Vermont Passes New Legislation limiting Lead, Phthalates and Mercury!

NON-TOXIC KIDS BLOG

http://www.non-toxickids.net/2008/05/vermont-passes-new-legislation-limiting.html

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

As Vermont's legislative session closed, I held my breath and hoped that all or most of the environmental health bills would pass. And happily, most of them did.

The bill that I had been most involved in, S.152, the Lead in Consumer Products bill, passed both the House and the Senate.

Also passed by the House and Senate was H.352, the Lead in Housing bill.

To protect our families from the mercury contained in older thermostats, H.515 increased the manufacturers responsibility for the disposal of mercury containing thermostats. The bill sets up goals for recycling thermostats, gives a $5 amount to homeowners or contractors to recycle them, and sets up a reporting system about the progress of the recycling program.

And lastly, a bill that was threatened when lobbyists from Exxon Mobil flew in to little ole' Vermont to fight it, survived. S.261, Phthalates in Children’s Products, was passed by the House and Senate. This bill restricts the use of phthalates in toys and child care products for children under 3.

I want to thank Charity Carbine, of Vermont Public Interest Research Group for her tireless efforts in support of these bills, and the entire VPIRG staff for looking out for Vermont families.

Vermont considers banning lead from kids' toys

NECN

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

(Anya Huneke, NECN: Montpelier, VT) - As the legislative session winds down in Vermont, lawmakers are putting serious thought into a number of bills, including one that would ban lead in children's toys. Bill supporters say it would set a precedent on how our country should aggressively tackle the issue.

Armed with a radioactive device, Todd Hobson made his way around a room at the Vermont State House in Montpelier Wednesday. As an Environmental Consultant, Hobson is trained to test for lead.

A handful of products were laid out by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group - to illustrate how easy it is to find lead in everyday items. Many of such items are used by children, which is why VPIRG and some other advocacy organizations, are pushing for a bill in Vermont that would ban lead in toys and phase out lead in certain other products, such as plumbing fixtures and wheel weights for cars.

Watch video here

Vermont can prevent lead in toys

By Charity Carbine, VPIRG Environmental Health Advocate
August 26, 2007

In its second embarrassment in the last several weeks, Mattel announced the recall of more than 9 million toys in the United States that were discovered to pose health dangers to children. Among these Chinese-manufactured items were 253,000 Disney-Pixar "Sarge" cars found to have lead levels that exceed the federal limit.

This is the latest in a series of fumbles by the toy industry that has parents and consumer watchdogs wondering what, if anything, is being done to protect our children from this toxic exposure?

Read full article