Ken Cook and Advocacy Organizations on Toxins in Personal Care Products

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics states that there are 12,500 chemicals used is cosmetics and only 20% have been assessed for safety. Wow! That is unacceptable. The video also mentioned that products are not tested for safety before they enter the market. Additionally, because they are not regulated, companies can say anything they want about the safety of their products. As part of living in a civilized society, it is the government’s job to keep us safe. Why are there adequate traffic laws that keep us from driving too fast but not laws against industries that create, mix, and package, and sell us toxic chemicals in our everyday products?
The power of lobbyists in Washington is real. Industries pay lobbyists to advocate on behalf of their clients to inhibit laws that would restrict their products and resulting in compromised public health safety. Fortunately, there is hope, in our numbers. Like the video, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said, we all need to get involved. They gave us tips as consumers to use fewer products and be consencious consumers. We should read the ingredients, skip all fragrances, make our own cosmetics and buy from companies that make safe products. We as consumers also need to advocate for policy reform. Thankfully, The Save Cosmetics Act mentioned in the video passed in 2016. However, there is always more work to be done in policy and in advocacy. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics lists several opportunities to get active. Visit their website at http://www.safecosmetics.org/take-action/action-alerts/
           







10 Americans Presentation
by Ken Cook, Environmental Working Group

            Ken Cook presented that 10 Americans were selected and tested for 413 toxic pollutants. These individuals were not exposed from food, water, or air, from their work. However, they found 287 chemicals in each person, 212 of which were industrial chemicals that had been banned for over 30 years! These chemicals were carcinogenic, endocrine disruptors, immunotoxins, neurotoxins, teratogenic, and reprotoxic. Tragically, most of these chemicals found in these individuals were introduced in utero. Fetuses, infants, and children with developing bodies are at an increased risk for the negative impact of toxic chemicals. Their cells are dividing and growing at a faster rate than adults and dividing cells when exposed to toxins are more likely to have adverse effects.
Since the 1970s, there has been an increase in childhood diseases including an 84% increase in lymphocytic leukemia, an increase in hydospadias in baby boys, a 57% increase in childhood brain cancers, and an increase in autism.  Ken Cook quoted the Lancet, “the combined evidence suggests that neurodevelopmental disorders caused by industrial chemicals has created a silent pandemic in modern society”. Toxic chemicals are also impacting the adult population in negative ways including an increase in male and female infertility.
Ken Cook asked what can we do and answered, become more politically active. He mentioned the Kid-Safe Chemical Act which unfortunately died in May of 2008. Just because it died once doesn’t mean that we should up or that it can’t be passed at a future date. We all must advocate for healthier laws that protect us all from toxic chemicals. Remember, we have power in numbers.

Comments on other blogs:

Monica: I also was surprised to think about how many more toxins women are exposed to than men because of the use of personal care products. Think also about how women carry the next generation and then expose them too before they even have a voice. We need to change the policies!

Franny: It does feel almost hopeless, right? Endocrine disruptors are everywhere. We need to change the policies or else it will continue.


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