With your support this year, the Breast Cancer Fund made history.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law two of the four bills sponsored by the Breast Cancer Fund in 2005. Today we step back to consider the work that lies ahead, and stop to celebrate the strides we are making toward improved public health and breast cancer prevention.

SB 484: The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005 SIGNED
In a landmark advance in the safety of cosmetics products, the governor signed SB 484 on October 7, bringing additional scrutiny to an industry accustomed to only minimal oversight. The chemical and cosmetic industries both vigorously opposed the bill. The new law will:

• Require cosmetics manufacturers to disclose to the state any product ingredient that is on state or federal lists of chemicals that cause cancer or birth defects;
• Give the state Department of Health Services the authority to demand from manufacturers health and safety studies related to the use of these cosmetic ingredients; and
• Authorize CalOSHA to regulate the products to protect salon workers if they determine a safety risk.

Read more about SB 484 »


AB 929: Radiation Safety SIGNED
This new law, signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger September 30, establishes quality and testing standards to make sure that patients receive the lowest possible dose of radiation without compromising image quality. Currently, X-ray equipment is only tested once every four to six years and may overexpose patients to ionizing radiation, a known breast carcinogen.

Read more about AB 929 »


SB 600: The Healthy Californians Biomonitoring Program VETOED
Despite support from the California Legislature, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, the California Medical Association, health, labor and environmental organizations and the public, California missed an enormous public health opportunity when Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 600.

This program would have measured the pollution in people, including toxic chemicals, heavy metals and pesticides, and built the scientific knowledge necessary to begin to understand the relationship between chemical exposures and increasing rates of breast cancer and other diseases. The measure also would have created a national model for conducting ethical, community-based, participatory biomonitoring.

The Breast Cancer Fund will continue to champion the public's right to know the extent to which the chemical industry is playing Russian roulette with human health. We are committed to helping biomonitoring become a reality in California.

Read more about SB 600 »


AB 908: Safer Cosmetics for Californians VOTED DOWN
This bill would have banned two phthalates (DEHP and DBP) from cosmetics. These chemicals, commonly found in personal care products, have hormone-disrupting effects linked to early onset of puberty and increased risk of breast cancer. Unfortunately, the cosmetics industry spent tens of thousands of dollars to defeat this measure, and it did not pass out of the Assembly Health Committee.

A similar measure to ban phthalates in baby toys also failed in the Assembly this year but the Breast Cancer Fund and its coalition partners will continue to support the elimination of harmful chemicals from consumer products.