Over the past several weeks, we have posted a number of articles about environmental toxins.  Due to the way the chemical industry is regulated in the United States, very few of the 60,000 or more chemicals on the market have ever been tested to determine their possible detrimental effects on human health and development.    Concern has been expressed that recent studies by the CDC and other federal agencies have documented the presence of numerous toxins in the blood of a broad cross section of Americans. 

Actions taken by the European Union is resulting in the establishment of some regulatory control over chemical testing and product safety in the United States.  Toxic Inaction: Why Poisonous, Unregulated Chemicals End Up In Our Blood by Mark Schapiro, recently published in Harpers, describes the effects of REACH - Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation Chemicals - in establishing global standards for the chemical industry.  Because of international trade of virtually 1,000s of products, REACH is igniting a revolution as to how chemicals are tested and  managed as well as impacting upon how production and trade decisions will now be made around the world. 

For an interesting website on toxins in infant and children’s care products and toys, click here.