Oregon may regulate toxic chemicals in toys
A bill that would regulate toxic chemicals in children’s products is back before the Oregon Legislature.
“Many of these chemicals in children’s products and toys can lead to serious health effects,” Sheri Malstrom, a public health nurse, said at a brief hearing in a Joint Ways and Means subcommittee Tuesday. The hearing was continued to Wednesday.
Senate Bill 478 would require the state to maintain a list of chemicals of concern for children’s products, require manufacturers to provide notice of chemicals on the list that they use in children’s products, and eventually require manufacturers to remove or use substitutes for certain chemicals.
It’s modeled on a similar program implemented in Washington state in 2009. California, Vermont and Maine also have state-level toxics laws.
Proponents in Oregon have been trying to pass legislation for at least six years. A similar bill passed the Oregon House in 2013, but stalled in the Senate.
The current bill proposes focusing on the same 66 chemicals as Washington’s law.
“There is sound scientific evidence showing that each of the chemicals on this list are of high concern to children’s health,” said Angela Crowley-Koch, legislative director for the Oregon Environmental Council.
Opponents say such regulation should be done at the federal level.
The federal Toxic Substances Control Act, passed in 1976, gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency power to require testing of chemicals. But the EPA has rarely used that power, prompting states to move on their own.
Congress is working on an update to the law and is expected to vote on reforms this summer.
“States have the opportunity to participate in that process,” Tim Shestek, of the American Chemistry Council, told the committee.
However, the proposal has been criticized for restricting states’ rights to pass their own rules about dangerous chemicals.
Several amendments to the Oregon proposal are in the works.
Although they slightly weaken the bill, the Oregon Environmental Council is supporting them in order to get the bill passed, Crowley-Koch said.
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About the bill
Senate Bill 478 would require the state to maintain a list of chemicals of concern for children’s products, require manufacturers to provide notice of chemicals on the list that they use in children’s products, and eventually require manufacturers to remove or use substitutes for certain chemicals.
The Joint Subcommittee on Human Services will hold a public hearing on the bill at 8:30 a.m. June 10 in Hearing Room F at the State Capitol.
Source: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2015/06/09/oregon-may-regulate-toxic-chemicals-toys/28750043/
Support SB 478 to protect Oregon’s children
As a family physician who practices preventative medicine, I read with interest the March 2 article on Senate Bill 478 to protect children from toxic chemicals in children’s products.
It’s encouraging to see Oregon address a health threat too long ignored. Doctors and families can’t fight the rising tide of chronic disease alone – we need help.
Science increasingly suggests that chronic disease has its origins in early childhood. Infants exposed to hazards during critical windows of development may spend the rest of their lives fighting uphill battles against chronic disease. Among early life hazards are the carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and developmental and reproductive toxic chemicals in products that children use every day.
It’s no surprise that the Toy Industry Association objects to Oregon’s proposal that manufacturers track, report and replace hazardous chemicals. After all, no single toy or single company is to blame. But when thousands of children’s products on the shelves contain dozens of hazardous chemicals, it’s time to do something – and it’s Oregon’s responsibility to act.
Our state pays a high price for chronic disease. We shouldn’t continue to pay while we wait for someone else to reduce risk.
Evelin R. Dacker, M.D.
Salem
Source: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/03/11/support-sb-478-to-protect-oregons-children/70160552/