Environmental Health Strategy Center Aims to Protect Maine Families from Toxic Chemicals

The Environmental Health Strategy Center is working on several initiatives right now to protect children and adults from toxic chemicals in everyday products and is seeking citizen action to help get the message across to state lawmakers. The two bills of greatest urgency are LD 902 and LD 1181. Both concern a chemical called BPA, which scientists have linked to breast cancer and a higher incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and liver abnormalities in adults as well as brain and hormone development problems in fetuses and young children. A new study also shows a strong connection between BPA levels and childhood asthma.

According to EHSC:

LD 902 would phase out BPA from infant and baby food packaging – a proposal that Maine moms brought to the State by gathering over 800 signatures last year. (Take action on LD 902 here.)

LD 1181, "An Act to Further Protect Pregnant Women and Children from Toxic Chemicals," will identify which products contain the 49 worst chemicals associated with cancer other illnesses, and take action to get those chemicals out of household products that Maine children encounter every day. The bill would also remove a loophole currently blocking protection from BPA in food packaging for kids and adults.   (Take action on the Healthy Kids Bill here.)

Attending a public hearing is also a big boost to these efforts, whether speaking or just helping to "pack the room and demonstrate solidarity."

The BPA hearing on LD 902 is on Wednesday, April 10, at 1 p.m. The Safer Products hearing on LD 1181 is on Thursday, April 11, at 1 p.m. (RSVP here.)

April 11 is also Safer Products Healthy Kids Day, starting at 8:00 a.m. at the Maine State House and continuing through the public hearing that afternoon. "Nothing is more effective for moving lawmakers into action than face-to-face conversations with constituents who really care about getting toxic chemicals away from our kids," says EHSC.

Find out more about getting involved at preventharm.org, including a clean technology event, Plants to Products: Maine’s Bio-based Products Forum, co-orga2nized with the Sustainable Bioplastics Council of Maine. The forum is Thursday, October 17, 2013, at the University of Maine, Orono.