Posts in 'Policy'
November 12, 2009 |
Posted by Cal Baier-Anderson in
Consumer Products, Exposure, Hazard, Health, Policy, TSCA, Worker Safety
Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.
Growing up in the 1970s, Mischief Night was a big deal for me. When I was in grade school, hoards of us kids took to our neighborhood just after dark to wreak innocent havoc. More fun than Halloween, I recall soaping up car windows and decorating neighbors' trees with toilet paper. (What were our parents thinking?)
When a wonder toy called Silly String hit the stores, Mischief Night turned psychedelic with crazy vibrant colors issuing in long streams from an aerosol can! And what was the harm? Silly String simply dried up and blew away. Who knew that we might actually be spewing a brew of toxic chemicals? Read more »
November 12, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
EPA, Health, Policy, Regulation, TSCA, Testing
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign today released the results of a nationwide poll conducted in August by renowned pollster Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners. The most striking finding: Majorities of Republicans and Independents as well as Democrats strongly support adoption of new legislation that would give EPA the power to immediately restrict the use of dangerous chemicals.
It seems that all that's left is for Congress to act … Read more »
November 11, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Canada, ChAMP, EPA, Exposure, Hazard, Industry, Policy, REACH, Risk Assessment, TSCA
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
When the chemical industry talks about prioritization – a central question in the debate over TSCA reform – more often than not it quickly reduces the question down to the argument that we should focus only on those chemicals, however hazardous or untested they may be, to which we know people are exposed. In a perfect world, that might suffice. But, as this post will explore, the world of exposure assessment is anything but perfect. Read more »
October 26, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Health, Industry, Policy, TSCA
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
It's got pictures of kids and families. People of all colors. Gentle hands cradling our fragile planet. A hard hat resting on a pair of worn work gloves and a hammer. It says the coalition is "people like you." It bears an uncanny resemblance to the website of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign, of which EDF is a founding member. But dig deeper and you'll discover that the website of the "Coalition for Chemical Safety" is actually created and run by industry. Read more »
October 1, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
ChAMP, EPA, Industry, Policy, Regulation, TSCA, Testing
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
A new entry showed up sometime in the last day on EPA's webpage for its ChAMP initiative. It reads: "The Chemical Assessment and Management Program (ChAMP) has been superseded by the comprehensive approach to enhancing the Agency’s current chemicals management program announced by Administrator Lisa Jackson on September 29, 2009."
Don't miss this bit at the top of the page:
Yes, that image is a cobweb, which EPA uses to designate archived web content. What's happening here? Read more »
September 29, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
EPA, Policy, Regulation, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, TSCA
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
Today, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson unveiled the Obama Administration's "Essential Principles for Reform of Chemicals Management Legislation." The principles' significance lies not so much in the words they contain, but rather in what they symbolize: A clear confirmation that this Administration understands that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) needs fundamental reform and that it is ready and willing to engage in making it happen. Read more »
August 26, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Environment, Health, In Vitro, Policy, REACH, Testing
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
In an opinion piece titled "Chemical regulators have overreached" in the August 27, 2009 issue of Nature, two prominent animal welfare advocates claim that vastly larger numbers of chemicals will have to be tested under the European Union's REACH regulation than previously estimated, and hence that 20 times more laboratory animals will be sacrificed. They call for a moratorium on some animal tests. Well, a closer look reveals that it's the opiners themselves that have greatly overreached.
[Update 8/28: The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has just issued this press release also disputing the findings of this new study.]
Read more »
August 20, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Consumer Products, FDA, Health, Policy, Testing
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
I hate to say it, but Friends of the Earth, Consumers Union, and the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) have done a disservice to good science and policy with their new superficial report Manufactured Nanomaterials and Sunscreens: Top Reasons for Precaution. Read more »
August 4, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
EPA, Policy, Regulation, Risk Assessment, TSCA, Testing
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
Today, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) unveiled its "10 Principles for Modernizing TSCA." Also today, the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition – of which EDF is a member – issued a news release and unveiled its 9-point "Platform for Reform of TSCA." How do they line up? Read more »
July 24, 2009 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Canada, EPA, Policy, Risk Assessment, TSCA
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
Some time back, I promised a look at whether Canada's Chemical Management Plan provides a model for TSCA reform. This post will provide that look. Bottom line: While our neighbor to the north has undertaken and accomplished a great deal over the past decade, it has done so with one hand tied behind its back. Read more »
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