As a mother of two girls, I am deeply concerned by the lack of safety protections from toxic chemicals that end up in everyday consumer products and our homes. From BPA in sippy cups and baby food, phthalates in personal care products and flame retardants in furniture, unregulated and mostly untested chemicals are everywhere.

I read labels and search the Internet with the hope of educating myself, but chemical safety information is scarce. I am left feeling helpless and frustrated. The fact is that most parents and consumers are left in the dark when it comes to the safety of our products. Manufacturers don’t have to disclose their ingredients or even test them for safety before they are sold. It seems that we’re all just a part of one big human experiment. This is not what I want for my children.

This week, I am heading to Washington, D.C. with seven other Maine women to ask Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins to help achieve real chemical safety reform.

A bill before Congress, called the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, has the potential to fix this broken system, but not without some major changes. Our senators could play a role in passing a bill that would make sure our children and future generations are not left in some big science experiment.

Everyone deserves to be safe from toxic chemicals.

Megan Rice

Belgrade