And now the lawyer...

The premise of the Toxic Substances Control Act is that most chemicals are safe.

• Health and safety data are not required before a chemical goes on the market.
• The burden of proof is on the government--they have to prove that a chemical is unsafe.

The science is beginning to show that most chemicals are unsafe. Chemicals are designed to do something. In fact, they are useful because they do something. They are reactive, not inert. So they probably do something when they interact with living systems.

The rules need to change:

• Prove things are safe before they go on the market
• Put the burden of proof on industry

Kid Safe Chemicals Act does both of these things and will be before Congress in 2009. The
Green Chemistry Initiative from California EPA is also a good thing. DTSC authorization is before the California legislature. It's a comprehensive approach rather than a chemical by chemical approach.

Yes we can and may it be so!