Listen to the podcast.

Banned Products in the U.S.

There are two ways of looking at things, when it comes to regulating potentially harmful chemicals: The precautionary principle (when in doubt, take it out) and its polar opposite (sell it until someone proves it’s harmful).

Because a growing number of countries, such as Japan and the entire European Union, follow the precautionary principle, companies that use toxic chemicals in the manufacture of common household goods are finding it tough to sell them abroad. But there’s one market that remains open to them – the United States.

In the U.S., government agencies rely on voluntary steps by industry to reduce the use of potentially harmful chemicals in consumer products. Rarely is a substance banned (they haven’t even tried since they failed to get rid of asbestos 18 years ago), nor does the U.S. require companies to disclose the use of potentially harmful toxicants by labeling.

The result? Plywood manufactured in China with high levels of formaldehyde is regularly used to remodel American kitchens, even though the same product is banned in the country where it’s made. Products that use lower amounts of formaldehyde are readily available and sold elsewhere in the world, while those with high levels are dumped in American markets.

The same is true of other consumer products, such as toys, nail polishes and beauty products that contain phthalates, banned in the European Union but legally sold here. Likewise, electronic items that contain lead are legally sold in the U.S., but can’t be sold in Europe.

Phthalates are considered reproductive toxicants and have been shown to interfere with development. Lead causes neurological damage to children, and formaldehyde gives off gas that may raise the risk of cancer.

Luckily, a few companies are using the same stringent standards in all of their products, regardless of where they are sold. For example, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Mattel, Revlon and Orly International have announced that they will follow EU standards, the most stringent in the world, for all of their markets.

For more information on this story, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org