Who do you think regulates chemicals that are in our every day products that regular people are exposed to every day? FDA? EPA? Some obscure chemistry union? You'd be surprised to know very little testing is done to verify the safety of chemicals in our walls and furniture, in our water and air.
Perkins and Will, a top architectural firm has created a transparency guide, called The Precautionary List that tells about the most harmful chemicals and gives a full rundown. They also help explain why it's important to use alternate materials when necessary for our environment, but also human health by explaining the body burden.
If you have an upcoming home renovation, use the Precautionary List to research some of the products that will be being used and some of their alternatives. We'll be coming to you with more content on sustainable building materials.
The following comes from their website:
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates chemicals in food, medicine, and cosmetics. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) covers all industrial production chemicals — synthetic chemicals made for commercial use in quantities above a certain volume of tons per year. Such chemicals must be registered with the agency, which currently lists about 85,000 chemicals in its inventory, with about 400 new chemicals submitted per year. [1]
The law currently regulating industrial chemicals is the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Passed in 1976 under President Ford, it is still the primary US law regulating chemicals used in everyday products. When TSCA was enacted, the 62,000 chemicals already on the market were "grandfathered in," meaning they were presumed safe until a substantial health concern came to public attention. [2]
In 2016, TSCA underwent a much-needed update, which included a requirement that the EPA do a health risk assessment before any chemical reaches the market. [3] Still, the agency has a long way to go in reviewing all 84,000 existing chemicals in its inventory. (The good news is that they are now mandated to do so.) [4]
Beyond the EPA, the US federal government can regulate chemicals through other mechanisms. However, a review of the record indicates that there is usually a significant wait (years, even decades) between a substance's identification as hazardous and any meaningful action.
