Opponents claim that the standards will damage the economy and they are working to delay implementation through Congressional action. This argument has also been made about the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, proposals to reduce carbon emissions, and numerous other public health and environmental regulations. In October 1997, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a cost-benefit analysis of the 1990 clean air regulations which demonstrated that, according to the mean estimate, the economic benefits of the regulations were more than 42 times the economic. The JCPA strongly supports the rapid adoption of these standards in a manner that achieves cleaner air for all Americans, regardless of where they live. Children are more vulnerable to toxic exposure because per pound of body weight they eat more food, drink more water, and breath more air than adults.
Many toxic chemicals accumulate in human body fat and are ingested by infants through breast milk.
A number of bills have been introduced to the 105th Congress to increase the protection of children from toxic chemicals by strengthening regulatory standards, requiring labeling of products, and requiring industry to provide additional information about toxic releases to the public. JCPA supports legislation to test all chemicals to which either children or adults are regularly exposed and to provide the public with information about the toxicity of both the contents of consumer products and the chemicals emitted by industrial and commercial facilities. The Jewish community relations field will be called upon to advocate action on legislation to protect the public, particularly children, from toxic exposure. In addition, the field can educate Jewish individuals and institutions about how to remove the most dangerous chemicals from homes and communal facilities.