The EPA and Environmental Pollutants

Full disclosure, I’ve watched documentary after documentary on our toxic environment. Instead of being a reason to switch out all of my cosmetics and cleaners, this information seems to sit in the back of my head, piping up in a little voice every so often to tell me to buy the BPA free water bottle. When I saw thought to discuss this as a blog post, I was both supremely interested and horrifically dreading the process. I wanted to know more, but I did not want to see nagging area that is lacking in my health. I read the articles, watched the documentaries, and poured over reports.

In the mid-70’s, the American public became wary of the number of chemicals, largely untested, on the market and their impact on human health. In 1976, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted to ease these concerns. Under this law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would identify potentially dangerous chemicals, gather information from chemical manufacturers, and be the governing body in reducing or eliminating the risk to public health and the environment by these chemicals. However, 62,000 chemicals were allowed through the TSCA without testing. Today, out of the 84,000 chemicals that are registered for commercial use in the United States, the EPA has only banned or placed restrictions on nine and requires testing for only about 250 of them.

Is this the EPA’s fault? Not exactly. The TSCA straightjackets the agency and any regulations they attempt to put in place are beaten down by extremely large and influential chemical companies. Because of these roadblocks, individual states have taken it upon themselves to put more than 250 laws or rules in place to control the use of toxic substances. Unfortunately, federal laws take precedence over state, and it is possible for laws to be made that undermine states’ regulations, something that was being lobbied for in Congress.

Thankfully, last month the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act brought us a much needed update to the TCSA. In this reform, the EPA must decide whether or not a new chemical may enter the market, evaluate existing chemicals for unreasonable risk, and may not consider cost when determining a chemical as an unreasonable risk.

Trade Secrets, a documentary highlighting the dangers behind the chemical companies, and others like it have been invaluable in increasing public awareness, including my own. More people are looking for those BPA free water bottles, considering the mercury levels in fish, and being conscious of the coating on their pans. Although I have never done any chemical load testing myself, I would be very interested to see how someone generally considered “healthy” stands up to environmental pollutants.

What pollutants do we need to look out for? The Environmental Working Group made another handy "dirty dozen" list to point out the 12 worst endocrine disruptors:

1.    BPA: Makes plastics clearer
2. Dioxin: accumulates in animal fat, paper
3. Atrazine: Herbicide
4. Phthalates: Makes plastics more flexible and less breakable
5. Perchlorate: Industrial pollutant that contaminates drinking water
6. Fire Retardants: Cushions, insulation, carpets
7. Lead: Paint, batteries, cosmetics
8. Mercury: Farm raised and large fish
9. Arsenic: Cotton, glass, herbicide, wood preservatives (playgrounds and decks)
10. PFCs: Dental floss, cosmetics
11. Organophosphate Pesticides
12. Glycol Ethers: Sunscreen, cosmetics, dyes, water based paint, soaps