Actress Beals joins campaign for tougher chemical regs

The late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) in May renewed the push to update the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. The Senate bill has picked up bipartisan support and won praise from both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the chemical industry.

{mosads}But some public health and consumer groups have criticized the bill, saying it lacks clear deadlines and ignores vulnerable populations.
 
Beals, best known for her role in the 1983 movie “Flashdance” and the series “The L Word,” is scheduled to join a “stroller brigade” of mothers, cancer survivors public health workers and advocates at an event next week to demand more stringent restrictions.

The activists contend the legislation should do more to protect pregnant women, children and vulnerable communities. They say it should also contain provisions to address the most toxic chemicals and allow states to pass their own chemical safety laws.

The event, slated for next Tuesday, will feature a “show and tell” of harmful products.