I just wanted to let my readers know that I am taking on a freelance project that will literally occupy my every working moment until late August. So I will have to take a short hiatus from my blog until then. I will be back in September with new articles about green funerals and making your own cleaning products.
Take care and enjoy the rest of your summer,
Jenny
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Kid-Safe Chemicals Act
After reading my last blog entry, you may be wondering how cosmetics manufacturers get away with putting unsafe ingredients in their products. I was recently dismayed to find out that the law that governs our nation's chemicals "is widely regarded as one of the weakest of all environmental laws on the books today" according to this article.
The law, known as the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), was originally passed in 1976 to declare 62,000 chemicals safe. However, there were little or no data at the time to prove that these chemicals were, in fact, safe. Since then, 20,000 chemicals have been added, also with no proof of safety.
Happily, a new law is being considered: the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act (KSCA). It includes the following provisions:
- requires that industrial chemicals be safe for infants, kids and other vulnerable groups;
- requires that new chemicals be safety tested before they are sold;
- requires chemical manufacturers to test and prove that the 62,000 chemicals already on the market that have never been tested are safe in order for them to remain in commerce;
- requires EPA to review "priority" chemicals, those which are found in people's bodies, on an expedited schedule;
- requires regular biomonitoring to determine what chemicals are in people and in what amounts;
- requires regular updates of health and safety data and provides EPA with clear authority to request additional information and tests;
- provides incentives for manufacturers to further reduce health hazards;
- requires EPA to promote safer alternatives and alternatives to animal testing;
- protects state and local rights; and
- requires that this information be publicly available.
If this issue is important to you, call your congress people and request that they co-sponsor the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act. It only takes a few minutes to ask, but it may make a major difference in how our children are protected well into the future.
Thanks,
Jenny
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