Toxic Trails

Protecting families from unsafe chemicals

Posted: 03-Nov-2009; Updated: 18-Nov-2009

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Risk factor: A child plays outside formaldehyde-tainted FEMA trailers. PHOTO: Associated Press (AP).

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Blogging policy reform

Read EDF's series of posts pressing for reform of chemicals policy.

• How to turn a "quick start" into a choke point
  11/18/2009
• Not a silly question: Is Halloween mischief worth risking toxic exposures?
  11/12/2009
• Americans to Congress: Give EPA the power to take immediate action on the most dangerous chemicals
  11/12/2009

See more posts »

Consider this fact: The United States imports formaldehyde-laden plywood from China, some of which sickened people forced to live in FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina. That same plywood could not be sold in Japan or the European Union or even for domestic use in China.

EDF biochemist Dr. Richard Denison told that story to members of Congress in a February hearing about reforming America’s 33-year-old chemicals law. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is considered among the weakest of all major U.S. environmental laws. The law is so weak, in fact, that EPA was unable to use it to ban asbestos, a known human carcinogen barred in more than 30 countries.

Of the 82,000 chemicals available for use in the U.S., only about 200 have been required to be tested for safety.

Environmental Defense Fund has been pressing for reform since 1997, when we published Toxic Ignorance, our seminal report that exposed the lack of basic health data for even the most widely used chemicals on the U.S. market. Chemicals that we know too little about are in baby bottles, pet food, toys, even our bodies.

Troubled by the low priority EPA has given to chemical safety, Denison upped the pressure, not by publishing another dense report, but by posting detailed critiques of EPA’s program on our blog. The critiques, written in collaboration with EDF toxicologist Dr. Cal Baier-Anderson, were widely read inside and outside EPA. "Using the blog enabled us to keep the message coming, in weekly dollops," Denison says.

Soon after the blog began to appear, EPA announced new principles and initiatives for advancing chemical safety that closely mirror our recommendations. Many observers in the health community say Denison and his blog were key catalysts. Attention is now shifting to Congress. More stringent laws in Europe, coupled with a wave of state initiatives and reports of lead paint in toys from China, are fueling the demand for reform. Even the industry now acknowledges that current law fails to ensure the safety of consumer products.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) plan to introduce bills that would overhaul U.S. chemical regulation. The legislation is expected to require chemical manufacturers to provide health and safety information on chemicals and prove they’re safe in order to use them in products.

"Reform is finally within our grasp," says Denison, "but there’s still a lot of work to be done." A leader in the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, EDF is pushing for passage of strong legislation, working with scientists from companies like Staples and with health groups like the American Nurses Association.

We’re also engaging directly with Walmart and other corporate partners to improve screening for toxic chemicals in the products they buy from suppliers. Reform can’t come too soon. America’s children shouldn’t have to wait for the next revelation of tainted toys for the nation to act.

From the 2009 Fall Solutions [PDF] newsletter.