Get the Lead Out & Attack of the Killer Couches

[Danny_banany]

Dear MomsRising Member,

In the last month, over 23,000 MomsRising members signed our petition telling Congress to keep lead out of children's products. We're pushing to give the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) the resources they need to fulfill this mandate. Your petition signatures helped persuade the Senate to act.

Unfortunately, the same bill that establishes the good policy for getting lead out of children's products also has a section which would instruct the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to set a national flammability standard for furniture. A national flammability standard seems like a good idea at first, until you learn that manufacturers usually meet these standards by using toxic chemicals--and that there is not even clear data that such chemicals have increased fire safety in California where they've been used for decades. In California, MomsRising members are playing a key role in pushing legislation to keep toxic flame retardant chemicals out of furniture. Let's make sure we don't have to fight this same fight at the national level.

TELL THE SENATE TO KEEP TOXIC FIRE RETARDANTS OUT OF OUR FURNITURE: Many experts believe that the dangers of using toxic chemical flame retardants are higher than the safety advantage they may bring. Tell the Senate that you want them to make sure the CPSC doesn't inadvertently introduce toxic chemical in our homes.

*Click here to email a letter to the Senate today: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o...aign_KEY=18484

A letter to your Senators will help to remove this section from S.2045, the CPSC Reform Act of 2007, so that the Senate can stay focused on improving the CPSC to keep lead out of our toys without adding language that may put more toxic chemicals in our homes.

Forward this email to your friends and family so they too can weigh in on this very important issue.

Kids and pregnant mothers in particular are the most endangered by these chemicals because developing bodies are most affected. CNN published an article yesterday that highlighted the substantial amount of toxic chemicals American children now have in their bodies. One such chemical, tris, was removed from children's pajamas in 1977 because it causes cancer and mutations in DNA, and is now the second most used fire retardant in CA furniture. We cannot let this toxic trend continue.

"'We are in an epidemic of environmentally mediated disease among American children today... Rates of asthma, childhood cancers, birth defects and development disorders have exponentially increased, and it can't be explained by changes in the human genome. So what has changed? All the chemicals we're being exposed to.' says Dr. Leo Trasande, assistant director of the Center for Children's Health and the environment at Mount Sinai Medical Center," notes the CNN article.

Remember to send your letter to the Senate now urging them to keep toxic flame retardant chemicals out of our furniture at: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o...aign_KEY=18484

Then, pass this note along to your friends so they can add their voices to our call to protect our families.

And, thank you to Friends of the Earth, Make Our Milk Safe (MOMS), and Dr. Arlene Blum for their work on this issue.

Best --Katie, Joan, Kristin, and the MomsRising Team

P.S. See the CNN article here to learn more about this issue and about products that contain these chemicals: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science...tml#cnnSTCText

-You can read more about this brominated and chlorinated flame retardants on the Huffington Post, in the Killer Couch Chemicals blog, by clicking here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arlene...s_b_60754.html

-Here are some quick facts:

* The most recent EPA study shows areas of concern as well as large data gaps for human health and environmental safety information for all of the fire retardant chemicals currently used in furniture.

* US women have some of the highest levels of fire retardants in their breast milk in the world.

* Dozens of scientific studies are now underway examining the relationship between previously used PBDE fire retardant chemicals and birth defects, autism, hyperactivity, reduced fertility and sperm counts and other neurological and reproductive conditions.