Kid Safe Chemical Act: A Real Solution

Awhile back we bemoaned our nation's ancient and seriously inadequate toxics law and dreamed of overhauling the clunker.  More recently I ranted about bisphenol-A.  Well, mamas, rather than tossing  more dangerous products and calling for the good folks in DC to think about change, three U.S. Representatives recently introduced a delightfully progressive, comprehensive bill could really and truly help.  And all we have to do is help pass the thing. 

Nothing to it!  'Cause all you need to do for now is know about this excellent bill.  Read about this excellent bill.  Talk about this excellent bill.  And, when it moves, when a vote is on the horizon, let's be at the ready to pick up the phone, send that e-mail, make that in-person meeting to tell the Oregon delegation - loud and clear - how very much this matters to you.  To us.  To all parents everywhere. 

Read all about it.  Environmental Working Group is hard at work on this one, mamas.  Check out its 1-page fact sheet so you know how this bill differs from the ineffective 1976 law we're working from now.  And if you've no time to sit & read (imagine!), you can listen to EWG's Mixed Greens episode on Kid Safe from 6.17.08.  Here's how they describe the situation:

We are at a tipping point, where the pollution in people is increasingly associated with a range of serious diseases and conditions from childhood cancer, to autism, ADHD, learning deficits, infertility, and birth defects. Yet even as our knowledge about the link between chemical exposure and human disease grows, the government has almost no authority to protect people from even the most hazardous chemicals on the market.

So what does the bill actually do?  Happily, a lot!  Get the 1-minute bulleted list here.  And, if you're wondering who else on the block supports this bill, you'll find yourself in good company.

There's an end to the madness in this bill, mamas, I know it.  When the time comes, let's be ready to shout from the mountaintops (or at least from our cell phones) that we families WANT this, our children NEED this, and that we WON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. 

Yee-ha, mamas, yee-ha.  We can get this one.  We have to get this one. 

Comments

[Molomatic]

It's about time!!! Great news!

[Eric Miller]

Thanks for this info, Lisa. I'm passing this along to everyone I know. This looks comprehensive and has the public interest at it's heart. I'm guessing it will face stiff opposition by powerful industry lobbyists...

let's see, who has more passion about our kids' health, industry lobbyists or all of us maternals and paternals who are becoming political?

[Tamara Rubin]

If you're up for helping create a world with chemical free kids - we need to start at home and at school. I have just written a law that is before the Oregon legislature that will protect kids from toxics hazards in school - it is just a start, but a good place to start (you have to begin somewhere!) I need moms to come testify at the legislature in Salem at 1:00 on Monday (this coming Monday! February 7th) to share with the powers that be the importance of having non-toxic school and daycare environments for our kids. The draft law can be found on my website (click on the link to my blog - it's the last entry on my blog.) http://www.mychildrenhaveleadpoisoning.com - I can carpool and bring 4 more moms with me from Portland to Salem on Monday if you need a ride to testify - I would also love to have some teenagers (12 or 13 - 8th grade?) testify about what a non-toxic school environment means to them and why it is important. I am starting with lead and lead hazards in school but plan to expand this to include other toxins in the schools. Thank you.