We congratulate them on their work together.

“Substantively, we are still evaluating the details. On the one hand, the bill gives EPA new tools to protect the public from toxic chemicals. It also gives state governments, who have made important gains in public health protections, a continued role in chemical regulation. On the other hand the bill omits many of the deadlines in the Lautenberg/Gillibrand legislation, its special focus on heavily impacted communities, and other important provisions.

“We look forward to working with Senators Lautenberg and Vitter, the co-sponsors, and the Environment and Public Works Committee to ensure the strongest possible public health protections.”

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For more information, visit “http://www.SaferChemicals.org”>Safer Chemicals Healthy Families.

By EMILY DERUY
ABC News

More than a million babies die on the same day they are born each year. Three million die within their first month of life. Almost all of those deaths are preventable.

Those are some of the statistics outlined in Save the Children’s 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report released this week.

“The birth of a child should be a time of wonder and celebration,” reads the introduction. “But for millions of mothers and babies in developing countries, it is a dance with death.”

There is, however, a glimmer of hope. The number of children dying has declined by more than half since 1970. Latin American countries, especially, have seen declining newborn and maternal death rates. And that’s not some miracle. There are very specific measures that have kept babies alive.

Some of the solutions are simple. It’s important to clean umbilical cords to avoid infection, for example, and to give vaccines. Vitamin supplements and breastfeeding can also save lives. Countries that have done a good job of teaching these things to healthcare workers and then supported them with government funding have seen death rates drop.

Save the Children estimates that more than a million babies could be saved each year if they and their mothers had access to steroid injections to prevent preterm labor, resuscitation to save babies who are not breathing at birth, an antiseptic to clean umbilical cords to avoid infections, and injectable antibiotics to treat newborn sepsis and pneumonia. The most expensive of these measures is just $6.

Of the 12 developing countries making the greatest strides, Peru and Brazil rank at the top. Mexico comes in fifth, and Guatemala ranks eighth. Brazil has reduced newborn mortality by more than 60 percent since 1990 and narrowed the healthcare gap between the rich and poor. It provides free care to mothers and deploys healthcare workers to some of the poorest areas. Nearly all births are now attended by a skilled healthcare provider. Breastfeeding and immunizations have increased.

But it takes governments, nonprofits and citizens all working together to make such solutions a reality. There are daunting obstacles, from abject poverty to pure gender discrimination, that hamper their implementation.

One way to get to the root of the problem is education of parents. Less educated women are more likely to be poor and mothers living in poverty are most at risk of giving birth to babies who don’t make it. Educated women marry and begin having children later. They are more likely to be financially stable, well-nourished and healthy. Educating boys and men about family planning and maternal health is also critical.

Maternal and newborn death rates are highest in sub-Saharan Africa where poverty is rampant and life-saving measures like anti-malarial nets are scarce. The top countries are in Scandinavia, where universal healthcare is a reality and there is less of an income gap.

The United States has the highest first-day death rate in the industrialized world. More than 11,000 babies in this country die on the day they are born, which is 50 percent more first-day deaths than in all other industrialized countries combined. One reason is that the U.S. has a high preterm birth rate. It also has more teenagers giving birth than any other industrialized country. Babies born to teens are more likely to be premature and weigh less. The solutions involve everything from keeping young women in school longer to making sure every mom and baby has access to healthcare.

It is not an easy thing to solve. But as Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote in the report’s foreword, “Saving newborn lives will prevent incalculable suffering.”

ABC News

CHICAGO –  A one-time suburban Chicago official was convicted Monday of lying for decades about drawing water for residents from a well the village knew was tainted by a cancer-causing chemical.

Theresa Neubauer, 55, is the only Crestwood official to go to trial in a scandal that shocked the region for the apparent callousness displayed by village officials. It also infuriated residents and left many fearing for their health and the health of their families.

As the verdict was read, the former water department supervisor showed no emotions. It took jurors two days of deliberations — starting Friday and resuming Monday — to reach a verdict.

Neubauer, who is on paid leave as Crestwood’s police chief, was found guilty on 11 counts of making false statements. Each count carries a maximum five-year prison term.

Prosecutors say she and other officials decided to pump the cheaper, polluted well water to score points with voters: They could boast about keeping water rates low in the 11,000-resident village.

During closings Friday, a prosecutor said Neubauer was part of the Crestwood government’s inner circle and knew about the practice. He displayed disclosure forms where she indicates no well water was drawn.

“She told lie after lie, month after month, year after year,” Tim Chapman said.

But defense attorney Thomas Breen said Neubauer was a scapegoat. And he portrayed her as a glorified clerk who took orders from Crestwood officials higher up the chain of command.

He then pointed to her and apologized for what he was about to say.

“You served cake and coffee,” he said, looking at Neubauer. “That’s how close you got to the inner circle.”

The only other official charged was Frank Scaccia, 61, Crestwood’s certified water operator. He changed his plea to guilty earlier this month to one count, and now faces a maximum five-year prison term.

During closings, Neubauer displayed no expression but fidgeted constantly with a pen, rolling it over her fingertips. Dozens of Crestwood residents looked on from courtroom benches.

Raising his voice, Breen told jurors that those truly responsible for the decisions to draw the contaminated water were, in his words, letting Neubauer “wear the jacket” for their misdeeds.

“It’s about a bunch of men who, when push comes to shove, are cowards. Cowards!” he shouted.

He questioned how she could have possibly known the water was poisoned when she herself took showers in and drank the same water, and when she made oatmeal for her children with the water.

But Chapman, the prosecutor, scoffed at the notion Neubauer was ignorant of the village’s water practices.

“That is nonsense,” he told jurors. “She carefully tracked the use of that well for nearly 30 years.”

Officials drew the tainted water until 2008 even after environmental officials warned in the mid-1980s that cancer-causing chemicals had oozed into the well, prosecutors have said.

Officials in Crestwood, about 20 miles south of Chicago, saved nearly $400,000 annually by mixing in contaminated water with cleaner but pricier Lake Michigan water, according to prosecutors.

Pending lawsuits blame the well water for a variety of illnesses.

A 2010 health department report did find cancer rates were higher than average in Crestwood, but it didn’t make a definite link to the tainted water.