Everyday toxics — what can I do?
Extract from our new publication ‘Silence’.
Toxic chemicals are everywhere. In the food we eat, the water we drink, even the air we breathe. We are constantly exposed to a cocktail of dangerous elements, often without our knowledge or consent. Carelessness with these hazardous chemicals can have a serious impact on our health, our children’s development and the overall wellbeing of our planet.
Yet tens of thousands of industrial chemicals have been presumed safe, with little to no evidence. Less than 0.03 percent are regulated globally, yet research increasingly links childhood exposure to certain toxic chemicals to a range of diseases that manifest later in life, such as cancer, diabetes, impaired brain function and others.
Art exhibition and talk
The UN’s foremost expert on human rights and toxics, Baskut Tuncak, will be at London’s The Three Stags in Lambeth on Sunday, 28 October from 6pm to talk about toxic contamination in our everyday lives, and what we can do about it. The discussion will cover topics ranging from the overuse of fertilisers to the health implications of Brexit for people in the UK.
To consolidate our understanding of the ways toxics affect us all, the venue will exhibit the work of artist Miriam Sugranyes, which will be on display throughout October and November. Using facts as the inspiration to get us to confront the fundamentals of toxics, the artworks are a wake-up call about the hazards, our vulnerabilities, and what needs to change.
The event will be free and open to all, organised as a collaboration between CRIN - Child Rights International Network and The Three Stags. We want to invite anyone interested in joining our efforts to get in touch, or to invite us to talk to you. For an overview of the topic, you can read CRIN’s briefing on toxics here.
Baskut Tuncak, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics, is an attorney and chemist specialising in toxic pollution. After nearly a decade working as a research chemist, he moved to the international legal profession, working with not-for-profit organisations, private foundations, national and regional governments and other public-interest entities. He is the founder of Common Rights Group, a senior researcher at the Raul Wallenberg Institute and lectures at various universities on top of his duties as a Special Rapporteur to the United Nations.
The Three Stags has been a founding member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) since its creation in 2008, and was named one of the top eco-friendly pubs and restaurants in London by Culture Trip. The Three Stags is committed to reducing its environmental impact, supports farmers and fishermen concerned with animal welfare and is home to two active urban beehives. It also exhibits thought-provoking art exhibitions and hosts talks on important social and environmental issues and the measures that everyday citizens can take.
CRIN and Baskut Tuncak have been collaborating for the past three years on the relationship between children’s rights and toxics. More information about our work below: https://www.crin.org/en/home/what-we-do/policy/environment