Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act of 2011

Floor Speech

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, for decades our sons and daughters have been exposed to a chemical stew in water, food, fragrances, personal care products, children's toys, and household items. Unfortunately we do not know if this chemical stew is safe for pregnant mothers, their unborn babies, young children, or for that matter, anyone else. That is why I'm pleased today, along with Mr. Maurice Hinchey, Mr. Gerry Connolly, Ms. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mr. George Miller, Ms. Laura Richardson, Mr. Raúl Grijalva, Ms. Jan Schakowsky, Ms. Nita Lowey, Mr. Bobby Rush, Mrs. Lois Capps, Mr. James McGovern, and Mr. David Price, to introduce the "Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act of 2011.'' This bill is of enormous importance because it will arm us all with the information that we need to keep our families safe from these potentially harmful chemicals.

There are numerous alarming studies showing increasing disease rates unheard of generations before. Asthma rates have nearly tripled in the past three decades. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported this year that one of every six American children has a developmental disorder such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and mental retardation. A recent study from Korea shows that 4 percent of children have autism spectrum disorder--that is one in every 25 children!

Just this week an extensive University of Michigan study confirmed the correlation of phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) to thyroid disruption. Thyroid hormones play a vital role in many human physiological processes including fetal and child growth and brain development, as well as energy balance, metabolism, and other functions in the nervous, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and reproductive systems of children and adults. The study confirmed previous reports associating phthalates and BPA with altered thyroid hormones.

Phthalates and BPA are high-production chemicals commonly used in plastics and other applications, including fragrances in perfumes, children's toys, and body-care products. Exposure to these chemicals among Americans is widespread, according to the CDC. Recent studies show a decline in brain development related to phthalates and BPA exposure. Chemically-induced altered thyroid function may also be involved in increased waist circumference, insulin resistance, and diabetes among adults.

Cancer, after accidents, is the leading cause of death among children in the United States. Primary brain cancer increased by nearly 40 percent and leukemia increased by over 60 percent among children 14 years and younger in the last 30 years. Childhood obesity has quadrupled in the past 10 years. Type-2 diabetes has increased drastically. There is an increase in sexual abnormalities, particularly in newborn boys. An analysis of the umbilical cords of a test group of newborns found over 200 chemicals in the blood--chemicals to which the mother had unwittingly transmitted to her fetus.

But these problems do not end with children. These chemically-induced changes linger into adulthood. Forty-one percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, and about 21 percent will die from that cancer. When we look at these trends, it becomes glaringly obvious that something in our environment is making us sick.

There is mounting evidence suggesting that these alarming public health trends are the result of chemicals in the environment that disrupt the endocrine system. Small amounts of these chemicals, or mixes of these chemicals, it has been shown, can have a huge impact on our health and ultimately American healthcare costs. As a result, health groups including the Endocrine Society, The Endocrine Exchange, and renowned scientific authorities like Dr. Fred S. vom Saal have all endorsed this bill.

The Endocrine Society, the world's oldest and largest professional organization devoted to endocrine research, found that "endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology.'' Based upon these findings they recommended that we increase "basic and clinical research.''

In addition to these troubling human diseases, we're also seeing chemically-induced changes in wildlife. In parts of the Potomac River, 100 percent of the studied male small mouth bass are intersex--meaning that they are carrying both male and female reproductive organs. We are eating these fish and we are drinking the water that they swim in. Because of this, Trout Unlimited, one of the largest fisheries conservation organizations in the country, also endorsed this bill. As I said years ago when intersex fish were first reported, this discovery should serve as our early warning telling us that something is gravely wrong.

Close to 14 years ago, Congress enacted legislation requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish an Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program. To date that endeavor has focused primarily on pesticides, to the exclusion of other chemicals. The agency has been hamstrung by its use of old science and interference by the chemical industry.

This bill will facilitate increased study and regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals. It will require that the government focus on the chemicals of most concern, to which people are exposed through drinking water, food, household items, toys, and personal care products. It will empower federal agencies with jurisdiction to consider a range of peer-reviewed scientific sources of information on toxicity, and to act quickly in regulating substances found harmful to human health.

Finally, for those chemicals that scientists overwhelmingly agree are the most hazardous, the bill will restrict them only to uses that ensure they cannot get into human bodies. Twenty-four months after scientists find that a chemical is an endocrine disruptor, that chemical will be banned unless the industry using that chemical can ensure that it will not enter our food, our water, or our bodies.

It is time to take action. It is time we increase research on these chemical impacts. And it is time for the most dangerous chemicals to be controlled. The Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act of 2011 will do just that.

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