July 2017, New York, NY–Pure Earth, an international nonprofit that leads in global toxic pollution cleanup,  is announcing the launch of the Pure Earth Leadership Council, a key group that will work to accelerate action to save lives threatened by pollution, which kills 1 in 7 people worldwide. Comprised of innovative leaders in health, government, business, academia, and the arts, members of the Pure Earth Leadership Council will help engage and collaborate across societies, countries and specialities to push needed change from all angles.

“We are at a crucial moment in the fight against pollution. We are in crisis mode because our future is being threatened–the most vulnerable victims are poor children who live with their families in some of the world’s worst polluted places,” notes Richard Fuller, President of Pure Earth.

“Toxins like lead and mercury interrupt their neurological and physical development, leaving them disabled for life with reduced IQs, diseases, or permanent impediments like blindness.  A whole generation of poisoned children are unable to live up to their full potential if they survive. This has repercussions for the global economy and everyone who lives in it.”

The Leadership Council has been assembled ahead of the upcoming landmark report on pollution from the Global Commission on Pollution and Health, expected to be published by The Lancet in the fall of 2017. Pure Earth President Richard Fuller is co-chair of the Commission–an initiative of The Lancet, the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with additional coordination and input from the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.

“The good news is that we can stop this tragedy,” says Fuller.

“Solutions exist and have already been used with success in many developed countries. Today, most pollution victims – 92% –  live in poor countries.  The Pure Earth Leadership Council will help advance evidenced-based solutions, needed research, as well as raise resources and awareness. Members are all key innovators who support our work and understand what it takes to push boundaries and get results.”

The Pure Earth Leadership Council includes:

• Maureen Cropper, Ph.D, Economist, University of Maryland
• David Hunter, MBBS, MPH, ScD, Vincent L. Gregory Professor in Cancer Prevention, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
• Philip Landrigan, MD, MSc, FAAP, Dean for Global Health, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH, Clinician Scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute, BC Children’s Hospital and Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Blanca Li, Choreographer, dancer, filmmaker
• Keith Martin, MD, PC, Executive Director, Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), and Member of Parliament, Canada (1993-2011).
• Greg Medcraft, Chairman, Australian Securities and Investments Commission
• Dev Patel, Academy Award nominated actor
• Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD, Director, Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Columbia University.
• Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament, India
• Martin Roscheisen, CEO, Diamond Foundry, Inc.
• Carlos Salinas, Former President, Mexico
• Leona D. Samson, Ph.D, Professor of Biological Engineering, MIT

About Pure Earth (formerly Blacksmith Institute) –www.pureearth.org

Pure Earth’s mission is to identify and clean up the poorest communities throughout the developing world where high concentrations of toxins have devastating health effects. Pure Earth devises cleanup strategies, empowers local champions and secures support from national and international partnerships. Interventions to mitigate these toxic exposures while protecting livelihoods have proven to be manageable, cost-effective, and eminently do-able. By partnering with and empowering local champions we clean up chemical and waste legacy toxic hotspots, prevent re-contamination and guard against future pollution.

Contact: MagdaleneSim, [email protected]