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Dear Chairman Nichols,

As a consumer, a father and a grandfather as well as a  concerned
citizen, I urge the California Air Resources Board to strengthen
and adopt the 2010 Consumer Products Regulation Amendments. This
would reduce the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in
products such as multipurpose cleaning products, metal polishers,
insecticides and window cleaners.

VOCs are toxic, smog-forming emissions that harm our health and
contaminate our air. Everyone is vulnerable to the effects of these
chemicals, which are emitted by products often used where we work
and live, as well as where our children study and play.  

•Many children in our communities suffer from asthma, and the
chemicals emitted by cleaning products at school only increase
their chances of an attack or of developing asthma in the future. 


•A recent study by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine found that 12 percent of work-related asthma cases are
linked to the use of cleaning products. 

•According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, teachers and janitors have the highest asthma rates in the
working population.

I encourage you to strongly regulate and reduce the harmful
chemicals in consumer products. In doing so, we can set an
important precedent in protecting the health of families and
workers—not only in our state, but nationwide as well. 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Clayton C. Barbeau,  M.A., MFT