Laws & Regulations

Do commercial products we have body contact with contain toxic chemicals? In too many cases, states and environmentalists are saying, the federal government forbids consumers from knowing.

The site offers some improvements over poring through the Federal Register, but it's not comprehensive, topics are too broad, and there's poor differentiation between topics and constituencies. On the plus side, visitors can comment on in-process regulations, get alerts about specific regulations, attend online public meetings, and sort in-process regs.

Educating your audience about the complicated new law will be a useful public service. It will also familiarize you with the people involved at your local facilities, what steps they are taking, and who you can contact if a shooting incident or other violation occurs.

A court case involving a 1971 NY law may force manufacturers to make public unlisted toxic chemicals in products like stain remover, dish soap and laundry detergent. The cleanser industry says the action is "unwarranted, and that fears about health risks are misinformed," according to the AP.

Companies of all kinds face the prospect of major costs or losses as they face a future of unknown risks and uncertain regulations — and you are provided an environmental reporting opportunity.

After an October 2009 EPA proposal to regulate coal ash, documents show coal industry officials started meeting with OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and soon EPA announced it was postponing proposal of the coal-ash regulation.

Washington Post reporter Lyndsey Layton writes about the thousands of chemicals exempted from EPA screening for potential harm to the environment and public health — and the three-decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that renders it possible, in the interest of protecting manufacturers' bottom lines.