Precautionary PrinciplePrecautionary Principle Are you aware that in the US, there are some 85,000 chemicals in the consumer marketplace and only a fraction of them have ever been tested for their impact on human health? Many of these chemicals are now known or suspected to contribute to a long list of diseases including cancer, developmental disabilities, heart disease, infertility and reproductive harm. In the process of researching information about toxicants and their alternatives, I continually come upon the concept of the precautionary principle, especially from sources in the European Union (EU). I believe this is a very sound approach to managing toxic chemicals. In June of 2007 the EU initiated a program to regulate chemicals and to promote their safe use called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances). Their goal is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through better and earlier identification of the properties of chemical substances. REACH assigns greater responsibility to industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. Manufacturers and importers are required to gather information on the properties of their substances, which will allow their safe handling and to register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). REACH also calls for the progressive substitution of the most dangerous chemicals when suitable alternatives have been identified. In the new REACH program, the EU is going to start with the removal of the 1,400 “chemicals of very high concern” and the producers will have to “bear the burden of proof” to gain approval to use those chemicals. The precautionary principle is a common sense approach that says, “Err on the side of caution,” or “better safe than sorry.” Most of us instinctively utilize this code throughout life as a way of avoiding unnecessary exposure to events which may harm us. Of course, in life there are many situations that are ambiguous as to whether a particular act will put us in jeopardy. We all take chances on a daily basis and reap the consequences of our choices. Wikipedia, an online resource for information, states that the Precautionary Principle is:
According to European Environment Agency, the precautionary principle and its application to environmental hazards began as a concept within environmental science in the 1970s, when German scientists and policy-makers were trying to deal with “forest death’ and its possible causes, including air pollution. (Note 3) (European Environment Agency, 2001) One of the globally accepted definitions of the Precautionary Principle came from work at the Rio Conference, Earth Summit in 1992. Principle # 15 of the Rio Declaration says:
This says that scientific uncertainty should not rule out preventative measures needed to protect the environment. The European Environmental Agency uses this as a guide, as well as using “cost-effective” measures which shows that costs can be considered. When it comes to dealing with toxic chemicals, the EU is far more progressive than the United States. In contrast, US environmental law is based primarily on Cost Benefit Analysis which involves backtracking to find the cause after people or the environment is sick. In 1976 the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was passed. Under TSCA, the burden of proof lies on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the chemical industry and prove that a chemical is unsafe before its use can be restricted, as opposed to relying on the companies to disclose the makeup of the chemicals they are producing, and whether or not these ingredients are carcinogenic, endocrine disruptors, or a danger to our neurological systems. When the EPA has determined that a chemical could be hazardous to one's health, the burden of proof is on the agency to convince a court that the chemical is unsafe, rather then the manufacturer being required to prove that the chemical is safe before being placed on the market. Some time following this Labor Day, legislation will be introduced in US Congress that would reform the TSCA. The reform bill, known as the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act (SB 797) would transform TSCA into an effective law for regulating and protecting the public from unsafe chemicals (while encouraging the development of safer alternatives). Senator Frank Lautenberg is championing this effort in the U.S. Senate, and Rep. Bobby Rush is the leader of the reform effort in the House of Representatives. It is critical that we unite to make our environment safer for all and for many generations to come. Please contact your representative today and urge them to support SB 797. We also urge you to do what you can in your own home by always choosing alternatives to toxics! For more information, visit the following websites: Bibliography
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