As Battles Rage in Congress to Beef Up Consumer Safety Testing – Parents Are On Their Own and Kids are Their Allies

I’ve been writing about my concerns over phthalates for a while now, here and here . I’ve written tips on avoiding them here and here . (When I’m on a roll…I’m on a roll).

Now that the issue is heating up with a huge and very informative article in USA Today , I’m finding myself better informed on both phthalates, a softener used in plastic toys, baby products among other things and Biphenol A, another additive found in the resin used to make plastic bottles, toys, etc. And I’m not the only one. Millions of parents are suddenly aware of the health issues surrounding these two chemicals.

Phthalates – Scientists are concerned that repeated exposure to phthalates can cause developmental delays

Biphenol a (BPA) – Scientists are concerned that repeated exposure to BPA (a synthetic estrogen) can cause the onset of early puberty.

That’s a problem for manufacturers of plastic products, who are suddenly scrambling to refute scientists claims.

In The European Union these chemicals have been banned for years. The State of California has taken the first steps to ban these items and the EPA is on the case but….

Whether these chemicals should be banned or curtailed pits scientists against chemical companies, consumers against manufacturers, the EU against the United States and the state of California against toy makers around the globe.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked the National Academies of Science to produce a report on phthalates, a process that could take several years. The National Academies data would help the EPA set a "reference dose" for those
chemicals — the maximum amount scientists believe a person could be exposed to
in food and water every day without harm. The agency will begin an updated
assessment shortly on bisphenol A, which could take years.

Once the EPA sets reference doses, it's up to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission to determine whether their use needs to be regulated in consumer
products.

And there’s the rub. If you’ve been following the Congressional brouhaha over the recent toy recalls, you know that a proposal has been drafted to increase the budget at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, those folks responsible for testing products in the US to ensure their safety. A bill in Congress supports raising their budget, halved since the 80s, back to a reasonable level to provide at least SOME protection to the US Consumer.

Since it has been revealed that the CPSC has ONE…yup, ONE tester for all toys sold in this country…that seems like a reasonable idea…no? (Did I mention that they have ONE full time toy tester - ONE, as in, a single person testing the millions of toys sold each year?) But, the head of the CPSC, Nancy Nord, has declined the offer. She likes her budget the way it is apparently. You can read more about the political battles here and here.

In the meantime, we’re on our own folks! As concerned parents there are steps but draconian ones that we can take….pretty scary, seemingly almost impossible but, with a nation of suddenly very eco conscious kids, doable.

I’m trying to avoid plastics these days and which could be a chore.

I’ve done away with plastic plates and bowls. For breakable situations I’ve switched to unpainted wood or metal – kind of retro don’t you think?

Rather than buy plastic water bottles I’ve taken to carrying a carrying a safe metal water bottle and filling it from a drinking fountain. (It’s just tap water in a lot of the bottled water products we buy anyway)!

Plastic toys made in China or the U.S. are out. Toy trinkets which appear with alarming regularity, acquired at parties and too many out of home activities are zipped away.

Waxed paper bags, reusable grocery bags and paper and glass are slowly replacing more common plastic storage and heating containers.

Surprisingly I have an ally in this fight. My DS, like many, many kids these days is eco conscious. He brings things to me and expresses his concern. Eco education is a part of his world. Rather than being concerned that he will be distraught when I banish a favored toy, I find he is unexpectedly leading the pack

From the mouths of babes …..


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