mongabay.com logo About  |   Contact  |  Mongabay on Facebook  |  Mongabay on Twitter  |  Free newsletter
Rainforests | Tropical fish | Environmental news | Blog | For kids | Madagascar | Photos | Non-English languages | Tropical Conservation Science
SHARE:
print


New bill would protect children from untested chemicals
Commentary by Seventh Generation
October 28, 2009



Emerging science increasingly links exposure to toxic chemicals with serious health problems. From bisphenol-A in baby bottles to phthalates in children’s toys and flame retardants in nursery furnishings, the modern world is filled with synthetic compounds that research now shows likely cause neurological and behavioral disorders, reproductive and developmental disruption, cancer and other troubles.

There are hundreds of untested chemicals in the products families use every day. The law that directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct safety reviews of chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), was passed by Congress in 1976. Since then, the EPA has investigated just 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds available to manufacturers today. Critics of the law say it doesn’t give the EPA enough authority to demand that companies supply the information needed to evaluate a chemical’s risk.

Now, Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, a coalition of nearly 30 leading non-governmental organizations, is working to help Congress overhaul the nation’s chemical regulations. Other supporters of the coalition include the Environmental Defense Fund, Healthy Child Healthy World and Seventh Generation, the maker of all-natural cleaning products and diapers. The group supports new legislation proposed by several Congresspeople, including Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). The legislation would require that new chemicals be safety-tested before they are put into products that children and others use. Manufacturers would also have to prove that chemicals already in production are free of danger. This information would be publicly available so that consumers could see exactly what they’re bringing home.

For more information on how you can help the proposed legislation become law, visit www.millionbabycrawl.com.









CITATION:
Commentary by Seventh Generation (October 28, 2009). New bill would protect children from untested chemicals. http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1028-toxics.html


Tags:
pollution health united states green environment

print



Environmental news index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home


Advertisements:





Mongabay Store
Wildlife of Madagascar T-shirt
Wildlife of Madagascar T-shirt
Bold and Dangerous - Pygmy tyrant t-shirts
Bold and Dangerous - Pygmy tyrant
Love me before I'm gone - Gladiator frog t-shirts
Love me before I'm gone - Gladiator frog
Licking this frog may make you crazy t-shirts
Licking this frog may make you crazy




DON'T LIKE ADS? Become a mongabay supporter


WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Email:


RECENT FEATURES
As Amazon deforestation falls, food production risesAs Amazon deforestation falls, food production rises
Biggest environmental news stories of 2011Biggest environmental news stories of 2011
The year in review for rainforestsThe year in review for rainforests
Our top nature pictures of 2011Our top nature pictures of 2011


POPULAR PAGES
Rainforests
Rain forests
Amazon deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation stats
Why rainforests matter
Saving rainforests
Amazon rainforest
Congo rainforest
Deforestation data
Rainforest canopy

Special sections
New Guinea
Finding new species
Sulawesi
Madagascar
Borneo
REDD

News
Most popular articles
Worth saving?
Forest conservation
Cell phones in Africa
Seniors helping Africa
Saving orangutans in Borneo
Palm oil
Amazon palm oil
Future of the Amazon
Cane toads
Dubai environment
Investing to save rainforests
Visiting the rainforest
Biomimicry
Defaunation
Blue lizard
Extinction debate
Extinction crisis
Industrial deforestation
Save the Amazon
Rainforests & REDD
Brazil's Amazon plan
Avatar story
Amazon ranching

News topics
Amazon
Biofuels
Brazil
Carbon Finance
Conservation
Climate Change
Deforestation
Energy
Happy-upbeat
Indonesia
Interviews
Oceans
Palm oil
Rainforests
Wildlife
MORE TOPICS



Non-English Sites
Chinese
French
German
Indonesian
Italian
Portuguese
Spanish
Other languages

Nature Blog Network







Photos
Brazil photos
Brazil

China photos
China

Colombia photos
Colombia

Costa Rica photos
Costa Rica

Deforestation photos
Deforestation

Gabon photos
Gabon

India photos
India

Indonesia photos
Indonesia

Kenya photos
Kenya

Madagascar photos
Madagascar

Peru photos
Peru

Peru photos
Rainforest



ABOUT
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)

Help support mongabay.com when you buy from Amazon.com


CALENDARS



BOOKS BY MONGABAY AUTHORS
Rainforest book for kids Conservation in an age of mass extinction


FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER



HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS / PRINTS








Copyright mongabay 2010

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from mongabay.com operations (server, data transfer, travel) are mitigated through an association with Anthrotect,
an organization working with Afro-indigenous and Embera communities to protect forests in Colombia's Darien region.
Anthrotect is protecting the habitat of mongabay's mascot: the scale-crested pygmy tyrant.