Healthy people, a clean environment

and a thriving economy

Healthy Legacy promotes the production and use of everyday products without toxic chemicals.

healthylegacy.org

Toxic Free Kids Act of 2011 There are hundreds of toxic chemicals in the products our chil-dren use every day. Here are just a few examples:

• Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, both carcinogens, are found in children’s bath products.

• Hormone-disruptingphthalates are routinely used in scented shampoos and other personal care products.

• Cadmium, a brain toxin, was found in children’s jewelry and Shrek glasses.

• Tris,acancer-causingflameretardantbannedfromchildren’spajamas in 1977 is now used in foam products like crib, stroller and changing table pads.

All of these chemicals and hundreds more can be found on the Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) Chemicals of High Concern list. This is a list of 1,756 chemicals that are persistent in our environment, build up in the human body and in our food, and have been found to cause health effects like cancer, reproductive harm or adverse effects on brain development.

Policy RecommendationHealthy Legacy supports the Toxic Free Kids Act of 2011, a common-sense approach to ensuring that all children’s products are safe before theyendupinstores.Generatinglistsofproblemchemicalsisthefirststep. Now we need to take the next step by passing the Toxic Free Kids Act of 2011 to:

Ensure that all companies that use priority chemicals disclose, •to state agencies and to the public, the presence of these chemicals in their products.Empower the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to •require that manufacturers phase out priority chemicals by moving to available safer alternatives.

Why This Bill? Why Now?

We keep hearing about more and more harmful chemicals in children’s products, even though safer alternatives for most products are already available!

That’s because there is no system in place to assure that chemicals in children’s products are safe and tested before they are used. The result is that many toxic chemicals are ending up in a place they shouldn’t: our children’s bodies.

Formaldehyde; phthalates

Cadmium

tris

Safe products, made safely

Toxic Free Kids Act of 2009 (TFKA I)

The Chemicals of High Concern (CHC) list was required by Minnesota’s Toxic Free Kids Act of 2009, which was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor TimPawlenty.TFKAIisthefirstphaseofa policy framework for protecting children from harmful chemicals in products. TFKA I also requires:

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) •to generate a list of Priority Chemicals, a subset of the CHC list, that are produced at high volume and found in children’s products, in the human body, in wildlife, in household dust, indoor air, drinking water or in the natural environment. The Priority Chemicals list, due in February •2011, will be a smaller list, representing children’s every day exposures. More information on TFKA state agency work •is available at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/hazardous/topics/toxfreekids/.

Support for Chemical Policy Reform Crosses Party Lines

New public opinion research conducted by the Mellman Groupfindsoverwhelmingpublicsupportforreforminghowchemicals are managed in the United Stated. Respondents from across the political and demographic spectrums expressed serious concerns about everyday exposure to toxic chemicals and want to see stronger policies.*

73% of respondents think the threat posed by everyday •exposure to toxic chemicals is serious.Regardlessofpoliticalaffiliation,votersaremuch•morelikelytosupportacandidateforpublicofficewho promotes better health and safety standards for chemicals. Tightening chemical laws was listed among the top •fivenationalissuesofconcern.

* www.saferchemicals.org/resources/opinion-2010.html

Who is Healthy Legacy?Healthy Legacy is a public health coalition representing over one million Minnesotans that are dedicated to safe products, made safely. Founded by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and Clean Water Action, our coalition is comprised of 34 diverse organizations that range from groups like the Minnesota Council of Churches, the Minnesota Parent Teacher Association, the Learning Disabilities Association of Minnesota, Minnesota Nurses Association, the League of Women Voters and more. We educate consumers, work with leading businesses and promote protective polices.

Visit healthylegacy.org for a complete list of our coalition partners.

(612) 870-3407 info@healthylegacy.org

healthylegacy.orgThis factsheet was printed in-house.

“...18 states have passed 71 chemical safety laws in the last eight years by an overwhelming, bipartisan

margin. This trend resulted from state legislators and governors from both parties responding to growing

scientific evidence of harm, strong public outcry, and the failure of Congress to fix the broken federal law that allows dangerous and untested chemicals to be

used in everyday products and materials.”

Healthy States: Protecting Families from Toxic Chemicals while Congress Lags Behind, pg. 6