As citizens and parents we are so trusting. We assume that regulatory agencies actually protect our children from coming into contact with toxic substances.
But experts warn that that’s just not the case. Under the current Toxic Substances Control Act, the EPA has required testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds now in use. Indeed neither the EPA the manufacturer is required to prove a chemical’s safety before it’s used.
That’s why people who care about the nation’s children are pushing for a new law to be enacted. The Kid-Safe Chemical Act would require that industrial chemicals be safe for infants and children and new chemicals be safety-tested before they are put into products.
On Wednesday, area parents and children will converge on Washington Square to demand that lawmakers take this step. The event is called the Million Baby Crawl, meant to symbolize babies crawling to Washington, D.C. to demand stronger protection against toxic chemicals.
The Portland Crawl to Action takes place Wednesday at 11 am at Washington Square Mall, Sears Court (9585 SW Washington Square Rd.) Local dignitaries will be there and there will be family-friendly entertainment. Click here for more information.
November 16th, 2009 | Category: Metro Parent
Thanks Metro Parent, for posting something about keeping our kids safe. I think making industrial chemicals safe for infants and children is something we can all get behind. Problem is: mandating more chemical testing, the kind being advocated by the Safer Chemicals coalition, will kill millions of animals, cost lots of money, and give use questionable results.
Many people and scientists agree that current legislation which regulates chemicals must be reformed. However, we should also be sure to reform the science that underlies these regulations—namely, the way in which toxicity testing is conducted.
Currently, toxicity testing is largely based on experiments in animals and uses methods that were developed as long ago as the 1930’s and 40’s; they and are slow, inaccurate, open to uncertainty and manipulation, and do not adequately protect human health. These tests take anywhere from months to years, and tens of thousands to millions of dollars to perform. More importantly, the current testing paradigm has a poor record in predicting effects in humans and an even poorer record in leading to actual regulation of dangerous chemicals.
Fortunately, many scientists have worked, and are working, on addressing these problems — and alternatives to animal testing exist in a powerful way. Chemical reform should not only modernize policy, but modernize the science that supports that policy. Let’s ensure Kids-Safe uses all the necessary tools to truly make our children, our environment, and animals safe.