NCC Op-Ed: Not all Christmas toys bring joy

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

>Not all toys bring joy

Editor's Note. December 16, 2010. This op-ed by the National Council 
of Chu rches' Environmental Health Program Manager discusses the 
dangerous presenc e of untested chemicals in many holiday toys. It is 
available for your use  as you see fit.

>By Chloe Schwabe

The Christmas season is an opportunity to gather with family around 
the Chr istmas tree and to see the delight in a child's eyes when she 
receives a ne w gift. However, not all toys bring joy.

A few years ago, my sister, who was expecting her first child, 
received a b aby food processor for Christmas. After I did some 
sleuthing on the interne t I found out that it contained bisphenol-a 
(BPA), a chemical linked to ear ly puberty, cancer, heart disease, 
and other health concerns.

This example demonstrates how challenging it can be for average 
consumers t o know what is really in the products we purchase. Gift 
giving would be sim pler if the chemicals in the gifts were 
guaranteed safe in the first place.

Congress missed the opportunity to phase out BPA in baby bottles and 
sippy  cups in the Food Safety and Modernization Act this year. They 
instead chose  to do business as usual and not prioritize children's 
health. Unfortunatel y, banning BPA in baby bottles is just the tip 
of the iceberg in addressing  the bigger problem of unregulated 
chemicals in the products we use in our  homes, schools, and places 
of work and worship.

In 2010, many children's toys also continue to contain toxic 
chemicals such  as lead, phthalates, cadmium, and tin. While the toy 
industry has made som e improvements, no children's toy should 
contain chemicals linked to develo pmental disabilities, asthma, 
cancer, infertility, or early puberty in girl s.

Overall, there are more than 84,000 chemicals approved for use and 
only abo ut 2 percent have been tested for safety under the 34 
year-old Toxic Substa nces Control Act (TSCA).

Year after year, scientists are discovering more health conditions 
linked t o the chemicals in toys, electronics, and other products 
that are often giv en as presents during this time of year. Yet year 
after year, Congress dela ys repairing one piece of legislation that 
could go far in protecting child ren's health from unwanted chemicals 
under the Christmas tree.

California, New York, Washington, Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts, 
Connecti cut, Oregon, and other states and municipalities are acting 
to address the  failings of current federal chemical policy by 
passing legislation to phase  out dangerous chemicals, or by 
developing programs that identify and test  chemicals for safety to 
ensure children in their individual states are prot ected from toxic 
chemicals.

Without federal legislation, however, no child will be truly safe 
from toxi c chemicals this holiday season or any day of the year. 
Untested chemicals  are pervasive in toys, cleaning products, 
carpeting, high chairs, and other  products that children come into 
contact with everyday.

Furthermore, low-income children and children of color bear a 
disproportion ate burden of toxic chemicals because industrial 
facilities and toxic waste  sites are often located in these 
communities. Toys from the dollar stores  and second hand shops may 
also have toxic chemicals that have already been  phased out of other 
retail stores.

This season is an opportunity to reflect on what our commitment and 
correla ting action has been to protect public health, and children's 
health in par ticular, and the possibility to be better in the coming 
year. Is it really  morally acceptable to expose children to untested 
or known toxic chemicals,  even if just a little bit, everyday?

In the New Year, our legislators should seize this opportunity to 
ensure th at parents don't have to spend another Christmas wondering 
if the gift they  purchased is really safe. I hope Congress will 
grant my Christmas wish for  children across the nation and pass 
strong, protective chemical policy ref orm in 2011.

Schwabe is the National Council of Churches Environmental Health 
Program Ma nager                         

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of 
Christ  in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical 
cooperation among Chri stians in the United States. The NCC's 37 
member faith groups -- from a wid e spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, 
Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African  American and Living Peace 
churches -- include 45 million persons in more t han 100,000 local 
congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 
646-853-4212 ( cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org