Chemicals on the loose
80,000 – the number of manufactured chemicals in use in the US.
62,000 – chemicals that were “grandfathered” in by the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and therefore unstudied as to their health and environmental safety.
200 – chemicals tested for their safety under TSCA.
1,000,000+ tons – amount of Bisphenol A (BPA) consumed in the US in 2004, before widespread recognition of its multiple adverse health impacts.
The US public, and now the outsourced manufacturing hubs in China, India and other places worldwide, are essentially participating in a giant experimental trial with the chemicals in our foods, our clothes, our cleaners, plastics, and virtually everything we use. H.R. 5820 the Toxic Chemical Safety Act, currently under consideration in Congress would begin the process of re-assessing the safety of these chemicals on the loose and replace the ineffective Toxic Substances Control Act.
The new legislation marks a shift in the regulatory philosophy towards new chemicals. Historically, the US favored self-regulation of the industry and allowed the industry to innovate without much concern for long-term effects. This new legislation follows the lead of the Precautionary Principle by beginning to assess the safety of products before they are released into the market.
Perhaps most troubling from a health perspective, aside from the fact that many of these molecules have not been tested for their long term chronic exposure safety, but that even with those that have been tested, few, if any, have had their safety assessed in the context of the myriad of other chemicals that we use on a daily basis. While it has shortcomings, HR 5820 is a step in the right direction.
For more info and perspectives see:
House Panel Tackles Chemical Legislation | EHS Today.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-fletcher-harper/choose-life-the-religious_b_662234.html
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h5820/show
http://mollyannaapproach.blogspot.com/2010/07/house-members-witnesses-clash-over.html