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How CHEJ’s PVC-Free Campaign Helped Protect Millions from Toxic Plastic

For over four decades, the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) has empowered everyday people to fight toxic pollution and environmental injustice. Founded by Lois Gibbs after the Love Canal crisis, CHEJ has led countless grassroots victories to protect public health—especially that of children and low-income communities.

One of its most impactful efforts? The PVC-Free Campaign.

The Problem with PVC

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), often called “the poison plastic,” is found in everything from school supplies to shower curtains. It’s not just the plastic itself that’s dangerous—it’s the toxic additives like phthalates, lead, and cadmium, which can leach out and harm children’s health. Even worse, producing and disposing of PVC creates dioxins, among the most toxic substances known, disproportionately impacting communities near vinyl plants.

Realizing PVC’s widespread use and hidden danger, CHEJ launched a campaign to educate the public, push for safer products, and hold companies accountable.

Grassroots Power Starts in Schools

The campaign began with a focus on schools, where vinyl was found in backpacks, lunchboxes, and flooring. Mike Schade led the charge by developing CHEJ’s “Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies”, which helped thousands of parents choose safer products. School districts began phasing out PVC, sparking a wider consumer movement.

Thanks to this awareness, retailers started offering non-toxic alternatives. What began as a classroom safety initiative grew into a nationwide push for PVC-free living. Schools and PTAs began making purchasing changes. Parents swapped out vinyl products for safer alternatives. The campaign sparked consumer awareness and retailer demand for safer materials.

Creative Tactics, Real Wins

CHEJ’s strength has always been grassroots organizing with a creative twist. From giant inflatable ducks outside Target stores to educational rallies and shareholder pressure campaigns, the movement forced major retailers to listen.

These tactics paid off:

  • Microsoft (2005): Eliminated PVC in packaging, removing over 360,000 pounds of it in just months.
  • Wal-Mart (2005): Announced phaseout of PVC in packaging for store-brand products.
  • Target (2007): Committed to remove PVC from baby products, lunchboxes, shower curtains, and packaging.
  • Sears/Kmart (2007): Pledged a phase-out and began labeling PVC-free items.
  • Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Lego, Gerber, and Toyota also joined in.

By 2009, Congress banned key phthalates in children’s toys—cementing a cultural shift that CHEJ helped create.

Lasting Legacy

The PVC-Free campaign changed more than products—it changed minds. Parents, teachers, students, and activists now demand transparency in materials. Many learned how to organize, advocate, and win—skills they carry into other fights for clean air, safe water, and toxin-free homes.

Today, phrases like “PVC-free” and “phthalate-free” are common in marketing. Safer materials are the norm in many stores and classrooms. And most importantly, millions of children are safer thanks to CHEJ’s leadership.

A Blueprint for Future Victories

The campaign’s success proves that grassroots power works. By blending science, storytelling, and smart activism, CHEJ moved mountains—and major corporations. Their fight against the poison plastic stands as a template for future campaigns to make our world healthier and more just.

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Toxic Tuesdays

Lithium

Toxic Tuesdays

CHEJ highlights several toxic chemicals and the communities fighting to keep their citizens safe from harm.

Lithium

Lithium is a metal that is soft, reactive, and silver in appearance. It can be found naturally in combination with other elements in soil, rock, and seawater. Its chemical properties make lithium a useful component of batteries. It can be used to make lithium metal batteries, which are disposable batteries commonly used to power household electronics, available in sizes like AAA, AA, and 9V. It can also be used to make lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable batteries used to charge electronics like laptops and electric vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries have been widely available for these kinds of uses since 1991.

The energy storage ability of lithium-ion batteries also has important industrial uses. When intermittent renewable energy sources like sunlight or wind generate energy, that energy can be efficiently stored in lithium-ion batteries and later used when the sunlight or wind are not available. However, lithium-ion batteries can pose a threat to public safety. Damage to these batteries can cause them to overheat and cause fires or explosions. The gases released from these chemical reactions are themselves flammable and toxic to human health. This means that overheating of lithium-ion batteries isn’t just dangerous because it can start a fire, but also because that fire releases toxic chemicals from the batteries into the surrounding air.

The Moss Landing Power Plant operated by Vistra Energy Corporation in Moss Landing, California is one of the largest battery energy storage systems in the world. It uses lithium-ion batteries to store energy and release it as needed to California’s grid to help utility companies provide reliable, stable energy. On January 16, 2025 the power plant caught on fire, with millions of lithium-ion batteries burning and thousands of tons of chemicals released into the air. These chemicals included metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel, as well as other toxins like hydrogen fluoride, polyvinyl chloride, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). An evacuation order was made that evening, but was lifted the next day. State and federal agencies conducted air monitoring and soil testing and deemed the area safe after a few days. Local residents, however, reported concerns and health effects from this fire. They felt that government testing was inadequate to fully capture the extent of contamination from the toxic chemicals being released into the air. In response, the community formed the group Never Again Moss Landing to provide outreach, education, and advocacy in order to protect public health and the environment. They are collaborating directly with scientists to conduct widespread community science efforts to document and demonstrate the areawide contamination from this battery fire. Their continued research and advocacy efforts are keeping the community informed in the face of inadequate government action.

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Toxic Tuesdays

Nitrogen Oxide

Toxic Tuesdays

CHEJ highlights several toxic chemicals and the communities fighting to keep their citizens safe from harm.

Nitrogen Oxide

Nitrogen oxides are a group of gaseous chemicals. The two most relevant nitrogen oxides are nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide, which are often collectively referred to as NOx. NOx are brown gases that are formed in a variety of processes. They are released from the combustion of fossil fuels, such as the burning of coal, oil, natural gas, and the use of motor vehicles. They can also be formed during metalworking activities like welding and electroplating. NOx can also be intentionally formed for use in producing other chemicals, dyes, and explosives.

Once released into the air, NOx can travel long distances from their original source, impacting human health and the environment across large geographic areas. Nitrogen dioxide can react with other chemicals in the environment to produce nitric acid, which is one of the main components of acid rain. NOx can also react with other chemicals in the environment to produce ozone, which contributes to the greenhouse effect and planetary warming.

Breathing NOx can have adverse health effects. People who work in or live near power plants and highways are the most likely to be exposed to outdoor air contaminated with NOx. Using wood-burning fireplaces, kerosene heaters, or gas stoves can also expose people to NOx in the air in their homes. NOx can also be found in tobacco smoke. Breathing low levels of NOx can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. This can lead to shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, and buildup of fluid in the lungs. Exposure can worsen asthma and might cause asthma if the exposure lasts for a long time. Breathing high levels of NOx can cause muscle spasms, tissue swelling, reduced flow of oxygen in the body, and even death. There is some evidence that exposure is also associated with heart disease and diabetes. In studies of laboratory animals, NOx exposure during pregnancy caused defects in development of the fetus. The variety of short- and long-term health effects of NOx exposure, as well as the serious environmental impacts, makes clear that NOx pose significant danger to people and the planet.

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Benzidine

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