- Info
About the Children's Safe Products Act of 2008
About the Children's Safe Products Act of 2008 (House Bill 2647 / Senate Bill 6530)
About the Children's Safe Products Act of 2008 (House Bill 2647 / Senate Bill 6530)
This
summer, manufacturers recalled millions of toys because of dangerous
lead paint. Unfortunately, lead has turned out to be only the start of
parents’ worries as closer scrutiny of toys and other children’s
products has revealed other potentially harmful chemicals that are
linked to reproductive problems, learning disabilities, hormone
problems, and cancer. The federal government has been slow to act.
Washington State must take action now to protect children from toxic
chemicals by passing the Children’s Safe Products Act of 2008.
Prime sponsors of the Children's Safe Products Act of 2008 (HB 2647 and SB 6530) are Representative Mary Lou Dickerson (D-36) and Senator Debbie Regala (D-27).
Co-sponsors as of the bill filling on 1/16/08 are:
House:
Representatives Hudgins, Hunt, Morrell, Pedersen, Williams, Cody,
Green, Campbell, VanDeWege, Hasegawa, Roberts, Loomis, Upthegrove,
Liias, Hunter, Chase, Smith, McIntire, Barlow, Conway, Priest,
Schual-Berke, Simpson, Kenney, Goodman, Sells, Rolfes, Darneille, Lantz
Senate:
Senators Oemig, Tom, Eide, Rockefeller, Kauffman, Keiser, Fraser,
McDermott, Jacobsen, Shin, Fairley, Weinstein, Rasmussen, Kline,
McAuliffe, Franklin, Kastama, Kohl-Welles, Kilmer
|
|
Specifically, the Children’s Safe Products Act as passed by the WA Legislature will:
Protect children from lead, cadmium, and phthalates in products they use everyday.
- The
bill prohibits the sale of children’s products containing lead at more
than 90 ppm (parts per million), beginning July 1, 2009. Allows the
departments of Ecology and Health to lower this limit to 40 ppm by rule
if determined achievable for manufacturers and necessary for children’s
health. The 40 ppm limit for lead is recommended by the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
- The bill
prohibits the sale of children’s products containing any combination of
six specific phthalates at more than 1000 ppm, beginning July 1,
2009*. These six phthalates have been banned in children’s products in
the European Union since 1999 and were banned in California last year.
- Children’s products addressed by the
bill include toys, cosmetics and jewelry intended for children under
the age of twelve, or any product designed or intended for teething,
feeding, or clothing a child. Products such as certain electronic
products, batteries, bicycles, sporting equipment, and chemistry sets
are not covered.
- Manufacturers that
violate these prohibitions are subject to fines of up to $10,000.
Retailers who unknowingly sell restricted products will not be held
liable.
More about lead - cadmium - phthalates
Provide consumers with information to make safer product choices for their children.
- The
bill requires manufacturers of children’s products to report whether
their product contains a “chemical of high concern to children” to the
Department of Ecology. Ecology will develop this list through
rulemaking.
- The Department of Ecology
is required to publish this information on a website along with
information on available safer alternatives to the chemical.
- The
Department of Health must educate parents, child care providers, and
health professionals about toxic chemicals in infant and children’s
products.
Put Washington on track to addressing the many other hazardous chemicals in children’s products.
- The
bill requires Ecology to identify chemicals that are of high concern
for children and the children’s products or product categories that may
contain them. These chemicals are those linked to developmental
toxicity, cancer, reproductive harm, or hormone disruption that are
present in our bodies, our homes, our drinking water, or our consumer
products.
- Ecology must report their
findings on the chemicals and products, along with policy
recommendations on how to best regulate chemicals in products, to the
Legislature by January 1, 2009.
See bill information on the Washington State Legislature Web Site:
Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2647
Resources
Learn more about toxics in toys - Download our "What's in the Toy Box?" fact sheet
Learn more about toxics in baby shampoo and lotions - Download our "What's in the Bath Tub" fact sheet
Download our Lead, Cadmium, Phthalates Fact Sheet
Learn more - Download our fact sheets
Read about Toxic Toys in the News
Learn about our Toy Testing and the Healthy Toys Database
|
|
