LDA’s Healthy Children Project works hard to advocate for policies that will better protect your health. Here are some of our recent wins:
Nomination to CPSC Defeated: LDA and our state affiliates opposed the nomination of Nancy Beck to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Beck delayed protections on lead and stopped the ban on a brain-damaging pesticide. That’s why LDA organized a letter with state affiliates and partner organizations to the Senate committee and mobilized calls and emails into key legislative offices over the course of 6 months with partner organizations to keep the pressure on till her nomination.
Policy wins on PFAS: Michigan, New Hampshire and New York adopted PFAS water quality standards. CA mandated testing water for PFAS. VA created a PFAS task force to study contamination. New York banned incineration of PFAS foam. Check out Safer States’ summary of PFAS policies and bills.
Progress on amalgam: LDA submitted comments, presented at an in-person meeting with the FDA in DC in 2019, participated in calls with the agency, and submitted comments to the FDA. These actions, along with actions by partner groups, resulted in the FDA releasing new recommendations on amalgam, stating that pregnant and nursing mothers, women of childbearing age, children under 6, and people with neurological disorders should avoid these mercury dental fillings. A big win. “Even a small exposure of a neurotoxin at the wrong time of development can have a lifelong impact, especially for the fetus and young child”, said Tracy Gregoire, Healthy Children Project Director for LDA. “There are proven, safer alternatives to amalgam, so we should avoid preventable exposures to neurotoxins like mercury in amalgam. For these reasons, LDA is happy to see that the FDA lists pregnant and nursing women and children under 6 in the high-risk category and recommends that alternatives to amalgam are used.”
