On Monday, May 21, two dozen Maine women boarded a bus bound for Washington, D.C., to take on the chemical industry. We joined hundreds of others from across the country for a “National Stroller Brigade” to raise awareness about the need for chemical safety reform.
We spoke directly to Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to ask them to support the Safe Chemicals Act — a long overdue update to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, which has failed miserably at keeping us informed and safe from the harm of toxic chemicals in our everyday products.
On the bus was a fantastic, powerful, diverse group of women from across the state who had compelling reasons for demanding safer chemical laws. I took the trip for my daughters.
As a parent who works every day to keep my girls safe, I am frustrated by the lack of information available about the safety of the products we use. I feel that if something is on a store shelf, it needs to be safe. There are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market and only 200 have been tested for safety. Chemical companies are not required to test their products before putting them on the market. This is completely unacceptable, so I rode the bus to D.C. for the chance to talk to our congressional delegation about the need for reform.
The “Stroller Brigade” was inspiring, made even more so by Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, sponsor of the Safe Chemicals Act. He said we have to reform TSCA because “the status quo is dangerous and unacceptable.”
We then had a full afternoon of meetings with our congressional delegation. Rep. Mike Michaud’s staffer shared his support for protecting workers from toxic chemical exposure, while Rep. Chellie Pingree’s staff reiterated her long-standing strong support on this issue.
We then had the rare privilege of meeting in person with Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe. Collins said she believes TSCA is outdated and needs to be reformed. Snowe said she would like to see TSCA reformed and hopes to have the chance to work on it this session. I felt Snowe shared my frustration of finding out a product is harmful only after being used in the home.
I left the meetings feeling energized, hopeful that we have the support of our congressional delegation, and motivated to continue the fight for safer products. The 24 Maine women who went down to D.C., the nearly 3,000 Mainers who have signed our petition at mainemoms.org, the Maine Legislature, which unanimously passed a resolution calling on Congress to reform TSCA, and my two daughters will be watching. The people of Maine are asking for chemical safety reform and Congress is starting to listen.
Megan Rice is the mother of two young girls from China, Maine.
The potential for chemical reform is quite exciting, but it should be done in a way that doesn’t take the lives of millions of animals (for toxicity testing) in the name of better protection for human health and the environment. The revised bill should mandate and create market incentives to use nonanimal methods. Further, legislative language should be clear: given the option between an animal test and a nonanimal test, a nonanimal test should always be conducted. We need to ensure that chemical testing is in line with the 21st century and relies on modern, human cell and computer-based methods that provide accurate data on how a chemical acts and what the impact on human health may be.
howabout if you forget the nanny state and you do not buy something if you do not know what is in it?
if enough people refused by buy potentially dangerous garbage, the companies that profit from garbage will be forced to sell safer stuff.
keep the government OUT of it.
use common sense.
and stop being schills for the left
Amen. ;)
I disagree.
Freedom to me, means freedom from whatever pollutant the next capitalist thinks they can get away with putting in the supply chain.
We share a food chain, water, and air. No company has the right to pollute the common property.
Freedom FROM pollution, not freedom TO pollute.
It’s perfectly safe to use glass products for infants/toddlers/young children to drink from, but it requires supervision. We want everything to be ‘easy’ these days. It’s really easy too, to buy products from the store that are packaged in glass as well. There might be less of a selection, but they are still available. You just have to use caution when you carry those shopping bags so the glass doesn’t break.
While they’re there they should bring up the fact that we don’t know what’s in rain water either.
A lot of areas have those high power lines near schools too, which is thought to be a health hazzard.
Like was said in another post, if you’re not sure if it’s safe, or have doubts of something ‘said’ to be safe, don’t use it. If we don’t buy these things, the manufacturers will take the hint. If anything, complain to the companies who produce the products that could be harmful. If you take a chance, there’s always the possibility that your ‘choice’ could be harmful.
The government doesn’t tell us that we have to use these products. If they did demand we use them, then I could see them being totally responsible for these issues.
Everyone wants to know the risks of things when it comes to anyone…children, adults, animals. It’s easier than ever to research things these days with the internet and all.
Thank God for that nice man, Al Gore, for inventing the internet! <3
it’s not about GLASS….it’s about the chemicals in the plastic that leak in to the foods that are stored in the plastic containers.
Obama appointed a former Monsanto executive to head the FDA.
No if that isnt totally wrong headed , then LePage isnt our Governor.
Why is this being run as a news story? I pretty much agree with the group’s goal but it’s embarrassing to see a newspaper run a news story written by a member of an advocacy group.
Sure hope these moms are just as concerned about the birth control pills they put inside them everyday.
This is why I never shop china-mart
Laws like TSCA might be good in principle, but won’t matter as long as the culture of corruption exists in Washington. The regulatory agencies all seem to be in the pockets of, or neutralized by, the industries they are supposed to be monitoring. The SEC’s track record is abysmal. FDA inspectors get targeted if they raise too many safety concerns. The USDA advocates school nutrition programs based on what’s good for food and agriculture industries, not what’s good for children. The Minerals Management Service was so in bed with the gas and oil industry that it had to be reorganized following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. I expect the rest of the agencies are just as bad.