Before my husband Doug, the father of our three sons, a high school guidance counselor and a college athlete was diagnosed at the age of 33 with Ewing’s sarcoma, I did not know that toxins with the potential to cause cancer and other illnesses are so prevalent in our lives that we are exposed to them daily without our knowledge or permission.
Before my son Drew was born with a urological birth defect that his surgeon said was caused by prenatal exposure to environmental estrogens, I did not know that hundreds of synthetic chemicals course through our bodies and through the blood mothers share with their unborn children.
Before my sister’s 33 year-old husband was diagnosed with stage 3 brain cancer, six months after the death of my husband, I did not know that, according to the President’s Cancer Panel, the chemical industry operates virtually unfettered by regulation or accountability for harm caused by its products.
Now I know.
I know that urological birth defects are on the rise in all species, including humans and especially boys. I’ve learned that chemicals that interfere with the body’s hormone messaging system can change the course of human development and cause a host of other health conditions ranging from the early onset of puberty to infertility to cancer.
Furthermore, I understand that while Ewing’s sarcoma is a rare disease with no known genetic link, and while no hereditary flaw predisposes my sons to their father’s cancer, I cannot protect them from the known and suspected carcinogens that are ubiquitous in American homes and communities.
I have learned that factors like lifestyle and genetics cannot account for all cancers, and that lifestyle factors cannot explain the steady increase in childhood cancers, a trend that continues despite the fact that, as author Sandra Steingraber notes, “young children do not smoke, drink alcohol or hold stressful jobs”. I have learned that genetics and lifestyle cannot fully explain why American daughters and sons assume a far greater risk than their parents do for developing cancer in their lifetimes, just as these factors cannot account for the rapid increase in cancers, like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that are associated with prolonged exposures to synthetic chemicals.
I know that the chemicals in our environment enter our bodies and that levels of chemicals like BPA, a suspected carcinogen and environmental estrogen, increase and decrease according to our exposures. I also know that chemicals like DDT persist in the blood of Americans, even those born years after their ban. Furthermore, I’m aware that while American industry promotes the safety of their products and demands irrefutable proof of any health risks associated with them, other countries are taking action. While our legislators weigh the cost benefit of reducing dangerous chemicals in our bodies, Europe has already set in place a system for protecting its citizens from chemicals of highest concern. In fact, the chemical industry is already producing two sets of products, the traditional versions for us and safer alternatives for Europe.
Now I know, and so I try to do better.
I scrutinize what my family eats. I research safe beauty products and cleaning supplies. I refuse to treat my lawn with pesticides. I buy low VOC paint, yet in the end, I am woefully unequipped to protect my family.
Due to proprietary laws, I do not have reliable safety information on the products that line store shelves nor can I know which chemicals are in any given product. Worse yet because of the utter failure of the Toxic Substances Control Act, I must rely on the chemical industry to protect my family from the hidden dangers in the more than 80,000 chemicals it manufactures and produces.
Without a federal mandate requiring chemical companies to submit information on the health risks of their products, without the help of the EPA in prioritizing chemicals based on risk and reducing those of highest concern, in the absence of effective federal laws, I cannot protect my family.
Now I know better but I cannot do better. Not on my own. Not without the help of my leaders in Washington. Not without the protection of laws like the Safe Chemicals Act.
Many of us are here today because we cannot unlearn what we have learned. We wish that we could forget about frightening illnesses and diagnoses. We wish that we could reverse devastating loss. We wish that we could unlearn life’s most painful lessons, but we cannot unhappen what has happened to us, and we no longer have the pleasure or freedom of not-knowing. The dangers posed by a chemical industry unfettered by regulation or accountability are real. Our children, our families, our loved ones, our bodies bear the marks.
So I ask our senators. How long must we wait for the protections enjoyed by other citizens throughout the world? How long must we subject our children to this grotesque national experiment while we weigh the cost benefit of reducing the chemicals in their bodies? Will you wait for our story to become your story before you take action? We are calling on you to protect our families. To protect your families. Now, you know better, and you must do better. Pass the Safe Chemicals Act.
Before my son Drew was born with a urological birth defect that his surgeon said was caused by prenatal exposure to environmental estrogens, I did not know that hundreds of synthetic chemicals course through our bodies and through the blood mothers share with their unborn children.
Before my sister’s 33 year-old husband was diagnosed with stage 3 brain cancer, six months after the death of my husband, I did not know that, according to the President’s Cancer Panel, the chemical industry operates virtually unfettered by regulation or accountability for harm caused by its products.
Now I know.
I know that urological birth defects are on the rise in all species, including humans and especially boys. I’ve learned that chemicals that interfere with the body’s hormone messaging system can change the course of human development and cause a host of other health conditions ranging from the early onset of puberty to infertility to cancer.
Furthermore, I understand that while Ewing’s sarcoma is a rare disease with no known genetic link, and while no hereditary flaw predisposes my sons to their father’s cancer, I cannot protect them from the known and suspected carcinogens that are ubiquitous in American homes and communities.
I have learned that factors like lifestyle and genetics cannot account for all cancers, and that lifestyle factors cannot explain the steady increase in childhood cancers, a trend that continues despite the fact that, as author Sandra Steingraber notes, “young children do not smoke, drink alcohol or hold stressful jobs”. I have learned that genetics and lifestyle cannot fully explain why American daughters and sons assume a far greater risk than their parents do for developing cancer in their lifetimes, just as these factors cannot account for the rapid increase in cancers, like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that are associated with prolonged exposures to synthetic chemicals.
I know that the chemicals in our environment enter our bodies and that levels of chemicals like BPA, a suspected carcinogen and environmental estrogen, increase and decrease according to our exposures. I also know that chemicals like DDT persist in the blood of Americans, even those born years after their ban. Furthermore, I’m aware that while American industry promotes the safety of their products and demands irrefutable proof of any health risks associated with them, other countries are taking action. While our legislators weigh the cost benefit of reducing dangerous chemicals in our bodies, Europe has already set in place a system for protecting its citizens from chemicals of highest concern. In fact, the chemical industry is already producing two sets of products, the traditional versions for us and safer alternatives for Europe.
Now I know, and so I try to do better.
I scrutinize what my family eats. I research safe beauty products and cleaning supplies. I refuse to treat my lawn with pesticides. I buy low VOC paint, yet in the end, I am woefully unequipped to protect my family.
Due to proprietary laws, I do not have reliable safety information on the products that line store shelves nor can I know which chemicals are in any given product. Worse yet because of the utter failure of the Toxic Substances Control Act, I must rely on the chemical industry to protect my family from the hidden dangers in the more than 80,000 chemicals it manufactures and produces.
Without a federal mandate requiring chemical companies to submit information on the health risks of their products, without the help of the EPA in prioritizing chemicals based on risk and reducing those of highest concern, in the absence of effective federal laws, I cannot protect my family.
Now I know better but I cannot do better. Not on my own. Not without the help of my leaders in Washington. Not without the protection of laws like the Safe Chemicals Act.
Many of us are here today because we cannot unlearn what we have learned. We wish that we could forget about frightening illnesses and diagnoses. We wish that we could reverse devastating loss. We wish that we could unlearn life’s most painful lessons, but we cannot unhappen what has happened to us, and we no longer have the pleasure or freedom of not-knowing. The dangers posed by a chemical industry unfettered by regulation or accountability are real. Our children, our families, our loved ones, our bodies bear the marks.
So I ask our senators. How long must we wait for the protections enjoyed by other citizens throughout the world? How long must we subject our children to this grotesque national experiment while we weigh the cost benefit of reducing the chemicals in their bodies? Will you wait for our story to become your story before you take action? We are calling on you to protect our families. To protect your families. Now, you know better, and you must do better. Pass the Safe Chemicals Act.
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