Legislative leaders unveiled a series of proposals Thursday for removing lead and other potential toxins from toys and household items in response to growing public concern about hidden dangers in consumer products.

Bolstered by last year’s successful ban of a controversial chemical flame retardant, lawmakers and representatives of environmental and health organizations said Thursday they plan to continue pushing for tighter state controls on lead and chemical additives in products.

Rep. Hannah Pingree, the House majority leader, said recent recalls of millions of lead-tainted toys heightened concern during the holiday shopping season about toy safety. But Pingree, D-North Haven, said lead is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential toxins.

To illustrate her point, Pingree held up a rubber duck and a baby bottle that she said contained either bisphenol-A or phthalates, two common chemical additives to plastics. Some health and environmental groups have been pushing to force manufacturers either to stop using or disclose the two additives because of concerns about their health effects, particularly on children.

Pingree is the lead sponsor on a bill, LD 2048, that would require manufacturers to disclose the use of certain high-concern chemicals in toys and children’s products and, whenever possible, replace those chemicals with safer alternatives.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection would designate, by January 2011, which chemicals would require disclosure. A listing would be based on “credible scientific evidence” of potential health impacts from “an authoritative governmental entity,” the bill’s text reads.

Pingree said the federal government is moving too slowly on the issue of toy safety. “We believe this is a place where the government must act and where the state must act,” Pingree said at an Augusta press conference.

The administration of Gov. John Baldacci is preparing a bill that deals with chemicals found in consumer products.

“Unfortunately, very little is known about the 80,000 chemicals that we are exposed to in our daily lives,” said Syd Sewall, an Augusta-area pediatrician and a member of the Maine chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

“Real change to protect our children and to protect our health will only come when these chemicals are being tested and carefully regulated,” Sewall said.

Other lawmakers have introduced bills to require universal testing for lead poisoning before a child can enter kindergarten as well as other lead-related bills.

Last year, Maine became the second state in the nation to phase out a controversial flame retardant known as deca which is commonly used in televisions, computers and other household electronics. The bill, which was fiercely contested by the brominated chemical industry, requires manufacturers to use safer alternatives.

Pingree and others predicted they would encounter stiff opposition to their current proposals as well.

But Michael Belliveau with the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine said about a dozen states, including Massachusetts, are considering legislation similar to LD 2048. Working together, Maine and other states can create a market shift that forces manufacturers to address concerns about potentially harmful chemicals in products, Belliveau said.

kmiller@bangordailynews.net

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