Congressional Action Needed on a Chemical of High Concern: Bisphenol A (BPA)

BPA is a very common chemical found in plastics, food and beverage can linings, and other consumer products. BPA is known to mimic estrogen and, in animal studies, researchers have linked developmental exposure to BPA to reproductive harm, increased cancer susceptibility, and abnormalities in brain development and fat metabolism.
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Congressional Action Needed on a Chemical of High Concern: Asbestos

Inhalation of asbestos can cause chronic lung disease and cancer. In the United States, there is more than one death per hour due to asbestos related disease—approximately 10,000 per year — a legacy from past and continuing exposure to asbestos. The global death rate is estimated to be 10 times higher. Inhaling asbestos is known to cause at least four types of cancer — lung cancer, mesothelioma, laryngeal cancer, and ovarian cancer.
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Chemicals and the Obesity Epidemic: the Link

Obesity is a major and growing problem in the United States. Shockingly, about one in three adults is obese, and today’s children and teens are three times as likely today to be obese as they were 30 years ago. Changes in diet and exercise in the last several decades are generally believed to be at the root of the problem. But a growing body of research is finding that toxic chemicals also may be part of the problem.
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Toxic Chemicals: The Cost to Our Health

Over the last 30 years, scientists have developed a better understanding of how toxic chemicals are connected to some of our country’s most serious health problems, including childhood cancers, asthma, impaired fertility, birth defects, and learning disabilities. Now, Congress has the opportunity to overhaul our outdated laws and put common-sense limits on toxic chemicals. Stronger chemical laws will mean better health for all Americans.
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What is TSCA?

TSCA (toss-ka) stands for the Toxic Substances Control Act. Passed in 1976 under President Gerald Ford, it is our nation’s main law aimed at regulating chemicals used in every day products. The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition is calling for an overhaul of TSCA based on the law’s inability to protect the American public from exposure to harmful chemicals.
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TSCA: Failing the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are unique, valuable, and vulnerable. Unfortunately, the world’s largest fresh water resource has become a major "sink" for a toxic stew of chemicals that end up in our environment and wildlife and—ultimately—in all of us. The widespread contamination of the Great Lakes ecosystems illustrates how the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our nations' primary law governing chemical safety, has failed to protect public health, our communities, and our valuable land and water resources.
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Shaping Chemicals Policy Reform: Public Health Advocates vs. the Chemical Industry

Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our federal system for overseeing chemical safety, is now on the national agenda. This is welcome news because TSCA has failed to protect public health and the environment from toxic chemicals, in the process threatening the competitiveness of American industry in a global market that increasingly demands safer products. This factsheet defines the key differences between what public health advocates want and what the chemical industry wants from TSCA reform.
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The Business Case for Comprehensive TSCA Reform

Using safer chemicals makes sense for our economy, health, and environment. Designing new chemicals to be safer from the start reduces the costs of regulation, costs of hazardous waste storage and disposal, costs of providing worker protections, and potential liabilities.
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Public Opinion: Americans Want More Protection from Toxic Chemicals

Majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans say they feel much more favorable [about TSCA reform] when hearing that the legislation will take chemicals off the market if they have been detected in babies at birth or in infants (Democrats—66 percent much more favorable, Independents—52 percent, Republicans—59 percent).
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Chemicals of Concern

Here’s a list of chemicals linked to serious environmental and health problems, including cancer and reproductive disorders. Examples include: PFCs, toxic flame retardants, PCBs & DDT, and heavy metals.
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Business Case Studies

Here you will case studies showing how leading businesses are eliminating toxic chemicals from their supply chains, asking chemical manufacturers for more safety information, and calling on Congress to put common sense limits on chemicals that could harm their customers. Examples include: Kaiser Permanente, Catholic Healthcare West, Seventh Generation, Construction Specialties, and Perkins + Will.
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