Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition Letter to Rep. Pallone in Support of the Ban Water Beads Act (H.R. 6468)
May 1, 2024
The Honorable Frank Pallone
Ranking Member, Energy and Commerce Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Pallone,
We are writing as members of the Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition to strongly endorse the Ban Water Beads Act (H.R. 6468), which addresses essential safety concerns regarding water beads in products intended for children. The goal is to prevent potentially severe injuries and fatalities associated with these hazardous products.
The Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition is an informal coalition of organizations that are working together to improve the health and safety of adults and children.
Water beads, marketed as harmless gel balls that expand in water, pose significant risks to children despite their appearance. These items are often marketed as safe “sensory toys” or aids. However, they can easily be ingested or lodged in a child’s ear or nose, causing serious medical harm, such as intestinal blockages, lung damage, or hearing impairments.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), data show that approximately 7,000 emergency room visits have been attributed to incidents involving water beads in recent years. The beads can be deadly, as reported in the death of 10-month old Esther, who died after swallowing a single water bead that had fallen on the floor from her sister’s toy set. The small beads can easily fall on the floor where infants and toddlers pick them up and put them in their mouths; no amount of adult supervision can prevent such accidents. In addition, unsafe levels of acrylamide, a known carcinogen, have been detected in many water bead products.
While some retailers and online platforms have taken steps to restrict the sale of water bead products marketed for children, the effectiveness of these actions varies across states and localities, leaving large gaps in consumer protection. The Ban Water Beads Act (H.R. 6468) seeks to address these shortcomings by imposing a clear ban on water bead products explicitly designed, intended, or marketed for use by children.
By compelling the CPSC to enforce this ban, H.R. 6468 would provide essential protection for families nationwide, expediting the removal of water beads from the market and raising awareness of their risks for children, thus offering a timely and effective response to this urgent public health concern.
Thank you for sponsoring this life saving bill, and we look forward to the passage of the Ban Water Beads Act (H.R. 6468).
Sincerely,
National Center for Health Research
American Medical Student Association – Wisconsin
Breast Implant Safety Alliance
Doctors for America
MRSA Survivors Network
National Women’s Health Network
Our Bodies Ourselves
TMJ Association
USA Patient Network
Woodymatters
The post Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition Letter to Rep. Pallone in Support of the Ban Water Beads Act (H.R. 6468) appeared first on National Center for Health Research.