To the editor:
I am a lifelong resident of the great state of Maine and proud to be called a Mainiac. Originally hailing from Houlton, I grew up unencumbered by the claustrophobia of urban sprawl or smog, amidst the blossoming potato fields and spindly trees characteristic of “the County.” It was after I went off to school in the big city of Waterville that I was introduced to out-of-staters as neighbors, watering lawns as a normal chore and the Kids Safe Products Act of 2008.
I am writing to thank our state lawmakers on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee today for their bipartisan effort to keep the Kid Safe Products Act intact. LD 1129 was just passed unanimously by the committee, and will preserve the intent of this important law while making some adjustments to make it easier for businesses to navigate the state’s list of concerning chemicals. It is our legislators on the Committee, like Sen. Roger Sherman and Rep. Ricky Long, who showed tremendous leadership bringing together the environmental health nonprofits and businesses stakeholder communities to make that happen.
The Kid Safe Products Act makes Maine one of the national leaders in chemical safety reform. And our nation is badly in need of leadership when it comes to this issue. The federal law that is supposed to protect the health of American families from toxic chemicals in every day products could be improved. The Toxic Substances Reform Act of 1976 has allowed for around 70,000 completely untested chemicals to end up on the shelves and in our homes. So while I celebrate Maine’s progress on the Kid Safe Products Act, I would also urge my Senators Snowe and Collins to build upon this work by supporting federal reforms. The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011, introduced by Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, would overhaul broken federal laws by creating a workable system to provide more transparency to consumers and ban chemicals that are toxic to human health.
As I look back on both my childhood in northern Maine and my time at college, I realize that all of my experiences support the need for chemical safety reform like Maine’s Kid Safe Products Act. After graduating with a degree in biology and environmental science, I have read articles from the likes of Darwin, Mendel and Rachel Carson. I have been educated about natural selection, mutation and the significance of “Silent Spring” to the environmental movement. I have traveled to Botswana, where strong chemicals are still employed to combat malaria. I have even begun to learn about connections between the environment and human health.
As a child of a cancer survivor, and later, a grandchild of someone who fiercely battled a malignancy that ultimately cost her a life, something that I wondered about as a teenage girl was, why her? My grandmother grew up next to a potato field that served as our family’s livelihood for generations. I would say this is an admirable way to eke out a living, but pesticides used in farming can have detrimental health effects that in some cases are linked to cancer. After reading this beautiful little nugget of information, I decided to investigate and find out what other substances existed in the world around us that could have potential negative impacts to health. I discovered quickly that bisphenol-A (BPA) was on this list. Thanks to the Kid Safe Products Act, I don’t need to research all on my own anymore – there is now a volunteer group of scientific researchers that comprise the Board of Environmental Protection who can identify chemicals of high concern.
As a woman aspiring to have a family some day, it is my hope that more of our elected officials will hear this cry and take it seriously. State legislators on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee have already shown that they are listening to Maine people who want more transparency and safer options when it comes to their kids’ products. I would like to thank them for that, and urge Senators Snowe and Collins to do the same.
At this point, native Mainers know too many friends and family that have battled cancer and other health issues to stand by silently. We have been kept in the dark about possible side effects of chemicals found in our everyday products for too long. This year, amidst all the partisan politics in Augusta, our lawmakers have managed to come together to protect and strengthen a law, the Kid Safe Products Act, that would protect us from exposure to toxic chemicals. Now I hope that our U.S. senators continue to move this work forward by considering the collective experiences of Mainers like me when casting their votes.
Claire Thompson
Bangor, Maine