The Drive for a Safer Chemicals Policy in the United States

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Belliveau
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Chemical Safety ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Chemical Policy ◽  
Chemicals Policy ◽  
Progressive Policy ◽  
Toxic Substances Control Act

This article analyzes the history, policies and politics of the modern era of safer chemical policy reform in the United States. In the last decade, state laws have modeled a chemical policy framework to phase out unnecessary dangerous chemicals in favor of safer alternatives. These state drivers, along with market campaigns to reduce downstream business use of hazardous chemicals, have weakened the chemical industry's resistance to fixing the broken federal chemical safety system. The obsolete Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) has failed to protect public health and the environment and has stifled innovation toward greener chemistry. Health advocates with a progressive policy vision tempered by legislative pragmatism have launched a TSCA reform campaign to challenge chemical industry power in a weak Congress. The opportunity and limits to winning meaningful TSCA reform are characterized and marked as a critical milestone on the path to a truly comprehensive safer chemical policy for the United States.

Chemicals Policy in the United States—The Need for New Directions

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel A. Tickner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Product Safety ◽  
Toxic Chemicals ◽  
Consumer Product ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Consumer Product Safety ◽  
Chemicals Policy ◽  
The U.S

The system for regulating toxic substances in the United States is broken. It is disjointed and reactionary, lacking in information, authority, and primary prevention. The case study of bisphenol A (BPA) demonstrates a myriad of limitations with the way we evaluate, regulate, and manage toxic substances in society. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the current U.S. system for regulating toxic chemicals and to identify limits in that approach with particular emphasis on BPA. It provides an overview of some of the drivers shaping new approaches to chemicals regulation and management and a framework for designing more precautionary and solutions-stimulating policies in the future. The U.S. system for regulating toxic chemicals in production systems and products is relatively complex. Different types of chemicals are regulated in various ways in the U.S. system, depending on how that chemical is being used. For example, cosmetics, chemicals used in food applications, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, and each of these types of chemical applications is regulated differently under the Act. For chemicals used in cosmetic products, the FDA has no premarket authority and can regulate a chemical ingredient only if it is mis­branded or adulterates the product. In the case of new food contact substances and uses of them (indirect food additives including chemicals that might leach out of packaging such as bottles), manufacturers are required to submit notifications, including safety data, to the FDA, except when a substance is previously regulated or considered “generally recognized as safe” because earlier evidence on that material did not indicate concerns. At the FDA, the highest evidentiary burdens are for medical devices and pharmaceuticals that have strong premarket testing requirements to ensure safety and efficacy. Chemicals in many consumer products, such as toys, are regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Chemicals and Hazardous Substances

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Vogel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
European Policies ◽  
Toxic Substances Control Act ◽  
The U.S ◽  
The Eu

This chapter looks at American and European policies toward the risks of chemicals and hazardous substances. The 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) significantly strengthened American chemical regulations and contributed to the 1979 decision of the EU to both harmonize and strengthen its chemical regulations, though they remained weaker than those of the United States. While there has been no major statutory change in American chemical regulation since then, in 2006 the EU approved REACH—the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, which made European chemical regulations significantly more stringent and comprehensive than those of the United States. Meanwhile, risk assessments by the U.S. federal government do not consider the hazardous substances in electronics deposited in landfills as a threat to public health.

Regulation of Chemicals

2019 ◽  
pp. 577-606
Author(s):  
Lucas Bergkamp ◽  
Adam Abelkop
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Chemical Safety ◽  
Chemical Risk ◽  
Chemicals Regulation ◽  
The Us ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Chemicals Policy ◽  
Toxic Substances Control Act ◽  
Reach Regulation

This chapter examines the regulation of chemicals, with emphasis on commonalities and differences in regulatory approaches. It begins with a brief overview of key concepts that underlie chemicals regulation, explaining what chemicals regulation is, the hazards and risks associated with chemicals, policy principles, informational inputs, and how chemicals are identified. The chapter then considers the general components of chemicals regulation, namely: screening and prioritization, risk assessment and decision analysis, and risk management. It also discusses regulatory fragmentation, risk management through the supply chain, and the complementary roles of regulation and liability systems. Finally, it shows how common aspects of chemical risk laws fit into the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation and the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (LCSA).

Avoiding Dark Corners: A Robust Monetary Policy Framework for the United States

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Alichi ◽  
Kevin Clinton ◽  
Charles Freedman ◽  
Ondra Kamenik ◽  
Michel Juillard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Monetary Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Monetary Policy Framework

Safe until Sorry

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norah MacKendrick
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Consumer Goods ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Personal Care Products ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Personal Care ◽  
Regulatory Oversight ◽  
Agriculture And Food

This chapter outlines the United States’ uneven and contradictory relationship with the precautionary principle as a policy ethic, and, more specifically points to how the safe-until-sorry model at the regulatory level helps to explain why precaution has flourished as an individualized, consumer principle. In outlining this relationship, it documents the serious gaps in regulatory oversight in what is a vast, fractured policy framework that oversees chemicals used in agriculture and food production, and in the manufacturing of cosmetics, personal care products and consumer goods.

scholarly journals The Search for Environmental Justice: The Story of North Birmingham

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 2117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shauntice Allen ◽  
Michelle V. Fanucchi ◽  
Lisa C. McCormick ◽  
Kristina M. Zierold
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Jefferson County ◽  
Environmental Injustice ◽  
Department Of Health

Environmental justice is a rising social movement throughout the world. Research is beginning to define the movement and address the disparities that exist among communities exposed to pollution. North Birmingham, a community made up of six neighborhoods in Jefferson County, Alabama, in the United States, is a story of environmental injustice. Heavy industry, including the 35th Avenue Superfund Site, has caused significant environmental pollution over time, leaving residents concerned that their health and well-being are at risk from continued exposure. For years, pollution has impacted the community, and residents have fought and challenged industry and government. The United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) in Alabama have historically played a role in working with the community regarding their health concerns. In this manuscript, we describe a city entrenched in environmental injustice. We provide the history of the community, the responsible parties named for the contamination, the government’s involvement, and the community’s response to this injustice. Through this manuscript, we offer insight into a global concern that challenges local communities on a daily basis.

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