Total Recall: The Need For CPSC Reform Now July 2008 Page 6 Section 3: Ban Toxic Phthalate Chemicals From Children’s Products. For the first time, Congress is considering banning certain kinds of chemicals, called phthalates, from children’s toys and some other products. The Senate version of the bill includes a ban on six phthalates similar to the ban that is currently in effect in the States of California and Washington and the European Union. Infants are typically exposed to phthalates through toys, teethers, and health care products. Research on infant boys indicates that exposure to phthalates can result in undescended testicles, which in turn increases the risk of cancer of the testicles when those babies are teenagers and young adults. Research on men shows that phthalates can cause damage to sperm. These study results are consistent with research on animals that report smaller penises and other genital changes in males exposed to phthalates. The most common phthalate in plastic toys and pacifiers is DINP, which children ingest when they suck and chew on pacifiers and toys containing phthalates. Phthalates from toys and products may also leach into bath water and be absorbed through the skin, and may be inhaled by children and adults in the form of tiny particles in the air in their homes, daycare centers, and schools. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported nine phthalate metabolites in most American men, women, and children. Congress should ban phthalates in children's products and toys as part of the CPSC Reform Act. Safer alternatives to phthalates, such as polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate and DINCH, are available and are used in Europe today. Banning these six phthalates from children’s toys and products that children are likely to suck and chew will help prevent harm to boys throughout the United States. Reducing exposure to phthalates could reduce the chances of boys having smaller genitals and reduce the likelihood of developing cancer of the testicles as teenagers and adults. Section 4: Do Not Deny States The Power To Protect Their Residents State governments often play a valuable role in identifying emerging hazards and moving to remove them from the marketplace. Further, it is the job of each state Attorney General to enforce that state’s consumer protection laws and prosecute violators. Throughout the year-long battle for CPSC reform, industry lobbyists have repeatedly attempted to limit state authority to pass stronger laws and also tie the hands of state Attorneys General by limiting their ability to enforce consumer protection laws. Although the conferees have granted state attorneys general modest authority to enforce the federal product safety laws, industry continues to seek to narrow states’ authority to protect their residents. The latest threat has