For immediate release:
Thursday, April 15, 2010                                                                                

Contact:
Jenn Rogers 
202-530-4401             

Washington, D.C. – The Reproductive Health Technologies Project applauds Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representatives Waxman (D-CA) and Rush (D-IL) for introducing the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 today. The introduction of this legislation is a necessary first step towards protecting our families and our communities from harmful and untested chemicals found in our homes and workplaces.

“It’s shocking that the chemicals in our every day products are not tested for safety. Research has shown that these chemicals are harming the reproductive health and fertility of women, men and children. We deserve better—and this bill is a big step in the right direction,” said Jenn Rogers, Programs and Policy Director of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project. “This bill also presents a profound opportunity to protect the most vulnerable among us, from pregnant women and children to communities disproportionately affected by toxic chemicals.”

The Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 will provide long overdue reform of the 34-year-old federal law that regulates toxic chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This new legislation would give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stronger authority to test and regulate the 80,000 chemicals on the market today. Studies have linked exposure to many commonly used chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA), to a host of reproductive health problems including birth defects, early puberty in girls, sexual dysfunction, infertility, and breast cancer.

“This is an historic moment for environmental and reproductive health,” said Tracey Woodruff, Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California San Francisco and former EPA scientist. Woodruff continued, “It is critical we work to ensure that Congress pass legislation that adequately protects the health of our families by regulating the most dangerous reproductive toxins.”

Rogers added, “Reproductive health, rights and justice advocates look forward to working with the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Campaign and our champions in Congress to pass long-awaited and strong chemical reform. The time is now.”  

For more information about this legislation and how toxic chemicals impact reproductive health and fertility, go to the Reproductive Health Technologies Project’s press kit: http://www.rhtp.org/fertility/SafeChemicalsAct.asp

###

Jenn Rogers, Programs and Policy Director, RHTP and Tracey Woodruff, Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California San Francisco are available for interview upon request.