Regent Park Focus

We continue to work on getting information about how toxic chemicals affect people and their body, their home and their workplace. This time Regent Park Focus got together with Toronto Public Health's ChemTRAC program. ChemTRAC aims to improve public health and support a green local economy by reducing toxic chemicals in our environment. December 10 2012, Toronto Public Health representatives, community health corkers and environmentally conscious residents of Toronto gathered around in a room at the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) to have a further talk about the ChemTRAC program.  After a history lesson on how ChemTRAC came to be, the morning meeting was focused on the ChemTRAC website; where Toronto residents, can get information on the types of businesses that operate in their communities that may be emitting toxic chemicals in the air they breathe. On the website residents can find information on the types of chemica...

Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre continued its information gathering session on the LiveGreen project with Environmental Defence.  Since 1984, Environmental Defence has been inspiring change by connecting people with environmental issues that affect their daily lives in their homes, workplaces and neighbourhoods. On September 11 2012, Regent Park Focus youth and students from University of Toronto, and random people walking by, were there as Environmental Defence gave the cosmetic industry a "make-over". Environmental Defence brought a mural artist to paint a picture of a female face on a huge canvas, only using make-up products that men and women use everyday.  While the artist was painting this work of art, Environmental Defence volunteers grabbed passersby and asked them few questions regarding the types of make-up products they use, and if they had known the types of toxins in them? And after the passersby (most of the time U of T student...

Maggie MacDonald from Environmental Defence Canada (EDC) conducted a workshop with a group of Regent Park Focus youth and staff. This workshop highlighted ways Canadians are exposed to toxins. The discussion focused on ten toxic offenders that are "cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting, and allergy ?inducing substances" (EDC, 2012) found in many Canadian products, but which are banned or restricted in EU products. The toxic ten list includes: Triclosan, artificial musks, parabens, phthalates, petrolatum, formaldehyde releasing agents, sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate, silicone chemicals, coal tar-derived colours, BHA and BHT. In sum, these products proliferate in various home and personal care products such as shampoo, moisturizer, cosmetics, anti-bacterial cleansers, anti-perspirants, etc. It is scary to realize how much exposure individuals, especially babies and youth, encounter on a daily basis. Fortunately, knowledge is power! ...

The Regent Park Focus Staff engaged in a workshop with senior consultant and mould specialist, Tara Valley from Environmental Services Group Inc. The purpose of having this workshop is to obtain information in order to incorporate it into the Air Quality Project as part of the collaboration with Live Green Toronto. Tara told us seven parameters to indicate mould: temperature, humidity, VOC's, carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), dust and formaldehyde. She showed us the equipment that would help them track signs of mould although they are very expensive. As well she told some the aspects of Asbestos like how they found in building material products such as drywall and plaster and how it causes diseases such Asbestosis within the lungs of Human beings. Overall the workshop was amazing and information will be useful for the Air Quality Project. This project was funded (in part) by a grant from Live Green Toronto, a program of the City of Toronto. www.livegree...

On this day we had a guest by the name of Grace Leui, a nurse from Toronto Public Health , come in to help share some research and information on air quality with the Regent Park Focus team that will be working with the Toronto Live Green project. We will be creating posters, radio and video PSAs about air quality for Live Green. We learned many things about smog, pollution and unhealthy airborn particles that could reduce air quality. She always shared with us some information on what people can do to help protect themselves from reduced air quality. An air quality health index was also created to allow for people at home to monitor the air quality outdoors before they leave for the day to see if its safe to do certain activities outside. We also tackled a couple topics such as reducing vehicle emissions. The following tips included: riding a bike, walking or local transit for short distances, carpooling and even something called trip chain. Trip chain is combining errands into on...