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Lawmakers and activists congregated at the capitol Thursday morning to press for action on a bill that would allow state government to monitor “chemicals of concern” in consumer products.

The bill, which is currently on the House calendar, calls for the Department of Public Health to create a list of potentially toxic substances and requires the department to provide recommendations for reducing human exposure to those chemicals. It targets chemicals that may be harmful to children in particular by requiring any chemical that shows up in umbilical cord blood or breast milk to be automatically added to the list.

Vegetables that are genetically modified to resist pests have become a part of our daily diet, whether we like it or not. Several states have been considering legislation that would require the labeling of GMO products, but Connecticut could be the first to pass such a law. Opponents of the bill say there’s no health risk, and a law like this would pass on higher prices to consumers.

Other bills being considered would attempt to protect children and adults from toxic chemicals in products - but do state bans like this work?  We’ll consider GMOs and BPAs as they become hot topics at the state capitol.

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