President Poised to Ban Toxic Chemicals in Kids' Toys

Posted by Heather Gehlert, AlterNet at 4:34 PM on August 7, 2008.

In the next few weeks, President Bush is expected to sign into law the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, long-awaited legislation that would ban toxic chemicals called phthalates from children's toys and other products. The Senate voted to approve the bill last week in the face of growing pressure from concerned parents and public health advocacy groups like the Breast Cancer Fund.

"This is a David and Goliath victory," Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy for the Breast Cancer Fund, said in a statement. "Public health advocates and parents were up against big oil and the chemical industry, and we won. This should serve as a wake-up call to industry: chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects have no place in children's products."

To find out more about phthalates or the much-needed regulation of the chemical industry, visit http://www.breastcancerfund.org.

Tagged as: health, phthalates, regulation

Heather Gehlert is a managing editor at AlterNet.