The mission of the Environmental Center is to identify, control and ultimately prevent exposures to environmental factors that may cause adult, and especially pediatric cancer, as well as other health problems with our children.

“Deirdre Imus is a leading advocate for children affected by autism. Her efforts have been instrumental in broadening public knowledge of the link between toxic exposures and the development of autism spectrum disorders,” said Rita Shreffler, executive director of the National Autism Association (NAA). The mission of the NAA is to educate and empower families affected by autism and other neurological disorders, while advocating on behalf of those who cannot fight for their own rights.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated autism at its highest rate ever -- 1 in 150 children -- according to an analysis of 2002 data.

“There are two sides to every scientific debate. But when children are in the middle, at what point do we stop insisting on a smoking gun?” Ms. Imus asks. ”Substantial scientific evidence exists about the impact of mercury, a known neurotoxin. So what does that mean for what comes out of industrial smokestacks or vaccines carrying mercury or other heavy metals?”

Industrial emissions, primarily from smokestacks, remain the largest source of mercury in the environment which is widely dispersed and travels in the air.

In 1999, the CDC requested that U.S. manufacturers stop using thimerosal, thimerosal, which is 49.6% mercury by weight, as a preservative in most childhood vaccines. It is still used in some childhood shots including some multi-dose flu vaccines. (Flu shots without thimerosal are available.)

Earlier this month, Ms. Imus was honored as a “Champion for Autism” by The Autism Education Foundation of the Morris-Union Jointure Commission in New Jersey. Last year, she was named “Person of the Year,” by Spectrum, a magazine for families affected by autism. She also helped garner consensus for the $945 million Combating Autism Act signed into law last December.

“There is still much to be done to improve treatment and diagnosis, and to raise awareness about the role of environmental factors in triggering disease. We can’t change genetics, but we can and must continue to reduce and eliminate toxins, such as mercury, that can threaten our children’s health,” she said.

Greening Your Cleaning

Deirdre Imus’ new book, Green This! Volume 1: Greening Your Cleaning (Simon & Schuster) is now a New York Times bestseller. The 224-page paperback offers a wealth of insights and expertise for protecting families from harmful chemicals. 100% of all profits go to the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer.

The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center developed the award-winning Greening the Cleaning® program. Greening the Cleaning means eliminating to the greatest extent possible all cleaning agents containing hazardous ingredients and replacing them with environmentally responsible ingredients with the least level of toxicity. 100% of all profits from the institutional products go to the Center for education and research to identify, control and ultimately prevent exposures to environmental factors that may cause adult, and especially pediatric cancer, as well as other health problems with our children. On the retail line, 100% of all profits go to the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. The household products are available in stores nationwide and online from www.imusranchfoods.com.

Deirdre is also co-founder and co-director with husband, Don Imus, of The Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer, a 501(C) (3) not-for-profit authentic 4,000 acre working cattle ranch in northern New Mexico, which provides the experience of the American cowboy to children suffering from cancer and various blood diseases, as well as to children who have lost a brother or sister to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Numerous organizations have recognized Ms. Imus’ impact. In 2006, she was honored with the prestigious Lizette H. Sarnoff Award for Volunteer Service by the National Women’s Division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. In 2005, she was honored with the Excellence in Cancer Awareness Award by the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation.

Media Contacts:

Bonnie Eskenazi
The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology®
201-336-8071

Chuck Bins
The Marketing PR Network
201-664-6386