Need for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 1975 EPA Russell Train

In 1976, Republican President Gerald Ford signed the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA 1976) to restrict or ban the use of toxic chemicals. Congressed had voted overwhelming for TSCA, with support from both Democrats and Republicans. With TSCA, Congress gave EPA the responsibility to regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market, to regulate existing chemicals when they pose an unreasonable risk to health or to the environment, and to regulate their distribution and use. Under TSCA Section 6, EPA can ban manufacture or distribution in commerce, limit use, require labeling, or place other restrictions on chemicals that pose unreasonable risks. Among the chemicals EPA regulates under Section 6 authority are asbestos, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), lead, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Then EPA Administrator Russell Train stated that the Toxic Substances Control Act was "one of the most important pieces of 'preventive medicine' legislation" ever passed by Congress. He said this is because "its basic aim is to give public health far more of the weight that it deserves in the decisions by which chemicals are commercially made and marketed, by which they enter and spread throughout the human environment." The world has changed remarkably since the inception of TSCA. There are new chemicals and materials today, including those created using nanotechnology—only a dream in 1976. Our understanding of chemical hazards and the techniques used to evaluate potential toxicity have evolved significantly. Now there is broad consensus from a diverse group of federal agencies and other interested parties that the US should pursue a fresh perspective on chemical evaluation. More than 80,000 chemicals now in use have never been fully assessed for toxic impacts on human health and the environment. The chemical industry should have to demonstrate that a chemical isn't dangerous before it's used in everyday products. The EPA must be given the authority to obtain information from industry, require the testing of chemicals, and prevent human exposure to unsafe chemicals. There are now dozens of chemicals with widespread human exposure that scientists have determined to be unsafe. The EPA should be able to act quickly to phase-out or require significant reductions in human exposure to these chemicals. In addition, the public should be provided with adequate information about the chemicals used in products they purchase, consume, or are exposed to—including whether those chemicals are unsafe. For more on TSCA reform, go to http://www.nrdc.org/health/toxics.asp . This was clipped from the video of the October 16, 1975 EPA press conference By then EPA Administrator Russell Train announcing new vinyl chloride air emissions standards. The complete video is available at the US National Archive in College Park, Maryland.

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• TSCA
• Toxic
• Substances
• Control
• Act
• EPA
• Russell
• Train
• Environmental
• Protection
• Agency
• chemical
• testing
• hazard
• identification
• public
• health
• safety
• asbestos
• lead
• PCB
• vinyl
• chloride
• CFC
• Freon
• chlorofluorocarbons

[MercuryExposure]

This is really great historical context !