Testifying before the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Finance, which is currently considering legislation to control toxic substances, John R. Quarles, EPA Deputy Administrator said: “Existing Federal laws fail to deal evenly and comprehensively with toxic substances problems. While some authority exists to control the production of certain categories of toxic substances, such as pesticides, drugs, and food additives, most existing Federal authorities are designed to prevent harmful exposure only after the substances have been introduced into production.”

Quarles testified that the benefits of toxic substance legislation would greatly outweigh the costs. Answering charges that the cost to industry of premarket notification and testing would prove to be excessive, Quarles said that “when placed in perspective with the sales and profits of the chemical industry, these costs are relatively modest.” (note: $80 to 140 million compared with an estimated $72 billion in sales and $5.5 billion in profits after tax).

Calling it “”one of the most important pieces of ‘preventive medicine’ legislation” EPA administrator Russell E. Train argued “its basic aim is to give public health far more of the weight that it deserves in the decisions by which chemicals are commercially made and marketed, by which they enter and spread throughout the human environment.”

Sounds familiar? These statements were made 34 years ago. Since then, chemical manufacturers and formulators have been enjoying a free safety pass due to a weak legislation enacted in 1976, called – ironically – the Toxic Substances Control Act. With all due respect to the authors of this bill and the members of Congress that passed it, it did very little to control toxic substances. At the opposite, it grandfathered (meaning it did not require any safety/ toxic assessment) 63,000 chemicals (listed under TSCA inventory) relying on the manufacturers to report any substantial risk to the EPA. Although a large number of these 83,000 chemicals identified and registered with the EPA are not in commerce today, the agency never had the means to properly assess chemicals’ immediate impact on human health and the environment, and even less the long term effect of exposure. Failing to ensure safety threshold was met for all chemicals and mixture led to an increase in chronic illnesses such as brain development, leukemia, breast cancer, asthma, fertility problems, birth defects in males, and autism.

With a new administration came a new direction. On September 29^th, 2009, Administrator Jackson highlighted the new direction the agency intended on taking:
“…as more and more chemicals are found in our bodies and the environment, the public is understandably anxious and confused. Many are turning to government for assurance that chemicals have been assessed using the best available science, and that unacceptable risks haven’t been ignored.
Our oversight of the 21st century chemical industry is based on the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act….over the years, not only has TSCA fallen behind the industry it’s supposed to regulate – it’s been proven an inadequate tool for providing the protection against chemical risks that the public rightfully expects.
Today I’m announcing clear Administration principles to guide Congress in writing a new chemical risk management law that will fix the weaknesses in TSCA.”

Three organizations have been voicing their concerns about the current TSCA and what might and should be addresses or/and included in the Chemicals Safety Act, (which should be introduced in 2010).

-       Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families: a coalition of 200 organizations (businesses, NGOs, parents, advocacy, environmental, public health organizations as well as health care providers and research institutions) would like the new bill to 1) Take immediate action on the most dangerous chemicals 2) Hold industry responsible for the safety of their chemicals and products and 3) Use the best science to protect all people and vulnerable groups.

-       Environmental Working Group: the most visible whistle blower of the last 10 years centered its action around a Kid-safe chemicals act (see 10 Americans) asking for increased protection for people that are either more at risk when exposed to toxic chemicals (fetus, children and pregnant women) or more exposed than the average Americans (underserved communities, minorities).

-       The Coalition for Chemical Safety: The land of policy reform will not be complete without the industry’s attempt to not only control the process but also lure well intentioned people into believing safety is their top priority. Although CCS acknowledges TSCA needs an overhaul, the coalition (American Chemistry Council, Dupont, Ecolab and Virginia Coal Association amongst others) would like to see a balanced approach, one that “can help ensure public health and safeguard our planet while also preserving American innovation and protecting American jobs for generations to come.” Does it sound familiar?

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