FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jim Conran
February 4, 2008 925-253-1937
COMMON SUBSTANCE PROVEN SAFE BY 40 YEARS OF STUDY
Proposed Bill Could Increase, Not Decrease Risks For Our Children
Hartford, CT – Consumers for Competitive Choice (C4CC) President Robert Johnson today challenged assertions prompting legislation to ban phthalates used in toys. The Hawaii Legislature is considering such a ban through H.B. 2449. However, including phthalates inadvertently puts children at greater risk.
“Parents and consumers should feel comfortable knowing the toys they buy their children are safe,” Johnson said. “Lead in toys is a problem that should be addressed. But the best of intentions can cloud our judgment and direct us down a path that ultimately does more harm than good. Banning a substance like phthalates, tested and approved by the United States government, and independent evaluators in the scientific community, only forces manufacturers to replace it with lesser known and potentially more dangerous substitutes. This opens the door to increased risks for our children.”
That is not the case with phthalates, which have been proven safe, time and time again. In fact the most common phthalate in infant toys, diisononyl phthalate(DINP), has been studied by multiple government agencies. Independent safety reviews by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the European Union have found DINP to be safe for use in vinyl toys. The Centers for Disease Control has shown that exposures to DINP are well within safe limits. This substance has been in use for 40 years and has never been proven to cause harm to children.
“The problem with enacting policy under these conditions is the law of unintended consequences, consequences that may well produce greater risks for consumers. A ban on phthalates means infant toys will be made with untested and potentially harmful chemicals. There is not one alternative that has been as thoroughly tested and cleared by a government or regulatory agency. The Hawaii Legislature should rethink banning tested, safe products in exchange for untested and potentially harmful ones,” Johnson added.
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Consumers for Competitive Choice is a nonprofit alliance of consumer organizations with one million members throughout the United States who are committed to the development of a competitive, vibrant consumer market in the communications, energy, financial and health sectors. For additional information on C4CC please visit our website at http://www.consumers4choice.org/about/index.html.