SAINT PAUL, MN – On the first day of session, Representative Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center) introduced HF 2717, the Toxic Free Kids Act. The bill requires that manufactures report if they are using one of nine chemicals in a children’s product that the Minnesota Department of Health has determined to be toxic and hazardous to children’s health.
“I am proud to author the Toxic Free Kids Act,” said Rep. Hilstrom. “This legislation gives parents, grandparents, and everyday Minnesotans the choice to find out if there is something harmful in the products that we give our children to use every day.”
The Toxic Free Kids Act does not regulate chemicals or products, it requires manufactures to disclose if one of the nine harmful chemicals is used in a children’s product. Below is a list of the nine chemicals and which health systems they can effect:
Bisphenol A – Development
Cadmium –Kidney and skeletal systems
Decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) – Disrupts nervous system
Formaldehyde - Cancer, eye irritant, respiratory system, skin
Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) - Development, thyroid
Lead - Development, nervous system, reproduction
Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) - Development, reproduction
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) - Development, reproduction
Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) - Development, reproduction
A full list of the priority chemicals with examples of which products they are commonly found in can be found here.
Rep. Hilstrom can be contacted by email at rep.debra.hilstrom@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-3709.
###