Center for Progressive Reform Scholar Sidney Shapiro and Asbestos Disease Awareness Association President Linda Reinstein published a piece in Mint Press News on toxic chemical reform legislation.
They note:
Imagine a chemical that every public health organization in the United States and around the world knows to cause cancer and a host of other illnesses. You might think that such a chemical would probably be banned from commercial use in the United States, or at least not allowed to be used in a host of commercial products that people use every day. But think again.
According to the U.S. surgeon general, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to asbestos is unsafe at any level, but the substance still used in the U.S. in automobile brake pads, vinyl floor tiles and many other commercial goods. Despite its dangers, the EPA is powerless in regulating it, and 30 people across the country die needlessly from asbestos-related diseases every single day.
Because the federal law governing toxic chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, is woefully inadequate, the EPA’s attempt to ban asbestos was overturned in court. In fact, of the 80,000 chemicals in commercial use, only five have been banned, even though many — like asbestos — can be very dangerous. The problem is that the Toxic Substances Control Act requires the EPA to prove that a chemical is dangerous before regulating it, rather than requiring manufacturers to establish the safety of potentially lethal products before they are marketed. Since the EPA is usually forced to rely on manufacturers for safety data about chemicals, if the manufacturer doesn’t produce data demonstrating a chemical’s danger, the EPA has no information upon which to act.
To read the entire piece click here.
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Erin Kesler | May 16, 2014
Center for Progressive Reform Scholar Sidney Shapiro and Asbestos Disease Awareness Association President Linda Reinstein published a piece in Mint Press News on toxic chemical reform legislation. They note: Imagine a chemical that every public health organization in the United States and around the world knows to cause cancer and a host of other illnesses. You might […]
Matt Shudtz | May 8, 2014
The National Academies’ National Research Council released its long-awaited report on IRIS this week, and the results are good for EPA. The report praises the IRIS program and its leadership, including Drs. Olden and Cogliano, for making great strides to improve how IRIS assessments are developed. To get a real appreciation for how positive this […]
Anne Havemann | May 8, 2014
Air pollution is a complex problem. For one, it does not adhere to state boundaries; a smokestack in one state can contribute to pollution problems in another, even a downwind state hundreds of miles away. What’s more, air pollution’s impacts are not confined to just the air. What goes up must come down, and air pollutants […]
Frank Ackerman | May 6, 2014
Frank Ackerman is the coauthor, with Joseph Daniel, of (Mis)understanding Climate Policy: The role of economic modeling, prepared for Friends of the Earth (England, Wales & Northern Ireland) and WWF-UK. Under the Climate Change Act 2008, the UK government sets “legally binding” carbon budgets, which cap the country’s total emissions for five-year periods. The size of […]
William Andreen | May 1, 2014
On April 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a proposed rulemaking to clarify the jurisdictional reach of the protections afforded by the Clean Water Act of 1972. The Clean Water Act is the foundation of our nation’s effort to restore and maintain the biological, chemical, and physical […]
Erin Kesler | April 29, 2014
The Supreme Court today upheld, by a 6-2 vote, the EPA’s cross-state air pollution rule. Below are reactions from Center for Progressive Reform scholars Thomas O. McGarity and Victor Flatt. According to McGarity: After two decade’s worth of litigation, the Supreme Court has finally held that EPA may require polluters in one state to protect […]
Joel A. Mintz | April 24, 2014
In a very thoughtful CPRBlog piece, dated April 14, 2014, Rena Steinzor presents a powerful critique of the enforcement aspects of EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan. As Professor Steinzor rightly points out, EPA’s projected cutbacks in source inspections, civil judicial enforcement, administrative enforcement actions, and other enforcement work will likely encourage air and water pollution by […]
Christine Klein | April 21, 2014
Landowners flooded by the Missouri River in 2011 have sued the Corps of Engineers for a Fifth Amendment “taking” under the U.S. Constitution. Their attorneys hope to rake in over $250 million in claims for their clients and at least $1 million in expenses and fees for themselves. They’re likely to be disappointed. Lawsuits seeking […]
Rena Steinzor | April 16, 2014
It’s basic common decency: If you know people are about to stumble into a dangerous situation without realizing the risk, you should try to warn them before harm occurs. For example, you might warn someone that a frying pan is hot before they pick it up or that a handrail is broken before they try […]