Have you ever evaluated whether the household products you use contain hazardous industrial chemicals? Have you determined whether they’re safe to use? Most likely, you’ve answered ‘no’ to both…don’t feel as if you’ve failed for the manufacturers of these products haven’t evaluated all their products either.
The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 has been introduced to legislation as an amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The purpose of the proposed Act is to “ensure that risks from chemicals are adequately understood and managed.” It would require manufacturers to ensure the safety of everyday household products before they enter the market and subsequently your household. Currently, evaluation is only done when EPA receives information suggesting that the material may pose a health risk.
The Act reports that (1) each year human beings and the environment are exposed to a large number of chemical substances; (2) more than 3 decades after the enactment of TSCA, people and the environment in the United States are still exposed to thousands of chemicals whose safety has not been adequately reviewed and may harm health and the environment; (3) the incidence of some diseases and disorders linked to chemical substance exposures is on the rise; (4) biomonitoring of chemical substances in humans reveals that people in the United States carry hundreds of hazardous chemicals in their bodies; and (5) the concentrations of certain chemical substances that persist and accumulate are increasing in the environment and in human bodies and are found across the world, including in the remote Arctic. All good reasons to support this Act.
Information that will be required to be provided by the manufacturer if the Act is passed includes (1) carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, teratogenesis, behavioral disorders, cumulative, synergistic, or any other effect pertaining to exposure to the chemical substance; (2) presence of the chemical substance in human blood, fluids, or tissue; and (3) information pertaining to bioaccumulation; persistence; acute toxicity; subacute toxicity; chronic toxicity; and any other characteristic may present an adverse effect. How this information will be provided is unknown. It is hoped that the information will be included on the product label or readily and easily accessible to the consumer.
While this information is typically provided to employees in the workplace, it is not currently provided to homeowners. Providing information to everyone, whether at home or work, is expected to help reduce potential exposures and address some of the issues reported above.
