(GAO) Study Faults Limited U.S. Safety Reviews (on Chemicals)

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON - The government has provided only "limited assurance" that the 700 new chemicals entering the marketplace each year are safe and won't harm the environment, Congress' investigative arm reported Wednesday.

The Government Accountability Office's report to three Democratic senators said Congress should strengthen the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act to give the Environmental Protection Agency more authority to require more test data from chemical manufacturers, and to share that data publicly.

"Most chemicals used in consumer products today have never undergone any federal safety review," said Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., ranking minority member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "We do know, however, that most of us are carrying in our bodies dozens — if not hundreds — of synthetic chemicals to which our grandparents were never exposed."

The senators' release of the report coincided with a legislative proposal Wednesday by Jeffords and six Democrats that they said would protect more children from harmful chemical exposure. It would require chemical makers to demonstrate to the EPA that "a reasonable certainty of no harm" exists before putting a chemical on the market.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050714/ap_on_go_co/chemical_risks_2

[KT2000]

1. that's right

we are all taking part in a huge experiment. The health care crisis this country faces if the failing grade of government agencies and corporations placing profit over health.:mad: