Support the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act!
This week's action towards prevention Take a minute to send an email to your members of Congress urging them to support the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act. The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition has made this very easy for you to do, simply CLICK HERE, type in your zip code then follow the prompts.
Why is the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act so important to our health?
The chemical safety system is broken. The current law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has required testing on just over 200 out of 62,000 "grandfathered" chemicals since it was passed in 1976. Furthermore, only 5 chemicals have ever been restricted under the law due to unrealistic assessment requirements. Even substances known to be toxic, such as asbestos, haven't been able to meet the guidelines for restriction under the law.
Currently, companies are not required to prove that the chemicals they make are safe.
The President's Cancer Panel report released earlier this year suggests that these failed policies and a fragmented and weak system of enforcement are to blame for unregulated, toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other serious illnesses on the market.
What the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act will do to protect us...
The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act will take immediate action on the most dangerous chemicals, require basic information to identify chemicals of concern and require that the best science is used to protect all people and vulnerable groups.
With only 20-30% of breast cancer diagnoses linked to genetics or lifestyle factors, taking action to remove chemicals linked to the disease can go a long way in reducing breast cancer risk. Only 70 years ago, a woman's lifetime risk for breast cancer was estimated to be 1 in 20. Sadly, that risk has inflated to 1 in 7.6. Access to better information about the health risks associated with chemicals and removing those that are most toxic has the potential to dramatically improve our health so that not one more woman or man, not one more generation faces a needless breast cancer diagnosis.
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