Super Eco

Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt, flickr

Is America finally getting serious about cracking down on toxic chemicals? Now that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Lisa Jackson has identified chemical management reform as one of her top priorities and pledged to start overhauling our ineffectual, outdated laws on toxic chemicals, it looks like the path through the toxic maze we live in may be getting simpler, sooner.

We've seen signs of hope for quite a while now that the EPA is growing some teeth and chomping down on products and practices that expose Americans to hazardous substances. Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families lists the guidelines Jackson has sent to Congress as a guide for creating new legislation:

• Chemicals must pass muster under a safety standard that protects human health and the environment.
• Responsibility for providing data rests with the chemical industry, not taxpayers.
• EPA must have clear authority to take quick action to restrict use of chemicals that violate the safety standard.
• Manufacturers and EPA should assess and act on priority chemicals, both existing and new, in a timely manner.
• Vulnerable populations, especially children, must be given special consideration when setting safety standards.
• Green chemistry, which will lead to safer chemicals, should be encouraged and the public’s right to know about chemicals must be ensured.
• The EPA should be given a sustained source of funding for implementation and the chemical industry must pay its fair share to implement the new standards.

In the meantime, we'll be keeping our eye on resource groups such as Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and reference sites like Toxipedia for information on hazardous ingredients and products that leave consumers open to dangerous exposures.