Weak Toxic Substance Laws Leaves Children At Risk

TSCA Needs to be Stronger to Protect Children

The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) which regulates the commercial use of several extremely dangerous substances such as asbestos and lead has not been updated since 1976.  Several Washington-D.C. based health organizations feel that that is much too long a time.  The act as it currently reads does not do as much as it could to protect the youngest members of our society- infants and children.

Harmful chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and asbestos, while regulated, are still in use today and still present in situations that could put children and infants at a great risk of developing life-threatening illnesses later in life. 

The weaknesses of the TSCA  can be examined by the way in which asbestos is handled.  Asbestos has been used for hundreds of years but in the 1920s its use exploded.  Because it added strength and fire resistant properties to commercial products such as building materials, adhesives, and even paint, asbestos was added to thousands of such products until its use was strictly curtailed in 1985.  Asbestos was also added to televisions, radios, cigarette filters, hairdryers and other appliances. 

Asbestos exposure can cause severe life-threatening diseases including asbestosis and mesothelioma (a type of cancer which affects the tissues lining the lungs and other internal body cavities).  Even minute amounts of the substance can cause mesothelioma tumors.  Extended exposure or multiple exposures over time greatly increase that chance.  Sadly, mesothelioma is 100% lethal and sufferers can only hope treatments may prolong life and ease their suffering.

A senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sarah Janssen has criticized the TSCA on multiple occasions.  She describes the act as “weak,” citing the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can only urge people to avoid exposure and mandate that the public is informed of any known asbestos hazard.  While the Clean Air Act goes a little further, it primarily ensures that companies comply with standards as to the removal, transportation, and disposal of the harmful carcinogen.

Information cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that the developing bodies of infants and young children are far more susceptible to the dangers of asbestos than the adult population.  The risk is not only magnified for development of malignant mesothelioma (a type of cancer caused by asbestos exposure that doesn’t typically cause noticeable symptoms until 40 or 50 years after initial exposure) but for other severe respiratory illnesses as well.

These watchdog groups would like to see the government take one step further toward protecting the youth of the nation and allow for more severe legal repercussions for mishandling of toxic substances such as asbestos.  However, with the current political atmosphere being sharply divided as to the role of government in the American lifestyle it is doubtful that reform will come any time soon.

In the meantime, young children continue to be exposed to hazards that could have life-long consequences.