U.S. state wages fight against toxic chemicals

By Mercedes Grandin

AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) - Hannah Pingree was so alarmed when she learned she had dangerously high levels of mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals in her body that she took her case to the Maine state legislature and challenged chemical makers.

As the majority leader of Maine's House of Representatives, she sponsored legislation that gave the state the authority to broadly identify and investigate "chemicals of high concern" in consumer products, particularly those that may reach children.

The bill, signed into law in April, makes Maine the first U.S. state with such authority and could serve as a model for other U.S. states trying to fill a regulatory void left by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Just five chemicals out of 82,000 known to be hazardous to human health, for instance, have been banned by the EPA since 1976, the most recent being asbestos in 1989.

Maine's law coincides with mounting concerns in the United States over chemicals found in everyday products, from cars to clothes, and follows similar European Union laws.

The EU in 1999 banned phthalates -- chemicals used to make plastic more flexible -- and last year implemented a law known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) that requires businesses to prove substances in everyday products are safe and submit data about them.

Maine's bill echoes the EU approach. It requires makers of toxic chemicals to notify state authorities of the quantity and purpose of the chemicals and work to develop safer alternatives.

Experts are watching to see if Maine's law will lead to tougher measures nationwide, while an organization representing chemical manufacturers expressed concern that layers of new state-by-state regulations could hurt the industry.

Under the law, Maine will test chemicals and issue a "certificate of non-compliance" to manufacturers stating their chemicals do not meet state laws. The state can notify retailers the product contains toxic chemicals and legislation can be approved to ban its sale.

Pingree, 31, was one of 13 people tested in a study sponsored by an environmental group. All 13 had potentially toxic chemicals in their bodies.

"I just got married last summer and am interested in having kids in the next few years, and those chemicals could have a dangerous impact on me and my ability to bear children," she said.

Although it's unclear how the chemicals entered the bodies of the people tested, mercury, arsenic and phthalates are common in many consumer products.

"Maine is sending a clear message to the federal government that where they have failed, states will act," said Pingree, a Democrat.

CHEMICALS FOUND IN BIRDS

Environmentalists in Maine say there is growing evidence that harmful toxic chemicals are working their way into the state's ecosystem. A study, conducted by biologist Wing Goodale at the BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham, Maine, revealed the presence of more than 100 man-made chemicals in 23 species of bird eggs from across the state.