[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4030 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4030

   To prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution in commerce of 
   certain children's products and child care articles that contain 
                              phthalates.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 31, 2007

  Ms. Hooley (for herself, Ms. Solis, and Mr. Markey) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution in commerce of 
   certain children's products and child care articles that contain 
                              phthalates.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Chemical Risk Reduction 
Act''.

SEC. 2. BAN ON CERTAIN PRODUCTS CONTAINING PHTHALATES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) phthalates are a class of chemicals used in polyvinyl 
        chloride (PVC) plastic to improve flexibility and in cosmetics 
        to bind fragrance to the product and are used in many products 
        intended for use by young children, including teethers, toys, 
        and soft plastic books;
            (2) there is extensive scientific literature reporting the 
        hormone-disrupting effects of phthalates and substantial 
        evidence of phthalates found in humans at levels associated 
        with adverse effects.
    (b) Banned Hazardous Substance.--Effective January 1, 2009, any 
children's product or child care article that contains a phthalate 
shall be treated as a banned hazardous substance under the Federal 
Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) and the prohibitions 
contained in section 4 of such Act shall apply to such product article.
    (c) Prohibition on Use of Certain Alternatives to Phthalates in 
Children's Toys and Child-Care Products.--
            (1) In general.--If a manufacturer modifies a children's 
        product or child care article that contains a phthalate to 
        comply with the ban under subsection (b), such manufacturer 
        shall--
                    (A) use an alternative to phthalates that is the 
                least toxic; and
                    (B) not use any of the prohibited alternatives to 
                phthalates described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Prohibited alternatives to phthalates.--The prohibited 
        alternatives to phthalates described in this paragraph are the 
        following:
                    (A) Carcinogens rated by the Environmental 
                Protection Agency as Group A, Group B, or Group C 
                carcinogens.
                    (B) Substances described in the List of Chemicals 
                Evaluated for Carcinogenic Potential of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency as follows:
                            (i) Known to be human carcinogens.
                            (ii) Likely to be human carcinogens.
                            (iii) Suggestive of being human 
                        carcinogens.
                    (C) Reproductive toxicants identified by the 
                Environmental Protection Agency that cause any of the 
                following:
                            (i) Birth defects.
                            (ii) Reproductive harm.
                            (iii) Developmental harm.
    (d) Definitions.--As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``children's product'' means a toy or any 
        other product designed or intended by the manufacturer for use 
        by a child;
            (2) the term ``child care article'' means any product 
        designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep, 
        relaxation, or the feeding of children, or to help children 
        with sucking or teething; and
            (3) the term ``children's product or child care article 
        that contains a phthalate'' means--
                    (A) a children's product or a child care article 
                any part of which contains any combination of di-(2-
                ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), 
                or benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) in concentrations 
                exceeding 0.1 percent; and
                    (B) a children's product or a child care article 
                intended for use by a child less than 3 years of age 
                that--
                            (i) can be placed in a child's mouth; and
                            (ii)(I) contains any combination of 
                        diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl 
                        phthalate (DIDP), or di-n-octyl phthalate 
                        (DnOP), in concentrations exceeding 0.1 
                        percent; or
                            (II) contains any combination of di-(2-
                        ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate 
                        (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), diisononyl 
                        phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), 
                        or di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP), in 
                        concentrations exceeding 0.1 percent.
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