Shopping for kids' stuff? You've got to read this.

by Fawn Pattison, Senior Advocate

Photo by amseaman via Flickr

Recently I had to buy a new car booster seat for my older child, who is four. She'd outgrown her toddler carseat, and as I usually do with any significant purchase, I did my homework.

I wanted the booster with the best safety rating. It had to perform well in crashes, and protect the head and neck, not just the body. After lots of reading, I settled on just the right model, and ordered the chic-yet-practical black-and-gray one. And then I started to fret.

While I'd spent hours poring over crash test results, there was no way to know what kinds of toxic flame retardants had been used in the carseats I was reviewing. Manufacturers in the U.S. don't have to share that information, even though many of the flame retardants used in children's products like carseats have been linked to neurological harm and increased risk of cancer. She's going to be sitting in that thing every day, inhaling whatever it's off-gassing, snuggling up in it (mouth open, drooling) during long car trips to her grandparents' house. I don't want to expose her to anything that could put her health at risk.

And this is the conundrum I find myself in almost every time I have to buy something for my kids. Carseat, bed, shoes, sippy cups... there's no way to know what kinds of toxics are in there.

Until now. Because in 2008 Washington state passed a law that highlighted 66 "Chemicals of Concern" -- things like the toxic flame retardants -- used in children's products. The largest manufacturers now have to actually test their products for the 66 toxics on the list and - get this! - make the information public. Seriously. Public.

So they've just started releasing the results, and they're not pretty. Washington Toxics Coalition just released a report on what manufacturers like Target, Walmart, Nike and Walgreens reported from March to September 2013 (read the report here). 

Among the total 4,605 reports of toxic chemicals in children’s products are reports of toxic flame retardants linked to cancer, learning disabilities and fertility problems. In the report’s findings:

• Bisphenol A (BPA) was reported in plastic used in dolls and soft toys. BPA is a developmental and reproductive toxicant.
• Antimony trioxide, a carcinogen, was reported in toy vehicles.
• The Tris flame retardant TCEP was reported in baby car seats. It is a carcinogen and reproductive toxicant.
• Children’s plastic plates, bowls, mugs and cups, drinking glasses and other tableware was reported as containing ethylbenzene, toluene, and phthalates as well as formaldehyde.
• The flame retardant deca-BDE was reported in the plastic of baby car and booster seats, even though manufacturers made a voluntary agreement with EPA in 2009 to end the use of deca-BDE in most products by now, and deca-BDE was banned in Washington state in 2007.

I have to confess that reading this report made me want to pack up my kids (without carseats) and go live in a cave somewhere. But I got over that, and now I'm just mad again. Mad at manufacturers who choose shoddy chemical ingredients over our kids' health. Mad at Congress for taking so long to fix the federal toxics law that's the reason for all these "Chemicals of Concern" in our kids' lives. But also grateful for the steps forward that Washington State has taken, and hopeful that North Carolina will follow suit before too long.

Check out MindTheStore.org to let the nation's largest retailers know that it's time to get the toxics out of the stuff they're selling us.

A longer timeline for the NC Toxic Free Kids Act

Young Magician. Photo by PhotoAtelier via Flickr.

by Fawn Pattison, Executive Director

The NC Toxic Free Kids Act was magically transformed into a study bill this week by the House Commerce committee. POOF! The bill sponsors were facing down a very tight deadline - all new bills had to clear either the House or Senate this week, or become ineligible for the remainder of the 2013-14 legislative session. Rather than throw in the towel, the bill sponsors decided instead to change the bill into a study that will bring the issue back in front of the legislature in 2014.

The down side: the General Assembly did not hold a big hearing that required state legislators to pronounce the word "phthalates." 

The up side: The issue stays alive and we have an even better shot of getting it passed next year!

Representatives Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson) and Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) deserve our thanks for leading the effort. Representative McGrady told the Commerce committee that he intends to use the interim study to build even broader support for the Toxic Free Kids Act, and gather some lessons from other states about implementation. He is passionate about ensuring that the legislature will act in 2014 to protect kids from toxic chemicals.

So what now? 

The study bill will create a new Joint Legislative Study Committee on Children's Health and Toxic Chemicals, which will meet in the interim between the end of the 2013 session this June, and the start of the 2014 session next spring. The study committee will create important opportunities to bring in researchers, parents, business owners and other experts to talk about what legislators can do to protect children's health from toxic chemical exposures.

Please join us in thanking the legislators who sponsored and co-sponsored the NC Toxic Free Kids Act. We can't stop now!

Why we need the NC Toxic Free Kids Act

Photo by Wallula Junction via Flickr.

by Fawn Pattison, Executive Director

I often hear parents lamenting how hard it is to make healthy choices for our kids when we live in a "toxic soup." There is not enough information about the products we buy to know which products are safest, and which contain potentially hazardous chemicals - like the toxic flame retardants in kids' carseats. Raising healthy children today, and preventing a lifetime of chronic health problems in the future, depends on a healthy environment for our babies and children.

The NC Toxic Free Kids Act, H 848, filed by Reps Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson) and Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) would tackle that problem head-on by requiring manufacturers of children's products to take three notorious hazards out of their products. They would also have to notify the state when their products contain other toxic chemicals listed on a new Priority Chemicals List.

Here's why we need the NC Toxic Free Kids Act:

1. Children are not little adults. Their bodies are developing at an amazing rate. Pound for pound, they drink more water, breathe more air, and ingest more food than adults do. That means they’re also exposed to much higher concentrations of the chemical pollution all around us.¹
2. Cancer is on a slow and steady increase in American children, rising 22% between 1975 and 2004.²
3. Autism now affects 1 in 88 American children, and 1 in 54 boys.³ Exposure to toxic chemicals is an important factor in these devastating diseases.

Hazardous Chemicals in Children's Products

Harmful chemicals continue to be found in children’s products, even though safer alternatives are available. Toxic chemicals known to be used in the products that children use every day include:

• BPA in food packaging such as baby food and infant formula containers.
• Phthalates in toys, scented lotions, shampoos and other personal care products.
• Flame retardants in nursery furniture, nursing pillows and carseats.

There is no comprehensive system in place to assure that highly hazardous chemicals are not being used in children’s products. That means many toxic chemicals are ending up in a place they shouldn’t: our children’s bodies.

The Toxic Free Kids Act will use market-driven solutions to put an end to the toxic treadmill in the products that children use every day.

Priority Chemicals from the Toxic Free Kids Act

1. Bisphenol A  (BPA)  is a hormone disrupting chemical found in polycarbonate plastic. BPA is widely used in food packaging, including baby food and formula. Exposure to BPA is associated with increased risk for many health problems,⁴ including infertility, heart disease, obesity and cancer.
2. TRIS flame retardants are used in textiles such as nursery furniture, and foam products like nursing pillows and the padding in carseats. Exposure to TRIS flame retardants has been linked to cancer ⁵ and harm to the developing brain ^6.
3. Phthalates  are used as softeners in PVC plastic, and as fragrance binders in cosmetics like baby shampoo. Exposure is linked to⁷ reproductive health problems, respiratory problems and cancer.

The ultimate solution to our toxic soup is a comprehensive federal system that evaluates chemicals for health and safety problems before they go onto the market - and into the hands (and mouths) of our children. In the absence of a strong federal toxics law, states have a responsibility to act to protect our future. The Toxic Free Kids Act is a great first step.

References Cited:

¹ Ruth Etzel and Sophie J Balk, eds. 2012. Pediatric Environmental Health. 3rd Edition. American Academy of Pediatrics.
² National Cancer Institute, 2008. Fact Sheet on Childhood Cancers.
³ Jon Baio, 2012. “Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders —Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, UnitedStates, 2008.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). March 30, 2012 / 61(SS03);1-19
⁴ vom Saal et al. 2007. “Chapel Hill bisphenol A expert panel consensusstatement: Integration of mechanisms, effects in animals and potential toimpact human health at current levels of exposure.” Reprod Toxicol. 2007 Aug–Sep; 24(2): 131–138.
⁵ California Environmental Protection Agency. 2011. Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or ReproductiveToxicity. OEHHA. [Accessed Oct 1, 2011].
⁶ Divshaw LV, Powers CM, Ryde IT, Roberts SC, Seidler FJ, Slotkin TA, Stapleton HM. 2011. “Is the PentaBDE Replacement, tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP), a developmental neurotoxicant? Studies in PC12 cells.” Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.
⁷ Hauser and Calafat. 2005. “Phthalates and Human Health.” Occup Environ Med 2005;62:806-818

The NC Toxic Free Kids Act is great news!

by Fawn Pattison, Executive Director

This week, a bi-partisan team of legislators, led by Representatives Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson) and Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) filed the NC Toxic Free Kids Act, H.B. 848. The bill would ban three notorious contaminants from children's products, and create a Priority Chemicals List in North Carolina. 

This is awesome news!

Harmful chemicals continue to be found in children’s products, even though safer alternatives are available. Toxic chemicals known to be used in the products that children use every day include:

·      BPA in food packaging such as baby food and infant formula containers.

·      Phthalates in toys, scented lotions, shampoos and other personal care products.

·      Flame retardants in nursery furniture, nursing pillows and carseats.

Priority Chemicals are persistent in our environment and bodies. They have been found to cause health effects like cancer, reproductive harm or adverse effects on brain development. Cancer is on a slow and steady increase in American children, rising 22% from 1975 to 2004 (1).  Autism now affects 1 in 88 American children, and 1 in 54 boys (2).  Exposure to toxic chemicals is an important factor in these devastating diseases.

There is no comprehensive system in place to assure that highly hazardous chemicals are not being used in children’s products. That means many toxic chemicals are ending up in a place they shouldn’t: our children’s bodies.

What’s the Solution?

In order to reduce our children’s exposure to toxic chemicals, North Carolina needs a mechanism to begin phasing out the use of dangerous chemicals in children’s products:

Disclosure. The NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources would work together with the NC Division of Public Health to develop a list of Priority Chemicals that pose unnecessary risks to children’s health.

Phase Out. Ends the use of two cancer‐causing Tris flame retardants (TCDPP and TCEP), as well as the plastic additives Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates in children’s products.

Safer Products. Requires makers of children’s products that contain chemicals from the Priority Chemicals List to begin identifying safer chemicals or materials for their products.

Market-Driven Approach

Thanks to innovative solutions being developed in response to consumer demand, mercury, toxic flame retardants, lead, and other persistent toxic chemicals all are being phased out of consumer products. Providing manufacturers with a Priority Chemicals List can help end the toxic treadmill of substituting one bad chemical for another, and help businesses avoid costly substitution problems.

In the last decade, 18 states have passed more than 70 laws to ban chemicals in products or create new chemical management programs at the state level (for examples see Maine’s Kid Safe Products Act; Washington’s Children's Safe Product Act; Minnesota’s Toxic Free Kids Act).

Comprehensive toxics reform is the solution that we need. But until Congress decides to act on it, the onus is on states to cope with the toxic soup to which we are all exposed. A bill focused on children, who are at highest risk, and narrowly focused on three of the worst-offender chemicals, is an excellent step towards protecting the health and the futures of North Carolina's children.

Citations
1. National Cancer Institute, 2008. Fact Sheet on Childhood Cancers. 
2. Jon Baio, 2012. “Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders —Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, UnitedStates, 2008.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). March 30, 2012 / 61(SS03);1-19