{"id":3717,"date":"2014-04-15T13:04:48","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T18:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/?p=3717"},"modified":"2024-02-12T11:01:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T16:01:35","slug":"report-staggering-amounts-of-toxic-chemicals-produced-across-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2014\/04\/15\/report-staggering-amounts-of-toxic-chemicals-produced-across-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Staggering amounts of toxic chemicals produced across America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alissa Sasso<\/em> is a Chemicals Policy Fellow.\u00a0 Richard Denison, Ph.D.<\/em>,<\/em><\/em> is a Lead Senior Scientist.<\/p>\n

[Cross-posted from EDFVoices<\/em><\/a> blog]<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent spills in West Virginia and North Carolina cast a spotlight on toxic hazards in our midst. But as bad as they are, these acute incidents pale in scope compared to the chronic flow of hazardous chemicals coursing through our lives each day with little notice and minimal regulation. A new report by EDF, <\/span>Toxics Across America<\/span><\/i><\/a>, tallies billions of pounds of chemicals in the American marketplace that are known or strongly suspected to cause increasingly common disorders, including certain cancers, developmental disabilities, and infertility. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s no secret that modern society consumes huge amounts of chemicals, many of them dangerous, it is surprisingly difficult to get a handle on the actual numbers. And under current law it\u2019s harder still to find out where and how these substances are used, though we know enough to establish that a sizeable share of them end up in one form or another in the places where we live and work. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our new report looks at 120 chemicals that have been identified by multiple federal, state and international officials as known or suspected health hazards. Using the latest, albeit limited, data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we identify which of these chemicals are in commerce in the U.S.; in what amounts they are being made; which companies are producing or importing them; where they are being produced or imported; and how they are being used. An <\/span>interactive online map accompanying the report<\/span><\/a> lets the user access the report\u2019s data and search by chemical, by company, by state, and by site location.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Among our findings:\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n