Consumers learn about the toxicity and hazards of thousands of chemicals

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 California's new "green chemistry" legislation willset up online databases to inform consumers of dangerous products,but won't take the products off the shelves. Ansje Miller, policydirector of the Center for Environmental Health and coordinator ofCalifornians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE) welcomes theinitiatives but has some reservations.

Marilyn Furer isn't a household name. Yet within weeks, thisgrandmother from Illinois did what our government seems unable todo: She got toxic baby products off store shelves.

After reading an article about lead in plastic school lunch boxes,she noticed that her grandson's baby bib, which spent more time inhis mouth than his lunch did, seemed to be made out of the samematerial. With a simple lead test purchased at a local hardwarestore, Furer found that indeed those brand new baby bibs werefilled with lead, which could lead to anemia, severe stomachache,muscle weakness and even brain damage. Low levels of lead have evenbeen linked to lower IQ scores.

Instead of just throwing the bibs away, Furer decided to takeaction so that other babies wouldn't be exposed to the same toxins.There was no government Web site to help her, so she called us atthe Center for Environmental Health. Because we'd done research onlead in lunch boxes, she sent us her baby bib. After confirming herresults with an independent lab test, our joint effort resulted inWal-Mart taking those toxic bibs off the shelves.

Lead is just one of many toxic chemicals that end up in productsthat we use every day. Studies show that these toxic chemicalscontinue to show up in our bodies. This is because there is nolevel of government in the United States that is actually mindingthe store on this issue. We rely upon a regulatory systemimplemented in the 1970s, called the Toxic Substances Control Actthat is fundamentally broken. It is so cumbersome and so heavilyweighted in favor of industry profits over public health, thatconcerned people in government can't protect us from these toxinseven if they wanted to.

We live in a time when almost every American has been touched bycancer, childhood asthma, male birth defects, autism, or learningdisabilities. We know that many chemicals contribute to thesediseases. What's potentially worse is that there are thousands ofchemicals on the market with similar properties that we don't knowmuch about. There are more than 85,000 chemicals registered foruse, yet only 10 percent of them have been tested for their effectson human health and the environment. And just because they'retested doesn't mean that they are off the market.

Enter Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. TIME magazine named him a2008 Hero of the Environment for his efforts on climate change. Inthe article, Schwarzenegger criticized President George W. Bush forcalling meetings about climate change, saying, "Enough meetings.Enough waiting for someone else to take the lead. Leadership meansaction."

I couldn't agree more. Yet his latest bill leads to more meetings.

On Sept. 29, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1879and its companion Senate Bill (SB 509). SB 509 requires the stateDepartment of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to create an onlineToxics Information Clearinghouse; an online database so consumers can learn about the toxicity and hazards of thousands of chemicalsused in California every day.

AB 1879 aims to address the problem of pervasive toxic chemicals by developing regulations and a process for identifying what they call"chemicals of concern" and creating ways of developing alternativesand methods for analyzing alternatives to existing hazardouschemicals. Once that process is up and running, the DTSC is thenauthorized to take action on those chemicals.

But creating the process is not the same thing as action.

Schwarzenegger needs to ensure that his agencies do not get boggeddown in a lengthy industry-dominated process, but take action nowwhere we know we can. Lists of known chemicals of concern havealready been developed. We can quickly start there and take actionon those. Then, we need the governor to support additionallegislation to require companies to prove the safety of theirchemicals before they ever reach the public.

While we should applaud the governor for sending a message aboutthis pressing problem, I'm still waiting for the action. They willhelp another Marilyn Furer identify potential poisons, but it won'ttake it off the shelves.

These bills ensure that meetings will take place - often behindclosed doors - with the hordes of industry lobbyists in Sacramentobefore even one chemical is identified or taken off any shelves.

As long as we continue to let dirty, unhealthy chemicals be sold inour stores, we are losing out on the opportunity to gain marketshare in the new field of green chemistry and safer alternatives totoxic chemicals. We can't afford to continue to let cleanertechnology developments come from overseas.

The quicker we can get toxic chemicals out of our market, thequicker new companies will jump into the fray to develop saferalternatives, creating new jobs and economic activity here at home.Maine is developing new, safer plastics out of potatoes. WithCalifornia's rich agricultural resources, sustainably grownbio-based plastic and other materials should be a natural economicdevelopment opportunity.

If you want to be an action hero go to www.changecalifornia.org fora list of databases where you can research whether the products youbuy contain toxic chemicals. While you're there, click on the linkto send a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger and yourrepresentatives letting them know that just setting up a processalone does not make an action hero. Enough meetings. Leadershiptakes action.


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