Quote from State Senator Jamie Eldridge: “The Safer Alternatives Bill will not only protect millions in Massachusetts from exposure to toxic chemicals, it will do so in a way that supports economic growth and can save the Commonwealth more than $100 million dollars a year. This report adds to the ever-growing body of evidence regarding the link between many common, chronic diseases and exposure to chemicals found in many household products.  This is an incredibly important bill, and I’m proud to support it.”  Click "Read more:" below for the full story.

New report demonstrates reductions in toxic chemical exposure could save MA over $104 million in annual medical costs

New toxics laws would make Americans healthier, wealthier

Boston—Evidence is strong and growing that chemical exposures contribute significantly to the rise in many chronic diseases, according to a new report synthesizing peer-reviewed science released today. The report released by the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow and the Safe Chemicals Healthy Families Campaign finds that Americans would be healthier if exposure to toxic chemicals was reduced. As the U.S. debates the costs of health care and its reform and Massachusetts struggles to fund its public health care option, the report vividly illustrates the opportunity to prevent disease and reduce health care costs by overhauling state and federal chemical policy.

The Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act documents the enormous health care costs of treating cancer, learning and developmental disabilities, asthma and other diseases and conditions linked to chemical exposure, according to recent studies. The report shows that if a new health-based legislative framework to safely regulate chemicals yields even a .1 percent decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases—a very conservative estimate—annual U.S. health care costs would be reduced by $5 billion, and Massachusetts by over $100 million, annually.

In Massachusetts, An act for a competitive economy through safer alternatives to toxic chemicals (H-757 & S-442, commonly known as the Safer Alternatives Bill) would address this problem by creating a program to systematically replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives when such alternatives are available and feasible. The bill is sponsored by Representative Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington) and Senator Steven Tolman (D-Brighton) and is before the legislature’s Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

“We need the Safer Alternatives Bill because too many people in the commonwealth are suffering from illness unnecessarily,” said Kaufman.  “The state really needs that $104 million for other purposes besides spending it on preventable health care costs,” he added.  Kaufman is Chairman of the House Committee on Revenue.

“It’s undeniable that chemicals are contributing to the alarming increases we are seeing in childhood leukemia, learning disabilities, reproductive disorders and other health problems,” said Cindy Luppi, New England Co-Director for Clean Water Action.  “But the U.S. laws that are supposed to be protecting us are unable to respond when the science warns us that a chemical may be harming our health. We need to, and we can, do better.”

The report summarizes a number of peer-reviewed studies that estimate the disease burden attributable to chemical exposure, including several by Massachusetts researches. These estimates vary widely, from five percent of childhood cancer to 30 percent of childhood asthma.

The report shows that if a new health-based legislative framework to ensure the safety of chemicals yields even a 0.1 percent decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases—a very conservative estimate based on those made by the European Commission to calculate the savings that chemical policy reform could have in Europe—direct expenditures on health care would be reduced by $5 billion per year in the U.S. and over $104 million in Massachusetts. This dollar figure is based on expected health care costs in 2020, and assumes full implementation of the new legislation by that year. These figures do not include costs from lost income, lost school days, special education or the myriad of other costs associated with such illnesses.

“We have long known that prevention pays,” says Molly Jacobs, Project Manager at the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production and co-author of the paper on environmental causes of cancer that is featured in the report.  “It is a simple equation: take away the chemical exposures in our workplaces, communities and consumer products that contribute to illness and disease rates decline along with associated health care costs.”

“Massachusetts’ system for regulating consumer products is broken, and, as a result, citizens become sick every day,” said Tolman. “Passing the Safer Alternatives Bill would be a bold first step toward protecting people from exposure to toxic chemicals. It is time for Massachusetts to act in order to protect itself from the dangers that toxic chemicals pose.”

The primary federal law governing chemical safety is the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which has never been significantly amended since its adoption in 1976.  EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has identified comprehensive reform of the toxics law as a key Obama Administration priority, stating that the law fails to provide EPA with the authority it needs to ensure chemicals are safe. Of the 80,000 chemicals available for use in the U.S., EPA has been able to require safety testing of only 200. New legislation to bring the toxics law into the 21st century will be introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) in early 2010.

The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow is a coalition of over 160 organizations in Massachusetts working for laws and policies to prevent harm to our health from toxic chemicals. Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition is made up of groups across the nation united by their common concern about toxic chemicals in our homes, places of work, and products we use every day.

The Report can be found at www.healthytomorrow.org

Melissa Threadgill
Communications Director
Office of Senator Jamie Eldridge

617 570-6500 x1126 (office - direct line)
617-722-1120 (office - main line)
617-435-8386 (cell)

State House Room 213-A

Melissa.Threadgill@state.ma.us

Visit our website: www.SenatorEldridge.com and sign up to receive email updates, or visit

Jamie's blog: The Dridge Report: http://www.SenatorEldridge.com/category/the-dridge-report

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