Add this to the chorus....Babies shouldn't be born prepolluted! Check out this information about a new study from the Washington Toxics Coalition.
"Babies enter the world already having been exposed in the womb to chemicals from common everyday consumer products, according to a new study by Washington Toxics Coalition.
The first-of-its kind study tested blood and urine from pregnant women during their second trimester of pregnancy and found their bodies contaminated with chemicals found in a wide variety of consumer products. The results in this study are alarming:
*100% of study participants had bisphenol A (BPA) in their bodies
*100% had mercury
*Most had several different types of phthalates, which may have an impact on masculinity in boys, according to a recent study.
*The study didn’t make any associations between a woman’s lifestyle and the levels of chemicals found in her body.
“Pregnant women can’t avoid every exposure to these chemicals because they are in so many products. They can’t shop their way out of this problem. We need policies that keep toxic chemicals away from pregnant women and the most vulnerable—the developing fetus.”
-- Erika Schreder, staff scientist for the Washington Toxics Coalition and author of the report
“With increasing rates of chronic diseases, like asthma, diabetes, and breast cancer, we need to update our country’s laws to ensure that harmful chemicals aren’t used in products mothers and children use everyday. As this study shows, even the most careful mother can’t protect herself from exposures to chemicals, so the answer is to phase them out of products.”
--Dr. Rich Grady, pediatric urologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital
Washington Toxics Coalition, Commonweal, the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition, and all members of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Campaign are urging Congress to reform the federal law (the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act) by doing the following:
· Immediately initiate action to eliminate chemicals that build up in our bodies or are passed on to the next generation.
· Reduce the use of chemicals that can cause serious health problems such as cancer and reproductive harm, or lead to learning disabilities.
· Require manufacturers to create consumer products using only chemicals they have tested fully for safety and to provide full information on their hazards to the public.
· Preserve the rights of the states to enact legislation that sets higher chemical safety standards than federal law.
To view videos of study participants (like this one), click here.
Here is a tip sheet for a healthy pregnancy,- and one for a healthy nursery."
Support the good work of the Washington Toxics Coalition:
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Thanks to the Washington Toxics Coalition for this new study, and the call to Congress to update our nation's woefully outdated toxics laws. We need to protect babies, children and families from the known harm of chemicals in everyday products. The key here is, we can't shop our way out of this problem, no matter how much organic food we eat or safer products we buy. The onus to prove chemical safety should rest with the companies selling the goods and profiting. Profits shouldn't come at the expense of human health-- especially with our most vulnerable, developing and newborn babies.
Act now to support the Washington Toxics Coalition and tell Congress to give the EPA the tools they need to put common sense limits on toxic chemicals in every day products (it is easy and fast!).
1 comments:
Thanks Non-Toxic Kids, for posting something about keeping our kids safe. I think making industrial chemicals safe for infants and children is something we can all get behind. Problem is: mandating more chemical testing, the kind being advocated by the Safer Chemicals coalition, will kill millions of animals, cost lots of money, and give use questionable results.
Many people and scientists agree that current legislation which regulates chemicals must be reformed. However, we should also be sure to reform the science that underlies these regulations—namely, the way in which toxicity testing is conducted.
Currently, toxicity testing is largely based on experiments in animals and uses methods that were developed as long ago as the 1930’s and 40’s; they and are slow, inaccurate, open to uncertainty and manipulation, and do not adequately protect human health. These tests take anywhere from months to years, and tens of thousands to millions of dollars to perform. More importantly, the current testing paradigm has a poor record in predicting effects in humans and an even poorer record in leading to actual regulation of dangerous chemicals.
Fortunately, many scientists have worked, and are working, on addressing these problems -- and alternatives to animal testing exist in a powerful way. Chemical reform should not only modernize policy, but modernize the science that supports that policy. Let's ensure Kids-Safe uses all the necessary tools to truly make our children, our environment, and animals safe.
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