Monday, January 4, 2010

Potentially Harmful Chemicals in Products Kept Secret

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/03/AR2010010302110.html

The Washington Post reports today that an obscure, 33 year old law shields chemicals in consumer products from outside review:

Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.

The policy was designed 33 years ago to protect trade secrets in a highly competitive industry. But critics -- including the Obama administration -- say the secrecy has grown out of control, making it impossible for regulators to control potential dangers or for consumers to know which toxic substances they might be exposed to.

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