TOXICS INFORMATION PROJECT (TIP)
Liberty
Goodwin, Director
P.O. Box 40572,
Providence, RI 02940
Tel.
401-351-9193, E-Mail: TIP@toxicsinfo.org
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
(Lighting the Way to Less Toxic Living)
BUYERS AT RISK: CHRISTMAS SEASON OF TOXIC RECALLS
www.alternet.org/stories/71031/?comments=view&cID=792195#c792195
Who is out there protecting Americans from these hidden hazards? Practically no one.
As we pass through the season of toy recalls into the season of Christmas consumerism, none of the presidential candidates on either side of the aisle have focused on a singular issue that would send a powerful signal of commitment to protecting Americans. The question of ensuring the security of Americans from the hazards to their health contained in hundreds of consumer products hangs like a ripe fruit for any candidate willing to pick it.
Who is out there
protecting Americans from these hidden hazards? The answer: practically nobody.
We now know what happens when illegal substances like lead are
integrated into toys and shipped to the United States from China: They slip
into the country past the eviscerated Consumer Product Safety Commission, whose
sole toy inspector spends most of his time making sure toys don't break in
children's hands, rather than assessing the toxic substances that may enter
into their bodies. In fact, the CPSC's
budget has dropped in a more or less inverse proportion to U.S. toy
manufacturers sourcing production in China.
Hillary Clinton may have called for greater vigilance of our imports from China, but it's not just illegal substances like lead that are being integrated into an array of consumer products. A host of substances suspected of causing cancer, mutating genes and disrupting the reproductive system are permitted in the United States, while much of the world -- our economic peers in Europe, Japan and even in emerging economies like Korea -- are banning them from use.
U.S. influence has been slipping globally, diminished by a bellicose foreign policy, the rapidly dropping clout of the dollar and the quicksand of Iraq. But nowhere are Americans feeling this shrinking global presence more than in the realm of their safety from consumer products that can cause innumerous life-threatening health problems. Once, 30 years ago, the United States was the leader on environmental protection. What we did in America -- creating the EPA, passing laws regulating chemicals -- was followed by the rest of the world.
The Toxic Substances Control Act was our law. It was the first in the world to address the potential health dangers from chemicals. But it included a massive loophole: Any chemical already on the market as of 1981 did not have to undergo any testing for its effects on human health or the environment. The result: Some 30 years later, 90 percent of the chemicals on the market today -- some 65,000 substances -- have never been assessed for their toxicity. Over the intervening 26 years, our laws have not kept up with the exponential increase in scientific knowledge of chemicals' effects on the human body.
But the rest of the world is moving ahead. Those moves are being led by the European Union, which now includes nearly 500 million people in 27 countries -- a market far larger than the United States. Why did the EU make the changes? It's just good business. They are looking at the billions of dollars in costs to public health triggered by exposure to toxic chemicals. They did the math. It's cheaper to act before the problem worsens. They are taking a preventative stance, while the United States remains complacent with the status quo.
Take toys, for example: the Europeans responded to a growing body of evidence suggesting that a plastic additive called phthalates may contribute to decreased production of testosterone in infant boys by banning the substance from use in products aimed at children under the age of 3. Much of the evidence used by the Europeans to make that decision came from American scientists, some of whom have been supported in their research by our own EPA. But no one in the U.S. government has been willing to listen. The result: Toys are manufactured in China without phthalates for export to the European Union and with phthalates for export to the United States. European manufacturers have found far less toxic alternatives, and European kids have as many plastic animals and other goofy playthings as their American counterparts.
Another example, cosmetics: No independent body anywhere in the United States independently assesses the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics. Who knew how many carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive system inhibitors are included in cosmetics? Now we know, because the Europeans have published a "negative" list banning such substances from cosmetics now sold in Europe. And not just Europe: increasing numbers of emerging economies, like Korea and Brazil, are beginning to look to Brussels, capitol of the EU, and not Washington for guidance on how to address such potential hazards.
Altogether, America's bluff is being called: The world's other major economy is showing that safety and financial success are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, at a time of rising environmental sensitivity in the marketplace, many of these "greener" businesses are now posing a competitive challenge to U.S. producers. The first candidate to realize that this issue strikes directly at American's sense of safety and security will reap major benefits at the polls.
Mark Schapiro
is the author of Exposed:
The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power
(Chelsea Green, 2007)
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VERY USEFUL COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE - SYMBOL INDICATES EU APPROVAL
Look For the CE Symbol
Posted
by: DivaDeb on Dec 19, 2007
I have a toy store. Our parent company has been vague
about testing, choking hazards, has defended a horrid product (sticky stones,
rated one of the worst 10 toys because there is no labeling on the product,
just on the display box - they are little magnets in a felt bag) and never bothered
to tell us about the CE logo on products. They didn't even bother telling us
what products were made in USA that we sell - we had to look at everything
ourselves. And the company is run by liberal progressives!!!!
CE
is the symbol that tells you it has been approved for sale in the European
market.
It
is more content than quality, though. No pthalates, no lead.
I keep wanting to scream at customers "you are 10 years too late complaining about 'Made in China' - and you should have NEVER shopped at Walmart!" Store owners tell me they made a lot more money in the early 90s BEFORE the market was flooded with cheap crap from China.
BTW, all Buffalo Games products are made in USA (Visual Eyes, Last Word, Imaginiff, puzzles), most jigsaw puzzles (Springbok, Master Piece, Great American Puzzle Company) are made in USA. Springbok is by far the best - no two pieces are the same so you can't put the wrong one in the wrong place, they are so tight when together you can pick them up by the corners and pin them to the wall without glueing!
I kept asking the company questions about products and now I am afraid they will use my nosiness as an excuse to keep me from getting a year-round store.