: But toys aren't the only products that contain harmful chemicals,says Rick Hind of Greenpeace. Phthalates are also found in vinylcar seats, floors and shower curtains, as well as shampoos.
And Janet Nudelman of the Breast Cancer Fund says lead andphthalates are just the beginning when it comes to dangers ineveryday products. "This has started a dialogue on what else isneeded," Nudelman says.
She notes that Congress also is considering a ban on bisphenol A,or BPA, a hormone-like chemical used in many baby bottles and thelinings of formula cans.
But Nudelman and others say the dangers to children are too greatto ban one by one. Instead, she and a coalition of health,environmental and consumer groups support the Kid Safe ChemicalAct. It would require that all chemicals be proven safe forchildren.
Few of the more than 80,000 chemicals now in use have ever beentested for safety, according to the bill's sponsors, who includeSen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. TheEnvironmental Protection Agency has required testing of only 200,they say.
Andy Igrejas of the Pew Charitable Trusts' environmental healthcampaign notes that children are especially vulnerable to chemicalsbecause their bodies are still developing. The proposed law wouldprovide information about chemicals' effects on everything fromcancer to birth defects.
Manufacturers already go "above and beyond" government requirementsand voluntarily use independent auditors to test chemicals, saysTiffany Harrington of the American Chemistry Council. Its membersare committed to making sure chemicals are safer for people and theenvironment, she says.
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