Toxics & Public Health News

The number of recalls of toys and children’s products is up 22% over the first half of last year, despite industry promises last year to solve the problems that made 2007 the “year of the recall,” according to an analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission data by the nation’s leading consumer groups. The groups urged Congress to complete a “strong CPSC Reform Act” before the August recess.

CHICAGO—Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined Illinois in a twelve-state lawsuit today challenging a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that limits public access to information about toxic chemical releases. The rule, finalized in December 2006, allows industries to withhold information on the quantities and locations of toxic chemical releases previously reported to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).