How the Discovery of Accidental Childhood Poisoning Contributed to the Development of Environmentalism in the United States

Burnham, John C.

doi:10.2307/3984912

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 29 publications

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“…Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and the US Children's Bureau also lent their support. 73 In 1953, the committee conducted a survey of 3000 American Academy of Pediatrics members and found that poisonings constituted 49% of the accidents treated by these physicians. 74 Other studies found that inflammable liquids-those targeted by Henderson's failed 1932 bill-formed a significant proportion of the chemicals being ingested by children (Figure 2).…”

Section: Volatile Voluntarism In the 1930smentioning

confidence: 99%

Poison Politics: A Contentious History of Consumer Protection Against Dangerous Household Chemicals in the United States

Jones

Benrubi²

2013

Am J Public Health

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The history of consumer protection against household poisons presents a key case study of the uniquely American struggle to balance public health and safety with the interests of business. By the late 19th century, package designs, warning labels, and state statutes had formed an uneven patchwork of protective mechanisms against accidental poisonings. As household chemicals proliferated in the early 20th century, physicians concerned with childhood poisonings pressured the federal government to enact legislation mandating warning labels on packaging for these substances. Manufacturers of household chemicals agreed to labeling requirements for caustic poisons but resisted broader regulation. Accidental poisonings of children continued to increase until the enactment of broad labeling and packaging legislation in the 1960s and 1970s. This history suggests that voluntary agreements between government agencies and manufacturers are inadequate to protect consumers against household poisonings and that, in the United States, protective household chemical regulation proceeds in a reactive rather than a precautionary manner.

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Section: Volatile Voluntarism In the 1930smentioning

confidence: 99%