Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

Every day, Americans are exposed to hundreds of chemicals in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the products we use. The vast majority of these chemicals have never been tested far safety. Many have been shown to cause serious health harms, ranging.from cancer to autoimmune illness to IQ loss. They also have disproportionate effects on some of the most vulnerable populations in our society, such as children, minorities, and industrial workers.

The law that is supposed to protect Americans from dangerous chemical exposures-the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA")-was long considered a dead letter after the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") failed to ban asbestos, an extremely hazardous carcinogen. The agency issued a ban in 1989, but it was struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals far the Fifth Circuit in Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA Following the Fifth Circuit decision in 1991, the agency never again sought to exercise its authority under TSCA to prohibit the use of a chemical already on the market.

Comments

Torts; Environmental Law; Legal History

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