Congress Bans Dangerous Chemicals in Toys
To: FAMILY EDITORS
Contact: Shannon Coughlin, Breast Cancer Fund, +1-415-336-2246, scoughlin@breastcancerfund.org
WASHINGTON, July 31 /PRNewswire/ — In a vote hailed as a major victory by parents and public health advocates, the U.S. Senate approved the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, which includes a groundbreaking provision that will ban toxic phthalates from toys and childcare articles. The bill is now on its way to the President, who is expected to sign it into law in the coming weeks.
The ban on phthalates will protect children from these harmful plastic-softening chemicals, which are powerful reproductive toxins and have also been linked to breast cancer. Advocates see this legislation as a first step toward broader chemical policy reform. “Congress got a glimpse into how chemicals are regulated in this country and saw how broken the system is,” said Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy for the Breast Cancer Fund. “The phthalate ban is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s needed to protect Americans from unsafe chemical exposures.”
The Breast Cancer Fund led a national coalition effort to secure passage of the phthalate ban, which included the National Council of Churches, the American Nurses Association, MomsRising.org and scores of environmental health and public health organizations. “This is a David and Goliath victory,” said Nudelman. “Public health advocates and parents were up against big oil and the chemical industry, and we won. This should serve as a wake-up call to industry: chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects have no place in children’s products.”
Indeed, the business of making toys is already changing. Months before Congress took action, retailers and manufacturers including Wal-Mart, Toys-R-Us, Lego, Evenflo and Gerber announced plans to phase out phthalates in toys. In the past year, California, Washington and Vermont restricted phthalate use in children’s products. Phthalates are also banned or restricted in the European Union and more than a dozen countries around the world. This legislative and marketplace movement has been a direct response to scientists’ and parents’ growing concerns about unsafe chemicals in consumer products.
“Public awareness is at an all-time high,” said Nudelman. “Consumers are saying that the products we buy must be safe, period. The phthalate ban is a great start, and an indication that Congress is ready to consider the kind of sweeping chemical policy reform that is needed.”
The Breast Cancer Fund is the leading national organization working to identify and eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer. www.breastcancerfund.org
SOURCE Breast Cancer Fund
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