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Jade
(soccer mom)
08-18-04 11:17
No 526070
User Picture Toxic products in the home

Cabinet Confidential: Toxic Products in the Home

The past 10 years have seen major changes in what were thought to be truisms about toxic chemicals and human health - that there was a clear dose level below which health effects would not occur and that the U.S. population as a whole had been exposed to few toxic chemicals. Scientists are now finding that toxic chemicals impact health at much lower levels than previously believed. Research has also documented widespread exposure to various chemicals through measuring the levels in human blood, urine, and tissue. These changes have come from improvements in measurement techniques enabling researchers to detect extremely low concentrations of chemicals, often several orders of magnitude lower than just a few years ago.

Exposure is more widespread than previously thought, and some chemicals induce health effects at extremely low dose levels. These concerns have led to an emerging consensus that the incidence of chronic ailments and developmental disabilities is connected in some way to toxic chemical exposures. The incidence of some illnesses potentially linked to chemical exposure is increasing. How does exposure to toxic chemicals occur? We know that as a result of regulation and public disclosure, emissions of toxic chemicals to the environment - at least those emissions we track - are declining, so people’s potential exposure from those sources should be declining as well.

Previous analyses of data from New Jersey and Massachusetts, the two states that track quantities of toxic chemicals, show that amounts shipped as or in products are much greater than the amounts of chemicals released to the environment. This is not surprising, since several industries in those states are in the business of producing toxic chemicals.

Much of that "product," however, also becomes raw material for other facilities that manufacture products likely to be used in the home. Cabinet Confidential examines amounts of chemicals shipped in products from those facilities and focuses on specific chemicals that are known or suspected neurotoxins, carcinogens, or reproductive or developmental toxins. Certainly, most consumers would expect that products in their homes will contain minimal amounts of these particular chemicals. While New Jersey and Massachusetts may not be representative of the U.S. as a whole, the results show that environmental releases of these types of chemicals are small compared to the tens of millions of pounds of these chemicals shipped in products from facilities in those states. Among the findings:

* On average, for every pound of neurotoxins, carcinogens, or reproductive or developmental toxins facilities in New Jersey and Massachusetts report as released to the air, water, or land, they ship 42 pounds of the same chemicals as or in products that could be used in or around the home.

* The top 10 chemicals shipped as or in products examined for this report are all neurotoxins. In addition, one of the 10, toluene, is a developmental toxin, and lead compounds and creosote are carcinogens.

* The top five chemicals shipped as or in products that are likely to be inhaled by users are chlorine, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, and n-hexane.

* The five industry categories that shipped the most neurotoxins, carcinogens, or reproductive or developmental toxins in products are paints, varnishes, and enamels; specialty cleaning products; motor vehicle and passenger car bodies; adhesives and sealants; and wood preservatives. These five industrial classifications account for more than 85 percent of the amount of the chemicals examined in this report.

* While most of the amount of chemicals shipped as or in products was intended to be part of the product, a substantial portion was not, such as raw material impurities, solvents, or unreacted chemicals. Together, these represent millions of pounds of toxic chemicals "along for the ride," serving no particular purpose in the product.

Cabinet Confidential calls on policymakers to consider a number of reforms to address the problem of toxics in products:

* Congress should require nationwide reporting of chemicals in products as is currently required in Massachusetts and New Jersey. As in those two states, the tracking can be combined with programs that have explicit goals for reducing the use of toxic chemicals.

* Virtually all of the chemicals examined in this report were "grandfathered" under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), meaning that they are exempt from even the rudimentary requirements of the Act. Since 1976, Congress has broken new ground in reducing pesticide exposures through the Food Quality Protection Act, and the European Union is considering a wide-ranging program that will dramatically change its regulation of toxic chemicals. Congress should apply lessons from these policies and revise TSCA. Specifically, TSCA should require industry to identify the potential health effects of exposure to chemicals that are used in products and accelerate the introduction of less toxic or non-toxic alternatives.

* In the meantime, the other federal agencies with some jurisdiction over products - primarily the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission - should reform the way they deal with issues of chemical exposure to reflect recent science on low-level exposures and a precautionary ethic.

* To help gauge the extent of potential exposure, the Centers for Disease Control should expand its bio-monitoring program to include chemicals found in products used in and around the home. Only one of the 10 chemicals most likely to be found in household products is currently on the CDC’s bio-monitoring list.

You can download the whole report at http://www.net.org/health/Cabinet_Confidential.pdf

http://www.net.org/health/cabcon_report.vtml

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		Jade (soccer mom) 08-18-04 11:17 No 526070				Toxic products in the home
						Cabinet Confidential: Toxic Products in the Home The past 10 years have seen major changes in what were thought to be truisms about toxic chemicals and human health - that there was a clear dose level below which health effects would not occur and that the U.S. population as a whole had been exposed to few toxic chemicals. Scientists are now finding that toxic chemicals impact health at much lower levels than previously believed. Research has also documented widespread exposure to various chemicals through measuring the levels in human blood, urine, and tissue. These changes have come from improvements in measurement techniques enabling researchers to detect extremely low concentrations of chemicals, often several orders of magnitude lower than just a few years ago. Exposure is more widespread than previously thought, and some chemicals induce health effects at extremely low dose levels. These concerns have led to an emerging consensus that the incidence of chronic ailments and developmental disabilities is connected in some way to toxic chemical exposures. The incidence of some illnesses potentially linked to chemical exposure is increasing. How does exposure to toxic chemicals occur? We know that as a result of regulation and public disclosure, emissions of toxic chemicals to the environment - at least those emissions we track - are declining, so people’s potential exposure from those sources should be declining as well. Previous analyses of data from New Jersey and Massachusetts, the two states that track quantities of toxic chemicals, show that amounts shipped as or in products are much greater than the amounts of chemicals released to the environment. This is not surprising, since several industries in those states are in the business of producing toxic chemicals. Much of that "product," however, also becomes raw material for other facilities that manufacture products likely to be used in the home. Cabinet Confidential examines amounts of chemicals shipped in products from those facilities and focuses on specific chemicals that are known or suspected neurotoxins, carcinogens, or reproductive or developmental toxins. Certainly, most consumers would expect that products in their homes will contain minimal amounts of these particular chemicals. While New Jersey and Massachusetts may not be representative of the U.S. as a whole, the results show that environmental releases of these types of chemicals are small compared to the tens of millions of pounds of these chemicals shipped in products from facilities in those states. Among the findings: * On average, for every pound of neurotoxins, carcinogens, or reproductive or developmental toxins facilities in New Jersey and Massachusetts report as released to the air, water, or land, they ship 42 pounds of the same chemicals as or in products that could be used in or around the home. * The top 10 chemicals shipped as or in products examined for this report are all neurotoxins. In addition, one of the 10, toluene, is a developmental toxin, and lead compounds and creosote are carcinogens. * The top five chemicals shipped as or in products that are likely to be inhaled by users are chlorine, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, and n-hexane. * The five industry categories that shipped the most neurotoxins, carcinogens, or reproductive or developmental toxins in products are paints, varnishes, and enamels; specialty cleaning products; motor vehicle and passenger car bodies; adhesives and sealants; and wood preservatives. These five industrial classifications account for more than 85 percent of the amount of the chemicals examined in this report. * While most of the amount of chemicals shipped as or in products was intended to be part of the product, a substantial portion was not, such as raw material impurities, solvents, or unreacted chemicals. Together, these represent millions of pounds of toxic chemicals "along for the ride," serving no particular purpose in the product. Cabinet Confidential calls on policymakers to consider a number of reforms to address the problem of toxics in products: * Congress should require nationwide reporting of chemicals in products as is currently required in Massachusetts and New Jersey. As in those two states, the tracking can be combined with programs that have explicit goals for reducing the use of toxic chemicals. * Virtually all of the chemicals examined in this report were "grandfathered" under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), meaning that they are exempt from even the rudimentary requirements of the Act. Since 1976, Congress has broken new ground in reducing pesticide exposures through the Food Quality Protection Act, and the European Union is considering a wide-ranging program that will dramatically change its regulation of toxic chemicals. Congress should apply lessons from these policies and revise TSCA. Specifically, TSCA should require industry to identify the potential health effects of exposure to chemicals that are used in products and accelerate the introduction of less toxic or non-toxic alternatives. * In the meantime, the other federal agencies with some jurisdiction over products - primarily the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission - should reform the way they deal with issues of chemical exposure to reflect recent science on low-level exposures and a precautionary ethic. * To help gauge the extent of potential exposure, the Centers for Disease Control should expand its bio-monitoring program to include chemicals found in products used in and around the home. Only one of the 10 chemicals most likely to be found in household products is currently on the CDC’s bio-monitoring list. You can download the whole report at http://www.net.org/health/Cabinet_Confidential.pdf http://www.net.org/health/cabcon_report.vtml Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.

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