Swimming in Chemicals

We are literally swimming in toxins. As evidence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found flame retardant PBDE’s, long thought to be a group of neurotoxicants, in the bloodstreams, umbilical cord blood, and breast milk of over 95 percent of Americans that have been tested. A recent UCSF study found 43 different chemicals in nearly every pregnant woman tested, including flame retardants, plasticizers, phenols, perfluorinated chemicals and perchlorate.

These toxins are splashed across our lives, being found in paints, flooring materials, cleaning products, art supplies, furniture, carpets, building materials, electronics, and textiles. Are they toxic? We don’t really know because when Congress passed the original “Toxic Substances Control Act”, it grandfathered 62,000 chemicals to continue to be used without requiring testing to determine whether they were safe for human health. Since the act’s introduction, the government has passed regulations on just five of those original chemicals.

Another 22,000 chemicals have been introduced since 1976, but their creators have provided little or no information to the Environmental Protection Agency about potential health and environmental impacts.

An example of unregulated chemicals and their heath affects can be found in “Scientific American’s”2009 joint U.S./Swedish study that had examined the effects of household contaminants. The study revealed that children who live in homes with vinyl floors are twice as likely to develop symptoms of autism due to the emission of hazardous chemicals called phthalates.

Reversing errors made 35 years ago when all of those chemicals were grandfathered in under the Toxic Substances Control Act won’t be easy but it can be done. A determination of which chemicals are safe and which ones are not must be developed across the full range of chemicals that are now a part of everyday life.
One place to start would be the removal of the legal restrictions and red tape that prevent the EPA from quickly removing chemicals from circulation that have already been proven to be toxic.

For decades, the Toxic Substances Control Act has failed to reduce our exposure to serious health hazards and that needs to change. There is widespread support for making improvements in the act with 18 states having adopted measures to reduce toxic chemicals.

Surprisingly, nearly all of them had strong bipartisan support. An additional 30 states will consider protections this year. This groundswell of activity at the state level has caught the attention of federal lawmakers as well. Who knows, if they get the go ahead from the chemical industry, we could see some meaningful protections put into action.