The case for reforming TSCA (Toxic Substance Control Act) has become stronger and stronger year after year. It has never been so evident than in the last three months. The Environmental Working Group’s scientific studies showed we “host” a synthetic chemical cocktail – many of them known to lead to acute and chronic illnesses – a situation that poses a health and safety risk to pregnant women, the development of fetus and children, proving that TSCA does not adequately protect us from toxic chemicals. The Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition  – gathering health care professionals, professional organizations, businesses, environmentalists and local officials – in a new report has put an estimate to the cost associated to caring for people affected by illnesses linked to chemical exposure.

“Scientists have developed a more refined understanding of how some chemicals can cause and contribute to serious illness, including cancer, reproductive and developmental disorders, neurologic diseases, and asthma.” Says the authors and contributors of the report. “The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition believes that, by reforming TSCA, we can reduce our exposure to toxic chemicals, improve our nation’s health, and lower the cost of health care.”

The numbers are not insignificant, to the contrary. The authors followed in part a logic that saw a paradigm shift in Europe leading to a major reform of chemicals regulation. They estimate the annual cost of treating illnesses du to prolonged or over exposure to toxic chemicals to $304.5 billion annually. See TSCA has grand-fathered over 60,000 chemicals in 1976 when it was enacted, and since then has tested some 200 chemicals restricting only 5 of them. “Failure of TSCA has direct implications for the health of America’s children. Infants and children are uniquely vulnerable to toxic industrial chemicals. Research from CDC documents show that several hundred industrial chemicals are in all of us. Some of these chemicals are known to cause asthma, cancer, learning disabilities and birth defects,” said Philip J. Landrigan, MD, Pediatrician and Director, Children’s Environmental Health Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “But for too many of the chemicals that are in us, no toxicity testing has ever been done. For too many of the industrial chemicals that are in us we have no idea of their potential toxicity to our children.  This is very unwise and terribly short-sighted. Failure of TSCA is cause for great concern not only for the health of our children, but also for the future of our nation.”

Safer Chemicals Healthy Families have a compelling argument to reform TSCA. The five environmental health studies tell the same story: environmental and occupational causes of cancer, Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases, developmental neurotoxicity, reproductive disorders, respiratory and allergic problems in children, five peer-reviewed studies and reviews of the scientific literature that collectively reference more than 1,200 published papers and reports. All of these illnesses not only have an estimated direct cost, and anyone – that means nearly everyone – affected by these diseases can easily imagine there are indirect costs to input as well (taking time off to care for a sick one, cost to employer, loss of business opportunities and so on).

During the call the coalition set up for journalists, the authors mentioned REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances), the new European Community (the EU + non-EU members) Regulation on chemicals. To summarize it, it prioritized the chemicals of concern and put the burden on manufacturers to manage the risk of chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances*. In Europe, many consider REACH did not go far enough, as it gave freeways to toxic chemicals that were proven to deliver a safety benefit, such as some PBDEs, or that are regulated by another regulatory body such as agricultural pesticides.

New legislation to bring the toxics law into the 21^st century will be introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) in early 2010, which the Obama Administration seems to want as well. But this process requires support from all of us so: Parents, Unite!!!

*This new situation forced manufacturers and formulators of products containing these toxic substances to – and I may not exactly reproduce Andy Igrejas’ words – get rid of their surplus, exporting to the US market tons of cosmetics containing phthalates (such as lipsticks).

Visit  The Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act web site

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