Toxic Chemicals in Children's Toys?--My Boys Deserve Better.

As the mother of two growing boys, I do my best to ensure that they are surrounded by love, supported in their endeavors, and protected from any and all threats they may encounter on a day-to-day basis. I shop for fresh, organically grown foods because I know how many pesticides are used in most "traditional" growing processes these days. I buy my boys helmets to protect their heads when biking, rollerblading, and skateboarding, and I always make sure they fasten their seatbelts when in the car. And, yes, I monitor their access to technology and the seemingly ever-present threats of the internet and mass media.

When I take these precautionary measures I feel I am doing the right things to protect and support my kids. But, there are some things I can’t do…at least not alone.

Despite all my efforts to raise healthy boys, the fact that toxic chemicals are pervasive in many of the toys they played with (and chewed on) as babies, the diapers I changed them into, and even the play structures they still swing on, reminds me that I alone cannot prevent my children from exposure to the toxic chemicals they encounter daily—I need my elected officials to take steps now to prevent children’s exposure to these toxics.

According to toy testings by HealthyStuff.org, heavy metals and toxic chemicals like lead, cadmium, mercury and bromine are present in toys things such as kids' backpacks, blocks, and even Barbie accessories. I am outraged to know that even small dose exposures to these chemicals have been linked to developmental disorders, lower IQs, and reproductive harm, and that I may have unknowingly exposed my children to these toxics at such an early age.

Another study, released two weeks ago by The Ecology Center and published in the peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Science and Technology, found that 80 percent of baby products tested in Michigan, including foam changing pads, contained chemical flame retardants, which have been linked to adverse impacts on childhood development. Shockingly, these flame retardants are still legal.

As a citizen deeply involved in state policy making, I know that smart decisions in Lansing and Washington must include the use of sound science to protect human health and the environment. Unfortunately, I also know that partisan divides and political posturing often result in complete disregard for scientific discovery and in-action on critical issues, such as this. And, the price we pay is ongoing harm our most vulnerable citizens—children--at crucial stages of development.

Think back to the scientist and writer Rachel Carson, and her 1963 testimony before Congress. Carson spoke clearly, concisely and convincingly about the health dangers of DDT (a common synthetic pesticide) to wildlife and humans. She knew then what few of us deny today: that DDT is strongly linked to cancer. Her actions caused Congress to research the dangers of pesticides and subsequently pass the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act, which led to a DDT ban in 1972.

Today, scientists and public interest groups, like HealthyStuff.org, are compiling the evidence to show that children are still exposed to toxic chemicals every day. It’s infuriating to know that almost 40 years after banning DDT we, as a culture, are still allowing cadmium, bromine, lead, and mercury in our children’s toys.

While we look back at the federal DDT legislation as commonsense, what will our own children think 40 years from now of our inadequate chemical laws of today? Will they wonder why their parents and grandparents allowed toxic chemicals to persist in their toys, diapers, and foam changing tables for so long?

Before Rachel Carson died from breast cancer, she said this: “There is still so much I want to do, and it is hard to accept that in all probability, I must leave most of it undone.” Though she died prematurely, Carson left a legacy for us as citizens, and parents to finish what she left undone.

On a federal level, we must encourage our U.S Senators, Senator Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, to support the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011, which will update and improve the Toxic Substances Control Act.

On the state level in Michigan, we are lucky to have some very committed senators, like Senator Kahn, (R-Saginaw), Senator Marleau (R-Oakland), Senator Nofs (R-Jackson), and Senator Warren (D-Ann Arbor) who want to protect our children from toxics just as much as you and I do. But they need to hear from us, their constituents, to know the public wants this legislation.

So, I invite you to join me, and the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health, and send an e-mail to our state senators to introduce commonsense legislation that will disclose the most hazardous chemicals found in children’s products to the public. This bill will ensure families can make informed purchasing decisions to avoid these toxic chemicals. As a mother, I cannot protect my boys from toxic chemicals; I need our elected officials to stand up and take action. And, I need your help to make that happen.



 TAKE ACTION

~Posted by Lisa Wozniak, Executive Director