The Commission unanimously approved new chronic hazard guidelines that improve the agency’s ability to protect you from toxic chemicals.

Over three decades ago, during the last days of the George H.W. Bush Administration, CPSC issued restrictive guidelines that made it nearly impossible for the agency to protect you from toxic chemicals. This favor to the chemical industry made it easier for them to make us all sicker. But the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) tasks CPSC with protecting consumers from toxin-emitting products in the home, including chronic toxins. Now, we’ve freed ourselves to do the job the FHSA gave us.  For families that have unknowingly been poisoned for decades, federal action is long overdue.

The old guidelines arguably forced the Commission, but not industry, to apply a set of onerous, costly, and outmoded procedures before acting against chronic hazards. The new guidelines remove that impediment to the Commission, allowing us to innovate. After today, we can apply the latest methods in toxicology and use current scientific insight, including research and findings from other federal agencies, universities, and professional toxicologists. That is a major leap forward.

The old guidelines had glaring gaps in the types of chronic hazards they discussed. They talked about how this agency could approach toxic chemicals that cause cancer, neurological problems, or developmental and reproductive issues like birth defects. Those are very serious hazards. But we know that toxic chemicals in the home can cause a host of other problems too—respiratory illness, heart disease, immunosuppression, and more. Today’s update makes it clear that CPSC can tackle all toxic “endpoints,” not just the worst of the worst.  Again, that’s real progress for consumers.  

Faithfully,

Your consumer advocate at the Consumer Product Safety Commission

Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr.