D.C. Councilwoman proposes mass chemical ban
By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
November 5, 2009
A D.C. Council member has proposed banning more than a dozen chemicals that some experts deem dangerous for health and the environment, but are nevertheless standard in many commonly used products.
The list of chemicals all have been tied, some more than others, to health conditions from cancer and birth defects to reproductive disorders and neurological effects. They are used in a host of products from soap to sippy cups.
“I’m sure this will generate a lot of heat and maybe a little light,” said Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who drafted the bill.
The measure, for example, bans food or beverage containers intended for children younger than 6 that contain Bisphenol-A, or BPA. BPA, consumer advocates warn and some tests confirm, is a toxic chemical linked to neurological, endocrine and reproductive health issues. But the federal government has not yet recommended that, “anyone discontinue products that contain BPA.”
“I think we have to go with the best information that’s out there and not wait for a lagging [Environmental Protection Agency] to take action,” Cheh said.
The Arlington-based American Chemistry Council, meanwhile, vehemently disagrees on the safety of BPA and other chemicals that Cheh proposes to ban.
“Eleven regulatory agencies from around the world have concluded that science supports the safety of BPA for people of all ages in its current uses,” the chemistry council said in a release issued last week.
Also prohibited under the bill:
» Mattresses and furniture containing polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, a flame retardent.
» Flea and tick repellents containing permethrin and propoxur.
» Child care products containing more than 0.1 percent phthalates, a chemical used to make plastics pliable.
» Hygienic products containing synthetic exfoliants, including polyethylene-based microbeads often found in body washes and scrubs. Those beads, environmentalists say, end up in the oceans, killing off marine animals.
In most cases, Cheh said, there are alternative products widely available. Natural exfoliants, for instance, such as salt, shell pieces and sugar can replace the synthetic washes.
“They can be just as clean and have just as significant an exfoliant experience,” Cheh said.
Richard Wiles, senior vice president for policy at the District-based Environmental Working Group, said the federal government “has really dropped the ball” on tightening chemical law. States and municipalities, he said, are doing the job instead.
“Most of these chemicals, she’s right on target with the restrictions she proposed,” Wiles said of Cheh.
