After Over 200 Connecticut Children Accidentally Exposed, Blumenthal Leads Legislation to Reduce Detergent Pod Poisonings

(Hartford, CT) – After over 200 cases of accidental exposure in young children, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is leading new legislation to compel safer, child-resistant packaging for laundry detergent packets. 

In the past three years, the number of Connecticut Poison Control Center calls involving young children accidently exposed to caustic chemicals contained in detergent pods has skyrocketed from 9 in 2012 to more than 200 cases over 2013 and 2014, resulting in approximately 100 hospitalizations.  Nationally, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reports more than 11,700 children under age the age of 5 were exposed to chemicals in laundry detergent packets in 2014.  A majority of the children experienced adverse reactions, including vomiting, coughing or choking and respiratory distress.

The Detergent Poisoning and Child Safety Act would require the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to set mandatory safety standards for easily accessible liquid detergent packets, which expose thousands of children each year to caustic chemicals.  Specifically, the bill would give the CPSC the authority and direction to issue rules requiring safer, child-resistant packaging for liquid detergent packets within eighteen months compelling industry to implement stronger and more effective policies that address:

• Child-proof packaging for the container holding liquid detergent packets;

• Design and color of the packets to make them less appealing to children;

• Composition of packets to make consequences of exposure less severe; and

• Proper warning labels that adequately inform consumers of the potential risks. 

Blumenthal said: “Bright and bite-sized detergent pods may look like harmless candy, but these highly-concentrated packets are anything but. Detergent pods contain toxic poisons that pose serious health risks for children or anyone who accidentally ingests them. Laundry detergent need not be created with packaging that appeals to children in its coloring and design, and the companies that make these detergents can and must do more to include appropriate warning and safety labels for their products. This legislation will facilitate simple and commonsense safety measures to be put into place in order to protect our kids from these preventable poisonings.”

Ellen Bloom, Senior Director of Federal Policy at Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports said: “Today, liquid detergent packets are getting more and more popular, but the protections for safety are completely inadequate, despite the known hazards.  The research shows that these packets are much more likely to cause injury compared to traditional types of detergent,” said “We applaud the lawmakers for taking action to help protect small children from harm.”

Rachel Weintraub, Legislative Director and General Counsel at Consumer Federation of America said: “The alarming number of incidents associated with laundry packets-- more than 1,700 reports received by CPSC and over 17,000 reports received by poison centers across the country, and possibly two deaths, compel a strong and effective solution. We applaud the introduction of this legislation because it will institute a broad solution that will protect children from injury, illness and death associated with laundry packets by addressing the accessibility of the packaging and the packets as well as the composition of the detergent.”

Dr. Kyran Quinlan, MD, MPH, FAAP, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention said: “Recent research found that laundry detergent packets have come to pose a serious poisoning risk to young children, with just under 1,000 children poisoned by these products each month. Children younger than 3 years old accounted for 73 percent of the cases.  Now, most people know that 1- and 2-year olds can walk, climb, are good with their hands, and put everything into their mouths. From the published research, we know that most of time, children ingest these colorful products or otherwise burst them open, and expose their mouths, stomachs, skin, and eyes to the detergent’s powerful chemicals.  The Detergent PACS Act is an important step forward to put protections in place that will keep children safe.”

The legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA), and cosponsored by Blumenthal, and U.S. Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).