Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the names of 150 chemicals that have been involved in over 100 health and safety studies (there were concerns over their safe use); these were chemical studies that had been protected from disclosure, kept from the public under a “confidential” label before now.
The EPA has done this as part of the Obama White House’s continued word toward greater transparency in federal actions, and the EPA itself labeled yesterday’s release as “unprecedented.”
What has been done? In 104 studies, the EPA will no longer allow the chemical identity to be omitted. These studies involve chemicals used in common and popular consumer products like air fresheners and non-stick and stain resistant materials along with fire resistant materials, nonylphenol compounds, perfluorinated compounds, and lead.
Online Chemical Data Access Tool Available to the Public
The agency has also given the American public free online access to the consolidated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory on its own website as well as www.Data.Gov.
Called the “Chemical Data Access Tool,” anyone can go to the EPA site and input anything found in an ingredients label to learn details about that chemical and whether or not there are concerns about its safety in use.
