Advocacy Project: Letter to Elected Official

December 6, 2011

Senator Amy Klobuchar

United States Senate

302 Hart Senate Office Building


Washington, DC 20510

VOTE YES ON S.847 SAFE CHEMICALS ACT OF 2011

The proposed Act to upgrade America's outdated system for managing chemical safety will have a very large impact on the health of United States citizens if passed.  As a health educator, I believe that passing this Act and enforcing the testing of all chemicals used in consumer products would decrease the number of diseases in America today. 

Currently, the rates of diseases like asthma, diabetes, cancers, infertility, and behavioral disorders keep going up due to chemical exposure.  This results in higher health bills and health care costs for Americans.  According to our current law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only been able to require safety testing for 200 of the over 80,000 chemicals being used today.  And worse yet, the EPA has banned or restricted only 5 chemicals. The Safe Chemicals Act would go a long way in providing safety from toxic chemicals by making sure they are monitored and not used if toxic in any way.  It would improve the safety of chemicals used in products that are consumed daily and would require having more public information about chemical safety.

Opponents of the Act have been saying that too many generalizations and conclusions are made about exposure to chemicals and diseases.  They argue that the Toxic Substance Control Act be modernized and that there be more access to chemical information in the workplace.  These arguments are somewhat valid, but the truth is that chemicals are affecting people in a negative way, and there is a lot of proof to back it up.  The current law is not being enforced.  By passing this Act, a more safe and friendly environment would be created that would benefit the health of every American.

We appreciate the efforts you have made in looking for a solution to this problem.  We hope you make the decision to vote “yes” on this passing this Act in order to protect the health of America.  If you would like any further information, please contact me at 123-456-7890 or healtheducator@safechemicalact.com.

Sincerely,