As the resident Mom Detective here at Moms Clean Air Force, I give advice to parents nationwide on the least toxic household purchases—lunchboxes, toys, rugs, cleaning products, and more. I can boil down all the queries I get into one: Why the [enter expletive of choice here] are there products for sale that are unsafe for human health? Especially children’s health!
I share this frustration. And yet, EPA Administrator Zeldin wants to weaken the safety reviews for chemicals already on our shelves and in our workplaces. These reviews are required by law—and they should be as strong as possible. Join Moms in telling EPA to back off chemical safety reviews.
Tell EPA: Hands Off Chemical Safety Reviews
Originally passed in 1976, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our nation’s bedrock law to protect people from toxic chemicals, was updated in 2016 with the bipartisan Lautenberg Act. This much-needed amendment updated EPA’s process for chemical safety reviews, including the process for reviewing hazardous chemicals already in our stores.
The Biden EPA strengthened TSCA’s process for reviewing the safety of chemicals on the market even more, requiring EPA to consider all the ways people might be exposed to harmful chemicals, from using consumer products to breathing pollution in the air.
Administrator Zeldin wants to weaken this process, a move that would benefit chemical industry insiders while loosening protections against hazardous chemicals. This could increase children’s exposure to chemicals linked to cancer, infertility, diabetes, and other illnesses.
I’m livid that our toxic chemical laws are under attack: I’d love to tell everyone who reaches out to Mom Detective to buy whatever crib or stuffed animal they think is adorable. But I can’t. I have to teach caregivers how to be citizen-scientists to buy things as basic as nontoxic school supplies.
Threats from everyday chemical exposure will only get worse if Trump’s EPA is successful in weakening the protections that keep our families and communities safer.
If you agree that the products we are all buying and bringing into our homes daily should not be filled with inadequately regulated toxic chemicals that harm our health, then join Moms in telling EPA not to weaken toxic chemical protections.