Toxic plastics and flame retardants are nasty for humans. We really need this particular environmental toxin out of the marketplace. Governor Pawlenty who is in the running for VP of the highest office in the country is just fine with both of them.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has vetoed the “safe toys bill,” which would have banned certain flame retardants and phthalates from sale in the state.

In his veto message, Pawlenty said that “the prohibitions in this bill are not based on established science.”

Phthalates (pronounced tha-lates) are considered a potential endocrine disruptor and are banned in the European Union until 2010, when the bans can be put up for review or renewal. — Mark Neuzil

DecaBDE is classified as a “possible human carcinogen” by the Environmental Protection Agency on the basis of evidence for cancer in animals. In 2004, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reported that “we don’t know if PBDEs can cause cancer in people, although liver tumors developed in rats and mice that ate extremely large amounts of decaBDE throughout their lifetime.”

Pawlenty declared in his veto letter that “the legislative mandate overreaches and goes beyond current scientific research.”

Tom Elko :: Pawlenty vetoes ban on flame retardant