Database on Toxic Chemicals Reveals Hazardous Substances in Everyday Products

(HealthyStuff.org: Ann Arbor, MI) -- A nonprofit environmental research organization recently released results on more than 900 common products tested for toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, mercury, bromine, chlorine (PVC), and arsenic. Using an XRF analyzer, researchers at the Ecology Center analyzed the ingredients of pet products, cars, women’s handbags, children’s car seats and more, creating the largest database yet of independent tests of toxic chemicals in consumer goods.

The results can be found on the user-friendly web site www.HealthyStuff.org. Visitors can look up products by manufacturer, brand, or product type and easily generate lists of highly rated and poorly rated products.

HealthyStuff.org tested for chemicals based on their toxicity, persistence, and tendency to build up in people and the environment. Such chemicals have been linked to reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, liver toxicity, and cancer.

“The more we test, the more we find that the presence of toxic chemicals is widespread in everyday consumer products,” says 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.”

For the past several years the Ecology Center has spearheaded groundbreaking research on toxic chemicals in toys, cars, and children’s car seats at HealthyToys.org and HealthyCar.org. HealthyStuff.org is a compilation of all of these findings and more.

New key findings From HealthyStuff.org:

• Pet Products. HealthyStuff.org tested more than 400 pet products, including beds, chew toys, collars, and leashes. Because there are no government standards for hazardous chemicals in pet products, it’s not surprising that alarming levels of toxic chemicals were found. One quarter of all pet products had detectable levels of lead, including 7 percent with levels higher than 300 ppm—the current Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standard for lead in children’s products.
• Automobiles. HealthyStuff.org tested nearly 700 new and used vehicles, from 1980 to 2010 model year vehicles. The U.S.-made Pontiac G5 and Chevy Cobalt rated best over all 2009 vehicles. Levels of some chemicals found in vehicles are five to 10 times higher than in homes or offices. Because the average U.S. citizen spends more than 1.5 hours in their car every day, this can be a major source of toxic chemical exposure.
• Children’s car seats. Infant and child car seats contain chemical additives that can have adverse health effects on babies and young children. More than half (58%) of car seats contain one or more hazardous chemicals, including PVC, BFRs, and heavy metals. Three examples of car seats that had none of the chemicals tested for are: Baby Trend Flex-Loc, the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat, and the Graco Turbo Booster. Despite the toxic chemicals, it is vital to use a car seat for your child, because they do save lives.
• Back-to-school products. HealthyStuff.org screened more than 60 common back-to-school supplies, including backpacks, pencil cases, binders, and lunchboxes. Far too many of these supplies are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 22 percent contained detectable levels of lead. Overall nearly 90 percent of back-to-school supplies contained one or more chemicals of concern.
• Women’s handbags. HealthyStuff.org tested more than 100 women’s handbags and detected lead in more than 75 percent of the bags analyzed. Sixty-four percent of the bags contained lead more than 300 ppm—the CPSC limit for lead in children’s products. More than half of the handbags contain more than 1,000 ppm lead.

Reforming the toxic substances control act

In response to increasing consumer demand for safer products, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Representative Bobby Rush are expected to introduce a new bill this Congressional session to reform the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)—the current federal law for regulating chemicals. These reforms would phase out the most dangerous chemicals from the manufacturing process, require industry to take responsibility for the safety of their products, and use the best science to protect vulnerable groups. To date the EPA has required testing on only about 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals that have been on the market since the law was passed 33 years ago.

“A ‘Made in the USA’ label should be a guarantee, not a warning,” says 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.”

“HealthyStuff.org is an invaluable resource for busy parents who are concerned about toxic chemicals in children’s products,” says Mom’s Rising president Joan Blades. “But it shouldn’t be up to parents to look up every single item to find out if toxic chemicals are used. We need reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act now.”

About The Author

HealthyStuff.org

HealthyStuff.org is a web site from the nonprofit environmental research organization, Ecology Center, which analyzes the ingredients of pet products, cars, women’s handbags, children’s car seats, and more, creating the largest database yet of independent tests of toxic chemicals in consumer goods. Visitors can look up products by manufacturer, brand, or product type and easily generate lists of highly rated and poorly rated products.