Our nation's toxic chemical policy: Time for a little sanity

Op-Ed as published in the Danbury News Times on Sunday, 14 March

I grew up in Danbury, famous for its thriving hat-making industry and notorious for its "Mad Hatters." As anyone growing up in Danbury knows, the hat factories used mercury nitrate to make felt hats, and as a result many workers suffered from mercury poisoning.

Their symptoms included uncontrollable muscular tremors and twitching limbs, distorted vision, and confused speech.

I always thought it was bizarre that people "back then" would allow such a dangerous substance to be used. I thought the workers were crazy to expose themselves to it.

I didn't understand why people would even buy these hats, knowing that dangerous chemicals were used in their production. What a good thing, I thought, that humankind has come so far.

Or so I thought.

Years later, as a pregnant mom-to-be, I was anxious to provide the safest possible environment for my child. I assumed this would be a fairly straightforward task -- I took recommendations from friends, conducted Internet research, checked labels -- the basics.

I soon learned there was nothing straightforward or basic about it.

BPA in bottles. Phthalates in teethers. Parabens in baby lotions. Hormones in meat. Lead in toys. Questionable plastics in, well, just about everything. And nothing labeled clearly enough to help me make a good decision.

It seemed impossible that these potentially harmful items were being sold to the unknowing public and no one was doing anything about it. I was truly shocked. I still am.

It isn't just our children we need to protect.

Everyone knows someone afflicted with one of the many, many conditions that can be linked to exposure to toxic chemicals -- from cancer and autoimmune disease to allergies and asthma.

In addition to the terror of pediatric cancer and the threat of early puberty, I am spurred on by my family's propensity to autoimmune diseases, ranging from diabetes and allergies to rheumatic conditions.

I'm convinced that controllable factors in our environment greatly increase our risk of these diseases. I don't want my children -- any children -- to experience any of these pains firsthand.

It's like the story of Danbury's poor "Mad Hatters" all over again, but on a grand scale.

So how do we move on to a new era of safer, saner chemicals? It's not as simple as shopping smarter -- or turning down job offers at the hat factory.

Today, we encounter many more toxic chemicals than the "Mad Hatters" did -- chemical production has increased twenty-fold since World War II, which means chemicals are in our air, water, food and everyday household items.

The law intended to protect us from toxic chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), is woefully out of date.

Under TSCA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required testing on only approximately 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals that have been on the market since the law passed in 1976.

Clearly, TSCA is not keeping our families safe. Wouldn't it be great if, in years to come, we could refer back to this insane period of uncontrolled toxic chemical exposure as a sinister story and cautionary tale?

Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, and his colleagues in Congress are doing their best to fix our broken chemical management system -- they are expected to introduce a bill to reform TSCA in the next few months.

Passage of the bill would put common sense limits on toxic chemicals, and issue in a sane new era of chemical safety.

I sincerely hope that my hometown community will work together to support these critically needed reforms.

Navigating the grocery store - Part Two (of trillions)

Around and around I go on food issues – not unusual.  I am MOST concerned about pesticides, hormones and chemicals in the packaging of food.  I also vacillate over my distrust of dairy vs. my kids’ need for calcium, my own preference for vegetarianism vs. they ‘right’ amount of safe protein for their little bodies, etc.  It is never-ending.

For now, this is a list of some things that I am comfortable buying weekly.  As I learn more, this list is subject to change! 

·         Barilla Plus pasta – I actually cannot find this at Whole Foods!  The kids love it, and I love the significant amounts of protein, fiber and ALA omega-3 fatty acids.

·         Organic pasta sauce (as long as it is in a glass jar)

·         Earth’s Best baked chicken nuggets with whole grain breading

·         Nathan’s Alpha-Tots baked French Fries

·         Alexia Sweet Potato French Fries

·         Organic ketchup (I’m on the hunt for a brand in glass)

·         365 Brand Four Cheese Pizza

·         Van’s waffles – usually the wheat-free flax or buckwheat.  This started off as a ‘mommy food’ but Anna loves them!  I noticed that they voluntarily recalled some wheat-free pancakes that actually DID contain gluten – I didn’t love seeing that, but I am sticking by this brand.

·         Organic milk – we alternate between 1% and 2% for our 2 and ½ year olds.

·         Greek yogurt

·         Organic lettuce

·         Hormone-free cheese, turkey from the deli – all of Whole Foods’ deli items are hormone-free (or so I have been told repeatedly – and I double-check, repeatedly).  The cheese is cheaper than packaged ‘singles’, plus you avoid the additional plastic wrapper.

·         Hormone-free, free-range, grass-fed, antibiotic-free (whew!) chicken and meats.  I prefer to buy meat at Whole Foods – most (all?) of their meat meets my hormone-free requirement, and there is a high turnover so it is always fresh. 

·         Fresh veggies + 365 Brand frozen (no cans).

·         Thin rice cakes – they are more like crackers and a big hit here.

·         Hummus!  The girls love it. 

·         Earth’s Best Apple cereal bars – ok, this isn’t exactly at the top of the ANDI index, but they love them and they are less preservative-laced than the competitors.

So, see?  I am not that ambitious really.  A lot of these are convenient, quickie foods.  I know that I’d save the most money and probably get the highest health benefit if I concentrated on trying to make everything from scratch – but I’m still learning to cook things that are both kid- and husband-friendly.  Cooking at all is an event – kids running around in circles, begging to stir, while I yell ‘Hot! No touch!’ over and over...  This is still a work in progress.

All of this said, although I try to stick to certain guidelines the majority of the time, I don’t (try not to) freak out when we veer off course.  When we order pizza from a local restaurant, I know it is not hormone-free cheese, not organic sauce, not whole grain crust etc – since we do it rarely, that is ok.  When we go out to eat it is hard to find ANYTHING that appeals to my kids apart from fries – and since that is a rare event, that is ok too.  So although I try to be strict in the grocery store, I am also trying to find balance in everything we do. 

The area that concerns me most is the chemicals that we are all exposed to in just about everything we touch.  I can get pretty close to BPA-free grocery shopping – until I’m handed the BPA-filled receipt.  So no matter how hard we as consumers try to do the right thing, we need and DESERVE help from the organizations who are supposed to protect our health!  

Navigating the grocery store - Part One

A very good friend and fellow trying-to-figure-it-out mom asked me to post my grocery shopping list. She is assuming I’ve already figured it out, which is a big assumption. I am definitely still working on that. There are a lot of factors that influence that list.

I am very lucky to have a Whole Foods close to home – that has made my job much, much easier. Yes, I know they have a reputation for being expensive (“Whole Paycheck” yeah, yeah...) but it doesn’t have to be the case. When I was single I could easily spend my current monthly budget in one trip, just buying specialty items and gourmet foods. I no longer have a gourmet budget, but I’ve found ways to make it work and still buy the foods I want my family to eat.

This didn’t happen right away – there were a few ‘Honey, let’s talk about the grocery budget’ conversations as I learned how to get the best quality and the most quantity for the least amount of money. (Thanks for hanging in there, DH!) I’ve also had a lot of luck with my ‘regular’ grocery stores, Giant and Safeway, who have also introduced organic lines. But when shopping with 2 2-year-olds, it is all about making it simple – and I simply have the easiest time at my local Whole Foods.

Regardless of the store, these are just a few of the main things I focus on.  I'm sure I am leaving out important points here, but that is the beauty of online communication - I'll add later!

• Hormone-free meats and dairy. I know that there are a lot of things to consider when buying meat (grass-fed, free-roaming, antibiotic-free, etc), but with 2 little girls I am especially strict about hormones in food. Added hormones have been linked to early onset puberty and breast cancer. http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/hormoncancer.cfm.
• Organic juice in glass containers (not plastic). Sippy cups at our house are only about 10% juice (90% water) but even in small amounts, I like to keep it as safe as possible.
• Fresh or frozen organic vegetables. I used to use canned veggies, but then we learned more about the concentration of BPA in most cans. The only canned veggie brand I know of that does not have BPA is Eden Foods.
• Whole grains, high fiber breads, crackers, cereals, etc.
• Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) foods. I just learned about ANDI and I think it is a useful frame of reference. Developed by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, foods are given a score from 1-1000 – the higher the score, the more nutritious the food. Who knew we’d end up liking bok choy so much?! You can find much more information about this through Dr. Fuhrman’s book and his website and you can see an abbreviated chart via Whole Foods’ site.
• Items that are cost-effective. Whole Foods 365 Brand helps a lot. At Giant (also Stop and Shop in the Northeast) I like Nature’s Promise.
• Things my kids will actually EAT! It doesn’t make sense to buy a dozen healthy foods that they will simply not touch, so while I do introduce new foods continually, I also try to be realistic (hence the healthy forms of french fries on my weekly list!).
• Foods that are convenient. Two 2-year-olds – enough said.

Then I reach the point where I drive myself crazy. Even the most ‘healthy’ foods are of concern because of the chemicals in the materials used to package them. I mentioned BPA in cans, but there are so many other toxins lurking in our groceries! I switched to frozen veggies to avoid BPA, but what about the plastic bags the veggies come in? My organic, hormone-free, whole grain pizzas, nuggets, fries, etc are all encased in plastic. Are the plastic yogurt containers ok? I know that one of the answers is to avoid the packaged foods, but shouldn’t there be a way to make the delivery of these foods safe? In the meantime, what are the best choices? And what can we do about it?

I still don’t know all of the answers, but I’ve found a number of organizations focused on change so I am trying to divert my energy in that direction. I am a huge fan of “Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families”. They are working to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and achieve a “sound and comprehensive chemicals policy that protects public health and the environment, while restoring the luster of safety to U.S. goods in the world market.” This simply has to happen! If you support this, even a little, please go to their site and take a look.

There are other efforts, and frankly I am confused by the amount of pending legislation under various names. I’ll tackle that, plus post a list of actual foods and brands this week – I have officially used all of my ‘me time’ and the troops need attention.

Bottles, bottles, bottles

By now I think we are all aware that plastic bottles are generally unsafe. I try to avoid buying any liquid unless it is in a glass bottle (of course, then there is BPA in the lid, sigh...). Today I saw that there is yet another new study from the Journal of Environmental Monitoring to reinforce that habit.

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen detected high levels of antimony in some commercial juices. Testing was done on various juices packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, glass bottles and Tetra Pak cartons. Antimony concentrations up to a factor of 2.7 above the EU limit for drinking water were found and may have leached from the packaging or may have been introduced during manufacturing process. The chemical of concern in this situation, antimony trioxide (a suspected carcinogen) is used as a catalyst in PET production.

You can read more here: http://thesoftlandingbaby.com/2010/02/19/antimony-found-in-fruit-juices-bottled-in-pet-plastic/
The danger of antimony is described as follows: "Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic. Clinically, antimony poisoning is very similar to arsenic poisoning. In small doses, antimony causes headache, dizziness, and depression. Larger doses cause violent and frequent vomiting, and will lead to death in a few days." The article goes on to say that, "More recent research suggests that antimony may have endocrine-disrupting effects at concentrations lower than the limits noted above; if so, then leaching of antimony from PET containers may have a significant impact on human health." [Sax, Leonard (2009). "Polyethylene terephthalate may yield endocrine disruptors" (free access). Environmental Health Perspectives.]

Antinomy compounds are used in such applications as flame-retardants - exactly the kind of thing you do NOT want to pour into your child's sippy cup. So, we'll stick to glass.

So - where to start? How about the bathtub...

BPA, phthalates, pesticides… Books, blogs, articles… Petitions, fundraisers, legislation… I get so overwhelmed by it all that sometimes I just turn off and move on to something else (exciting things like folding laundry or scrubbing floors/faces).

I have a constant to do list running in my head – find non-toxic paints, figure out the pending legislation on all chemical safety activity, get a lead detector kit for questionable items and old toys, organize a local event where other concerned parents can use XRF scanners to test items for safety… Sometimes it seems insurmountable.

So at least for today I’ll plunge in and start with an easy one. Bath tub safety. I need something to cover the faucet that will protect little heads from injury without adding chemicals to the water. I had one, but instead of phthalates, it added mold – it was impossible to clean. So, I asked one of my online favorite stores, The Soft Landing (www.thesoftlanding.com), for advice and within minutes I had an answer and placed an order. They recommended the Boon Flo (http://www.booninc.com/products/Flo/601) - I'll let you know how it works!

If you haven’t tried The Soft Landing yet, check them out. They evaluate products for exactly the issues that worry me, so I feel safe when I buy from them. They are a pleasure to interact with too – always a plus! I came across The Softer Landing when I was trying to figure out sippy cups on another fantastic site, SafeMama (www.safemama.com). Safe Mama keeps cheat sheets online – that takes the mystery out of the process. Shopping with kids is tricky enough as it is. I print and carry them when I am shopping for anything kid-related.

I didn’t exactly solve our nation’s chemical safety problems today, but one baby step (well, 2 preschooler steps) at a time.

The MollyAnna Approach

Remember Pollyanna? The ever-optimistic dreamer who always knew that things were going to work out? When it comes to chemical and consumer safety, I’ve reached a mindset that I am calling ‘MollyAnna’. I am discouraged, frustrated and even a bit cynical these days, but I have to believe that there is something I can do to make a difference when it comes to the health and well-being not only of my own family, but of all of the consumers in the US who should be able to buy products without wondering about their lethal side-effects.

I’m not talking about medications or heavy machinery. I worry about lotions, food, toys, clothing, packaging… You name it – there are untested chemicals in just about everything we touch. Some chemicals – such as BPA, PVC and phthalates – have been tested and are clearly dangerous toxins but they are still sold as innocuous and seemingly safe items by companies we have grown to trust. How can we even know where to start? And since most of the chemicals in our environment have not even been tested, what really IS safe?

I’m not a scientist, chemist or a doctor. I’m not a politico, an extremist or a lobbyist. I’m a mom. I have big worries and a small budget. I have great ideas and next-to-no free time. I have a million questions and only a few answers – and even those answers are suspect at times. I feel like I am going around in smaller and smaller circles. I’ll research an issue, reach a decision and then hear a new piece of research that makes me question everything at which point I start all over again. And with two 2-year-olds (yep, Molly and Anna) I really don’t have the time to waste.

By no means do I have the answers here, but I thought it might be of value to document my efforts to navigate this minefield. In the process I’ll be asking for tons of help from people who ARE experts – and I’ll share that info here. I’ll also share info about some of the great strides certain organizations are making in this effort – and the fantastic websites that help by evaluating and selling safe products. There are probably a few million different ways to juggle all of this, but this is my approach. The MollyAnna approach.