The States react to the President's Cancer Panel

Earlier this month the President's Cancer Panel, a panel of doctors who serve as a medical advisory committee to the President, released a report recommending that Americans take action in order to reduce cancer risk in their lives.

The recommendations include avoiding pesticides in foods, filtering water, and avoiding Bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates in order to decrease cancer risk.

As the news spread through the Safer States Coalition, states began to respond in support of the Panel report, and in favor of the passage of a strong Safe Chemicals Act.

In the Baltimore Sun, Jenny Levin of Maryland PIRG co-wrote an op-ed with Brenda M. Afzal, a health professional, explaining the importance of getting the Safe Chemicals Act right:

This legislation should immediately phase out the most hazardous chemicals, including PBTs (persistent, bio-accumulative toxins). Lead, for instance, is present in most brands of lipstick, posing a danger for pregnant women or even young children playing dress-up. In addition to lead, PBTs such as mercury (present in light bulbs and power plant emissions, for example) and formaldehyde should be phased out of commerce except for critical uses.

By ensuring a safer, less toxic environment, we can improve our health and well-being while also reducing the costs borne by our health care system. We should seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve our quality of life and reduce the burdens placed on families struggling with chronic disease. Let's get it right.

Maryland advocates have been working hard to protect the state's most vulnerable populations, and passed a BPA ban this year and a ban on the toxic flame retardant DecaBDE, but all states need the backbone of a strong federal toxics policy to depend on.

An editorial in the Bangor Daily News urged federal leadership in protecting Americans from cancer due to toxic chemicals in light of the assessment by the President's Cancer Panel. Quoting Margaret Kripke, an immunologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (and a President's Cancer Panel appointee), the editorial said:

Leadership on these concerns must come at the federal level. Dr. Kripke stressed that children are most vulnerable for such environmental cancers. “It’s very, very important to protect children,” she said. That’s a message that must be heeded.

The states are joining together to make their voice known to decision-makers in Washington, DC. In December, the Safer States outlined the critical principles for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act. And in April, many state legislators signed on to a letter (PDF) urging EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to use her position to ensure that effective TSCA reform takes place, and to recognize the important role of states in innovation, implementation and enforcement of toxic chemical reform.