December 12, 2009

The following is an editorial written by State Representative Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga). If you have questions about this commentary, please contact Rep. Byrum's office by calling (517) 373-0587.

With the holidays approaching, many of us are scrambling to finish shopping before the big days. As a mother, I know how wonderful it is to see that look of joy on our child's face when they open that perfect gift. That is why we brave the crowded stores and cold weather, to find the toy that will brighten our children's faces.

As a consumer, I expect that when I go to the store, the products that I buy will be safe. Unfortunately, consumers can no longer afford to make that assumption. With more and more of our products coming from foreign countries with lax consumer protection laws, such as China, we have sadly seen a record number of recalls over the past few years, including poisoned dog food and contaminated toothpaste.

Even more alarming is the recall of millions of popular toys made with dangerous chemicals that may cause serious harm to our children. The materials used in toys like plastics, paints and fabrics may contain toxic chemicals and many toys that are still on shelves may contain undiscovered dangers for children.

If children put these toys in their mouths, the chemicals enter their bodies. Some substances may even be absorbed through the skin or released into the air that children breathe. Even small amounts of a harmful chemical can significantly impact a growing child.

This is not just a problem with obscure toys you've never heard of. Chemicals like mercury have been found in Dora the Explorer lunch bags, Little Tikes bath toys and Mattel's Ballerina Barbie. Arsenic has been found in High School Musical belts and Disney necklaces. Bromine, which can cause reproductive problems and birth defects, has even been found in Playskool's Mr. Potato Head.

Many of these are toys that you and I grew up with, toys that we look back on with fondness. To hear that they now contain hazardous chemicals is shocking to me. I want to make sure our children are protected from these chemicals that threaten their safety. That is why I have proposed legislation to give parents the tools they need to protect their children from harmful chemicals.

The Michigan Children's Safe Products Act, which is awaiting Senate action, would require the Department of Community Health to create a comprehensive, publicly-accessible list of "chemicals of concern," or those that are known to be harmful to people. Large manufacturers and distributors of children's products will be required to publicly identify which of their products contain chemicals from this list, how much they contain and why this chemical is in their product. By making this information available to the public, we can keep our children safe.

Some may argue that this sort of regulation should be done by the federal government. However, out of the 80,000 chemical compounds registered for commercial use in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has required testing on fewer than 200 of these, and only restricted five of them. Simply put, our children are too important for us to wait for Washington to act. Our parents deserve to know what is in the products they are buying.

To find out more information, please visit www.healthystuff.org/departments/toys