by Rebecca Quimby
April 22, 2010

Mom’s job is to protect baby. Feed him, clothe him, keep him warm and dry. Buy the safest toys and the healthiest foods. I thought I was doing plenty by choosing organic food and BPA-free bottles. As it turns out, that wasn’t enough. By digging deeper into the countless products that surround all of us, including our children—common household products, even—it is evident the list of harmful chemicals is exponential. Thankfully, this month, one U.S. senator introduced legislation to reform our nation’s outdated policies on the control of toxic substances and create a more comprehensive policy that truly protects our health and our environment.

How chemicals affect us
In the past 30 years, environmental health studies led researchers to conclude that chemicals in our homes are contributing to the rise of chronic diseases and are intimately connected with childhood cancers, asthma, infertility, birth defects, and learning disabilities. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 133 million Americans are now living with such diseases and conditions, which account for 70 percent of deaths and 75 percent of U.S. health care costs.

Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families—a national diverse coalition of more than 200 organizations and 11 million individuals including the American Nurses Association, The Autism Society, Greenpeace, and Seventh Generation—cites chronic disease is on the rise and linked to chemical exposure:

• Leukemia, brain cancer, and other childhood cancers have increased by 20% since 1975
• Asthma rates have doubled between 1980 and 1995
• Since 1982, the incidence of difficulty conceiving and staying pregnant has nearly doubled in women between the ages of 18 and 25

This isn’t to say that chemical exposure is entirely responsible for the increase, but the coalition argues that it is a contributing factor. And as if our health and safety weren’t enough, according to the coalition, by reducing the nation’s exposure to toxic chemicals, the U.S. will also lower its cost on healthcare significantly. They estimate even a 0.1 percent reduction in exposure would translate into a savings of $5 billion each year.

How chemicals affect our world
Passed in 1976, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulates the amount and kind of chemicals used in Americans’ everyday lives. Under the current policy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can only intervene after evidence mounts to demonstrate a chemical is dangerous. Therefore, in the last 34 years, the EPA required testing on only 200 of the over 80,000 chemicals produced and used in the U.S. To date, just five (5!) chemicals have been restricted. Additionally, more than 60,000 chemicals that were on the marketplace prior to the TSCA being signed into law were approved without testing requirements. As the law stands now, chemical manufacturers are not required to demonstrate product safety before entering the marketplace; instead, the government has to prove actual harm before controlling, replacing, or denying a dangerous chemical.

“America’s system for regulating industrial chemicals is broken,” says U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) in his official press release. “Parents are afraid because hundreds of untested chemicals are found in their children’s bodies. EPA does not have the tools to act on dangerous chemicals and the chemical industry has asked for stronger laws so that their customers are assured their products are safe. My ‘Safe Chemicals Act’ will breathe new life into a long-dead statute by empowering EPA to get tough on toxic chemicals.”

The Safe Chemical Act of 2010 aims to finally flip the backward way the U.S. government protects its citizens from harmful chemicals. This legislation will finally overhaul the outdated and irresponsible regulations.

Among its provisions, the Safe Chemicals Act issues these protective requirements:

• Provides the EPA with authority to determine the safety of any chemical entering the marketplace
• Requires chemical manufacturers to prove the safety of their chemicals and to make health and safety information publicly available
• Ensures chemicals meet a safety standard—one that would protect pregnant women and children alike
• Takes immediate action on restricting the most dangerous chemicals—such as formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, and flame retardants
• Establishes programs to foster the development of safe chemical alternatives

Protect your family today
The U.S. government will start making a shift toward control over our toxic chemicals, and groups like Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families will continue to raise awareness on the issue at the national level. Every parent can raise awareness in their own homes. Healthy Child Healthy World offers these five steps for reducing your children’s exposure to toxic chemicals and keeping your kids safe:

1. Manage pests safely. Use only non-toxic, pesticide-free products indoors and out. Prevent pests through good sanitation and food storage. Remove shoes and wash hands after playing outside to prevent 70 percent of the dirt and chemicals that can be tracked indoors.

2. Use non-toxic products. Buy gentle, natural soaps and body care products, avoiding those that contain with toxic synthetic preservatives (parabens), petroleum-based ingredients, and other proven harmful chemicals. Furnish your home with products made of natural, organic, and reclaimed materials, without VOC, water-based adhesives, formaldehyde, or polyurethane.

3. Clean up indoor air. Make sure your furnishings are made of natural products, from fabric and carpeting to material glues to paint and wallpaper. Use non-toxic techniques to scent your home, forgoing chemical fragrances for orange or lemon slices boiled in water on the stove.

4. Eat organic. Organic food is grown without potentially harmful, long-lasting synthetic chemicals and reduces the pesticides in our bodies. If you can only be organic sometimes, avoid foods with the highest pesticide residues (or make sure to buy these foods organic): apples, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, red raspberries, strawberries, bell peppers, carrots, celery, green beans, hot peppers, potatoes, and spinach.

5. Reduce use of plastics. Petroleum-based plastics can leach harmful chemicals into foods and drinks. Choose smart plastics that contain polyethylene and polypropylene, and avoid putting anything plastic in the microwave or the dishwasher, which can cause them to break down and release toxins.

Join the Million Baby Crawl (over 25,000 crawlers to date!) to show your support of toxic chemical policy reform.