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The Hour Saturday, February 10, 2007
By Jill Bodach
REGION -- A newly-formed coalition of health, labor, environmental justice and consumer groups is seeking support for several bills that its members say would better protect the health of children and communities.
The Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut launched formally just a few weeks ago but already has a set of bills in legislation that the coalition and its member groups are supporting, said Cindy Luppi, spokeswoman for the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut.
"The central feature of most of these bills is that we want manufacturers to replace toxic chemicals in their products with safer ones when they are available," Luppi said. "This is very similar to recent reforms from the European Union that modernize toxic chemical policies."
On Thursday, the coalition released a report that found a cancer-causing petrochemical in dozens of children's bath products and adults' personal care products -- in some cases at twice the level of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recommended maximum.
More than two dozen products were tested by West Coast Analytical Service, an independent testing laboratory specializing in trace chemical analysis. Laboratory tests released Thursday by the National Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Connecticut revealed the presence of 1,4-Dioxane in products such as Hello Kitty Bubble Bath, Huggies Baby Wash, Johnson's Baby Wash, Scooby-Doo Bubble Bath and Sesame Street Bubble Bath.
The tests also found the carcinogen in Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo, Olay Complete Body Wash and many other personal care products.
According to the report, 1,4-Dioxane is considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and an established animal carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It is also on California's Proposition 65 list of chemicals known or suspected by the
state to cause cancer or birth defects.
"This is a real wake-up call because infants and children are most vulnerable to health damage from toxic chemicals, given their developing body systems and smaller size," said Mary Jane Williams, R.N., Ph.D., of Connecticut Nurses' Association.
This news may be particularly troubling for parents.
"It is very troubling to learn that the shampoos and baby wash products I have brought into my home for my family to use contain an undisclosed carcinogen," said Annamarie Beaulieu, mother of four and campaign coordinator for Connecticut Public Health Association. "These contaminated products should not even be allowed on the market, leading parents to believe they are safe."
One of the problems, Luppi said, is that the FDA does not review or regulate cosmetics products or ingredients for safety before they are sold to the public and has no legal authority to require safety assessments of cosmetics. The FDA has been measuring 1,4-Dioxane levels since 1979, but
because the agency has little authority or enforcement capacity over the cosmetics industry, it has worked with manufacturers to reduce levels on a voluntary basis only.
This limit also does not take into account that infants exposed to 1,4-Dioxane from baby shampoo may be exposed at the same time to 1,4-Dioxane from bubble bath, body wash and many other products, Luppi said.
"If there is a cancer-causing ingredient in baby bubble bath where young children are literally immersed in a product that is very much cause for concern," Luppi said.
While a federal mandate requiring 1,4-Dioxane limits is one goal of the coalition, it also supports other public health bills:
* H.B. No. 5702 encourages Connecticut businesses to replace toxic chemicals with safe alternatives;
* S.B. 986 establishes safeguards for low-income communities and communities of color burdened by three or more polluting facilities within a three-mile radius;
* H.B. 6871 phases out the sale of products containing toxic flame retardants if there are safer alternatives to protect public health and the environment;
* H.B. 5234 prohibits the application of lawn care pesticides on any public or private school with students in grade 12 or lower
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