New site calls out toxic products, points to safe ones

The chew toy your dog plays with, the material of your handbag, the surfaces inside your car – they’re all sources of toxic chemicals in daily life, according to testing results available on the new Web site HealthyStuff.org.

Healthystuff.org launches today and is a resource for information about toxin exposure in places you may not expect them. Like lead in dog toys and bedding, car interiors and women’s handbags, polyvinyl chloride in back-to-school products, and flame retardants and heavy metals in car seats.

Healthystuff.org is a project of the Ecology Center, which also created HealthyToys.org and HealthyCar.org .The site has a searchable database and produces lists of highly and poorly rated products in various categories.

“The more we test, the more we find that the presence of toxic chemicals is widespread in everyday consumer products,” said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center, who created the site.  “It should not be the responsibility of public health advocates to test these products. Product manufacturers and legislators must take the lead and replace dangerous substances with safe alternatives.”

The toxic pet products are a perfect example of why federal reform of chemical regulation is needed. There are no standards set for hazardous chemicals in pet products. Testing of over 400 pet products found lead in 25 percent of those items; seven percent had lead levels exceeding the standards set for safe children’s toys. If a toddler can’t differentiate between a child’s toy and a dog toy, they should be equally safe.

Savvy consumers are beginning to demand safer products. In response, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Representative Bobby Rush are expected to introduce a new bill this session to reform the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – the current federal law for regulating chemicals. These reforms would require industry to phase out the most dangerous chemicals and use the best science available to make decisions about creating safe products.

“A Made in the USA label should be a guarantee, not a warning,” said Charlotte Brody, National Field Director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a coalition working toward toxic chemical policy reform. “This database of products is further proof that our system of testing and regulating toxic chemicals is broken. We have an opportunity to reform federal law this year and start putting common sense limits on harmful chemicals to protect the health of Americans.”