Sounds Good: About Time
So - according to a news report Prime Minister Stephen Harper has unveiled a new programme - finally - for Canada to identify and crack down on toxic chemicals used in products that we normally take for granted without realizing the deleterious effects they can have on our health. Chemicals whose use is ubiquitous and secretive, which use does a direct physical harm to Canadians and a great disservice to the country in its attempts to serve a healthy population - and all in the name of free enterprise and the bottom line.
Now, according to this new plan the onus will ultimately be placed on industry to prove the chemicals it uses in the production of its line are safe and do not pose dangers to the end-user. Up until now the industry had expected government to check into the safety of the chemicals it uses, and to give it a green light to proceed. Unfortunately, government health-check and safety bodies don't have the time and the funds to engage in full searches of all the chemicals which come into use on an ongoing basis.
Which meant, of course, token assurance to the public that all is well and manufacturers went on their merry way producing all manner of goods and products from cosmetics to hygiene products, to plastics and containers and food wraps, many of which did and do pose a hazardous risk to the consuming public. While it isn't certain whether single exposures pose a risk, certainly long periods of accumulation in the human body does ring an alarm bell.
Now the government appears to be acting and it's about time. Fully 200 chemicals out of an industry arsenal of tens of thousands will be earmarked. Government will evaluate these chemicals over a three-year period by grouping substances for six-month consultation periods, and then decide the appropriate action to take. Let's hope that this will be an ongoing programme, since new chemicals come on the market at a steady and ongoing pace.
And here's hoping that the government crackdown will include the deleterious to-human-health chemicals that are commonly used by the lawn-grooming industry, so that pesticide use in private lawn care will no longer be an option whereby some selfish home owners anxious about the health of their greensward are permitted to endanger the health and well-being of their neighbours.
Three years seems a long time to wait, but considering the fact that we've been living in ignorance about the health effects of the many and varied chemicals sloshed into the ingredients list of common household cleaning products and other consumer goods for an awfully long time up to now, it's time and long overdue time.
There's a federal government investment of over $300 million over a four-year period on this plan. We'll get our money's worth if the harmful chemicals are isolated and banned.
Now, according to this new plan the onus will ultimately be placed on industry to prove the chemicals it uses in the production of its line are safe and do not pose dangers to the end-user. Up until now the industry had expected government to check into the safety of the chemicals it uses, and to give it a green light to proceed. Unfortunately, government health-check and safety bodies don't have the time and the funds to engage in full searches of all the chemicals which come into use on an ongoing basis.
Which meant, of course, token assurance to the public that all is well and manufacturers went on their merry way producing all manner of goods and products from cosmetics to hygiene products, to plastics and containers and food wraps, many of which did and do pose a hazardous risk to the consuming public. While it isn't certain whether single exposures pose a risk, certainly long periods of accumulation in the human body does ring an alarm bell.
Now the government appears to be acting and it's about time. Fully 200 chemicals out of an industry arsenal of tens of thousands will be earmarked. Government will evaluate these chemicals over a three-year period by grouping substances for six-month consultation periods, and then decide the appropriate action to take. Let's hope that this will be an ongoing programme, since new chemicals come on the market at a steady and ongoing pace.
And here's hoping that the government crackdown will include the deleterious to-human-health chemicals that are commonly used by the lawn-grooming industry, so that pesticide use in private lawn care will no longer be an option whereby some selfish home owners anxious about the health of their greensward are permitted to endanger the health and well-being of their neighbours.
Three years seems a long time to wait, but considering the fact that we've been living in ignorance about the health effects of the many and varied chemicals sloshed into the ingredients list of common household cleaning products and other consumer goods for an awfully long time up to now, it's time and long overdue time.
There's a federal government investment of over $300 million over a four-year period on this plan. We'll get our money's worth if the harmful chemicals are isolated and banned.
posted by Pieface @ 5:51 PM
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