If you didn’t get a chance to read the Jeff Montgomery articles on tainted groundwater, put down that glass of water and read it now. Seriously, put down the water. You come away from that series feeling like a passenger that has no knowledge of boats, but just found out that your ship is sinking in heavy seas. It may be worse, since so few of us understand how these chemicals interact with our bodies or how we can clean them out of the water.
John Kowalko had a letter in the paper today discussing an associated issue, The Safe Chemicals Act of 2010:
Having recently attended a three day Chemical Policy Reform Forum with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators in Washington D.C., I feel it is imperative to inform your readers and all Delawareans of the need to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 and urge them to contact our federal delegation to support the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010.
Every year since its inception in 1971, the President’s Cancer Panel has released annual reports that bring critical information to the forefront on the status of cancer in this country. The Panel, an authoritative and bipartisan body, just released this year’s report and, for the first time, it focuses on environmentally induced cancers. These cancers result from exposure to cancer-causing chemicals and pollution.
The findings in this report should act as a call to action for public officials at every level of government here in Delaware and around the nation. It concludes that “the true burden of environmentally induced cancers has been grossly underestimated”, and recommends significant changes to better protect people from cancer-causing chemicals.
Widespread cancer is a public health tragedy that currently affects families across my district, our state and our nation. Although some forms of cancer, such as lung cancer, are on the decrease according to the National Cancer Institute, about 41 percent of all Americans will still be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. Approximately 21 percent of us will die from it. In 2009 alone, approximately 1.5 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in this country.
When it comes to taking action on harmful chemicals, states like Delaware and others have taken responsible actions to eliminate toxic substances in everyday consumer products such as mercury, toxic flame retardants, lead, bisphenol A etc. Now it’s time for Congress to step up and support The Safe Chemicals Act of 2010.
Evidence that toxic chemicals in consumer products like toys, mattresses, shower curtains, garden hoses, and food containers are contaminating our bodies and environment is growing. A recent study, “Earliest Exposures”, found pregnant women have chemicals in their bodies that expose their fetuses to harmful toxins. This new evidence, along with a healthy dose of public demand, has prompted many state legislatures to take action where the federal government has failed.
Delaware and other well-meaning states can only do so much to protect our residents from harmful chemicals. That’s because the federal law that regulates chemicals, called the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is over 30 years old and hasn’t been modernized to address advancements in science, information and technology. There are over 80,000 chemicals on the market today and of those only 200 have been tested for safety. As a result of gaps in the federal law, states that want to protect their residents from chemical like lead or phtalates face an uphill battle. Very little health and safety information on chemicals is available. Chemical companies and makers of consumer products don’t have to disclose much information about the chemicals they use and the government doesn’t collect it. The burden of proof of harm is on the EPA and there is currently no burden of proof of safety imposed on the manufacturer. Therefore, even if a state wants to take action on a particular chemical, it’s difficult to figure out where to start or present evidence.
Fortunately, The Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 was just introduced in the Senate. House leaders have filed a companion discussion draft as well. This bill would overhaul federal regulation of the chemical industry by requiring new health and safety information for all chemicals and requiring chemicals to meet minimum health safety standards to protect the most vulnerable, including the developing fetus and young children.
While it’s a great start, there are critical areas even in the new bill that must be strengthened. For example, it makes it too hard to get known dangerous chemicals off the market, such as “Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic” chemicals (PBTs) like lead and brominated flame retardants. This could potentially allow hundreds of new chemicals to enter the market and be used in products for many tears without first requiring them to be shown as safe.
The Delaware Congressional Delegation should strengthen and support the Safe Chemicals Act, including a phase out of PBT chemicals, particularly those that are building up in the bodies of pregnant women and young children, to ensure an effective federal tool to complement our state chemical laws. The game against toxic chemicals is heating up and it’s Congress’ turn at the plate to hit the game winner.
I urge you to join with me in mobilizing support for these reforms that will lead to fewer people in our communities doing battle with cancer and fewer health care dollars being spent on diseases that could be prevented if we update our laws wisely.
The bill is currently in the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, which Tom Carper sits on. So our support can actually have an impact (at least theoretically).