On Mother’s Day, I think of my daughter, the mother of a 1-year-old son. She is a terrific mother due to her parenting knowledge, attitudes, skills and great love; but what impresses me so much is that she constantly tries to avoid unsafe chemicals in food packaging and household products.

This is not an easy task because unsafe chemicals are not often included in labels or product information. All children should have the right to safe products, and all parents should have the right to find easy-to-access information on household products to protect their children from harm. I am proud that Maine is in the forefront of this movement and has named 49 Chemicals of High Concern that are commonly found in everyday products and are proven to cause cancer, reproductive problems, learning disabilities, and other major health problems. But a list does nothing to protect our children.

Thankfully a bill sponsored by Sen. Seth Goodall will help ensure safer products for all Maine families. “An Act to Further Protect Pregnant Women and Children form Toxic Chemicals” will identify which products contain the worst toxic chemicals, prioritize new chemicals for action, and close a loophole that currently blocks the state from regulating BPA in food packaging for adults and kids over the age of 3.

Please join me in writing to your state representatives to support these important health protections. Wouldn’t safer products be a wonderful Mother’s Day gift to us all?

Deborah S. Zorach
Brunswick

Copy the Story Link