Support LD 2048 - Read The Resolution And Endorse It Below
Resolution to Keep Children Safe from Toxic Chemicals by Supporting
LD 2048, An Act to Protect Children’s Health and the Environment from
Toxic Chemicals in Toys and Children’s Products
WHEREAS, many toys and other consumer products contain dangerous toxic chemicals. The scientific evidence is growing daily that these chemicals are linked to reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer.
WHEREAS, young children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of toxic chemicals due to rapid growth, ingestion of house dust, and putting toys near their noses and into their mouths.
WHEREAS, there is virtually no government oversight on chemicals used to manufacture toys and other consumer products – even those made in the Unites States. The U.S. Consumer Protection Agency has neither the power nor the funding to protect children from the range of chemicals in use. At the same time the Toxics Substances Control Act is so out of date and full of loopholes that it is ineffective.
WHEREAS, when it comes to getting accurate information about the chemicals in use, parents, consumers, and even physicians are usually left to guess. Meanwhile, manufacturers and retailers of consumer products, including many small businesses in Maine, are stuck in the middle of a broken system because they also lack vital health and safety information about the materials they use and the products they sell.
WHEREAS, we don’t have to choose between good health, a clean environment, and a strong economy. In fact, they go hand in hand. Investing in research on safer alternatives is good for our health and good for Maine businesses.
WHEREAS, safer alternatives to many toxic chemicals already exist and should be substituted when they are available. There are effective and affordable alternatives to many hazardous chemicals already in widespread use.
WHEREAS, LD 2048 relies on the best science and a common sense approach that requires manufacturers to disclose the use of the worst toxic chemicals in children’s products and substitute safer alternatives when found to be available and effective.
WHEREAS, LD 2048 encourages innovation and creates market incentives for development and use of safer alternatives. It puts more information into the hands of consumers and retailers and it engages Maine in a cooperative interstate effort to collaboratively fill gaps in our broken federal safety system.
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BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the undersigned individual, business, or organization lends its name and strongly endorses passage of LD 2048, “An Act to Protect Children’s Health and the Environment from Toxic Chemicals in Toys and Children’s Products”.
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