The Toxic Substances Control Act was weak when it was passed in 1976, and the years haven’t done it any favors.
In theory, it gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to collect information about the hazards posed by chemicals and to take action to control “unreasonable risks.” In reality, collecting information is all but impossible because of trade- secret safeguards embedded in the law; and controlling risks is so tied up in legalese that even asbestos, long ago proved to cause cancer and other fatal diseases, hasn’t been banned in the U.S.
There are now more than 83,000 chemicals and classes of chemicals listed in the EPA’s inventory. In the years since the act was passed, the agency has banned, limited, or restricted the use of five of those.
Five.
Does that mean that the manufacturers of the other tens of thousands of chemicals and classes of chemicals have confirmed that they’re safe to be in our food containers, cleaning products, carpets, and toys? No, it doesn’t. Manufacturers don’t have to do a thing; the law requires instead that the EPA prove that a chemical is not safe.
Shifting responsibility
The European Union has a different approach. Its law, updated about six years ago, puts the responsibility on chemical companies to demonstrate that their products don’t hurt people or the environment. Much more sensible.
In the U.S., some states—notably California—have put restrictions in place on certain toxic chemicals. We believe people living in all states deserve the same level of safety.
The chemical industry, the government, and environmental and consumers groups, including Consumers Union, all agree that the law needs to be updated. But disputes about what the revision should look like and where the burden of proof should rest have plagued proposed legislation. Right now, the law casts consumers as lab rats. Consumers Union is committed to fighting to make sure manufacturers and the EPA ensure that chemicals are safe before exposing us all to them.
This article appeared in the September 2013 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
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