Creative Programs & Art Instruction for At-Risk Populations
Safely Create in Your World and Art
Chemical injuries are a real and growing health concern. With the influx of new chemicals in consumer products yearly, safety takes a back seat to profit. Statistics reveal a rise in cancers and respiratory illnesses as well as vague symptoms and ailments that appear with no known cause. A little awareness goes a long way in making change. Know the facts and realities; read labels and insist on safe schools, neighborhoods and work environments...and stop the introduction of needless chemicals when environmentally safe alternatives benefit the health of many instead of the pockets of a few.
In 1998 I suffered a chemical exposure at the nonprofit organization that establishes paint protective coatings safety standards worldwide. My exposure constituted un-insured and un-certified contractors hired to preform work in a commercial building, The Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) in the Crane Building, downtown Pittsburgh. The Crane Building owners as well as the organization I worked for were made aware of questionable unsafe practices but in lieu of safety I can only guess chose reduced expenses and continued to carelessly make decisions that potentially affected workers and visitors in the building. It was a politically challenging year for the SSPC organization...silence and cover-up seemed the norm...and with all said and done the uninsured contractors that were hired to perform the renovations are nowhere to be found for accountability. I chose not to settle this case after an offer had been made that exchanged my right to speak for a monetary settlement. Obviously by writing this piece my choice is evident.
Until 911 chemical injury was unknown legal territory and taken with little validity. However, 911 brought the issue to the forefront exposing violations opening a wide territory of whistle blowing and retaliation and brought to light serious environmental issues and the effects of short and long-term exposures on human health. Let’s not let time dilute the events or the serious potential for harm whether a minor or major exposure. People are getting ill and sensitized from cumulative small dose exposures over long periods of time. The people in this video below as well as I were unfortunate in that we received ours in one massive dose.
Below are the stories of Karen Silkwood and Erin Brockovich, activists who risked there welfare to expose unsafe practices of industries that negatively affected the lives and futures of innocent people.
If we are not protected from major insults as described above...do you really think the "small stuff" gets enough attention or any at all. It's our world, we all have the right to create it...do your part conscientiously, artistically and with safety in mind for all our futures.