Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.
The 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) created the serious problem we face today when it grandfathered in all chemicals in use at the time without requiring any safety testing or reviews. Nearly 40 years on, we have a daunting task ahead of us to establish a new system that is accountable for the safety of chemicals. It is essential that we get started as soon as possible.
The Lautenberg Act, which would require safety reviews of all chemicals in commerce, represents a fundamental change in our country’s chemicals policy: it turns us away from the passive system under current law that simply assumes chemicals are safe and toward an active system that requires evidence of safety for chemicals to get or stay on the market. It’s a huge paradigm shift, which won’t happen overnight, but is likely to have far-reaching consequences. Read More