Toxic Chemicals
October 8, 2009
Toronto - There are perhaps as many as 100,000 synthetic chemicals in use today. The vast majority of these chemicals (95 percent) have never been tested on humans to determine whether they are safe or not. People have never heard of most of these toxic chemicals and yet they are found in every part of our home, and more disturbingly, they are found in almost every living thing on Earth, including us!
Ultimately governments are responsible for protecting public health from dangerous substances. In Canada, it is the responsibility of Health Canada and Environment Canada to provide this protection. Unfortunately, the current system has been set-up to fail. In the end, the corporations that manufacture the chemicals, or the products they contain, are the ones that do the so-called "risk assessments." In this process they identify potential problems associated with the chemicals they manufacture. Governments review these studies and unless there is a very obvious and easily proven problem, the chemicals are approved for use.
It has been nearly impossible to have a product or substance banned in Canada. Up until the recent Bisphenol A baby bottle ban, Canada has had some of the most lax chemical protection laws of any industrial nation. The result, thousands upon thousands of toxic chemicals are in the products we eat, wear, bathe in, sleep on, sit in, and lather on our bodies.
So where do we go from here? There is a global movement calling for changes in toxic chemical standards. Europe, Japan, the United States and Canada are all in various stages of reviewing the way in which chemicals are managed, largely due to the failure of the current systems which so strongly favour the interests of chemical companies at the expense of public health.
Happily, Canada is now one of the leaders in this group after more than a decade of stalling and inaction. We have made progress with children's toys and baby bottles, but governments now need to turn their attention to remaining major sources of toxic chemicals such as Bisphenol A in canned goods and phthalates in shampoos and soaps. Furthermore, with the explosive growth of anti-bacterial products (soaps, shaving gels, underarm deodorant, socks, underwear, you name it) it's time to curtail the use of triclosan - a chemical linked with thyroid problems - and one of the active ingredients in many of these products.
Governments, play a critical role in ensuring that the concerns of consumers are translated into an efficient and effective system for preventing chemicals from getting into our children’s toys and food containers in the first place. You can do your part by supporting organizations that are holding governments and corporations accountable for protecting public health.
Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie are the co-authors of Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health (Knopf Canada), and the Executive Director and President, respectively, of Environmental Defence.
