MomsRising: Protecting our kids from toxins
NC MomsRising and Toxic Free NC will hold a free event on Sunday to share information about how to protect yourself and your family from toxic chemicals found in everyday products.
Posted — UpdatedSummer is right around the corner, along with hot, sunshine-drenched days. If you’re like most people, you will head over to your local store and buy sunscreen, probably choosing the kind with the highest UVA/UVB rating.
As you read this, you may be thinking: “Wait a minute, isn’t sunscreen supposed to prevent harmful effects of the sun and not cause added harm?” The answer should be YES! It makes no sense that manufacturers are using chemicals that on their own, when exposed to sunlight, accelerate the risk of the skin cancer they are supposed to prevent!
Sadly, though, federal legislators fail to regulate these toxic chemicals in our sunscreens or many other household products. Hopefully, if there is enough consumer pressure, our federal legislators will listen and act to reform the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. This 30-year-old bill was intended to protect us from toxic chemicals, but has proven to be dangerously ineffective. The law grandfathered in all 60,000 chemicals used in consumer products at the time. The result is that chemicals used in consumer products are virtually unregulated.
Congress needs to update the law to ensure that chemicals are proven safe before they end up in consumer products and ultimately our bodies. The more voices our legislators hear, the better the chances are that they will support the reform bill. NC Momsrising is working diligently with legislators through grass roots efforts to support toxic chemical reform legislation.
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