Report Demonstrates Reductions in Toxic Chemical Exposure Would Make Americans Healthier, Save Billions

Washington, DC — According to a new report released today, “The Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act,” the U.S. has the opportunity to prevent rising rates of chronic disease and reduce health care costs by overhauling federal chemical policy. Evidence is strong and growing that chemical exposures contribute significantly to the rise in many chronic diseases, according to this new report synthesizing peer-reviewed science.

The report was released by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a coalition of diverse groups united by their common concern about toxic chemicals in our homes, places of work, and products we use every day. Health Care Without Harm is a founding coalition member, and has long been actively engaged in chemical policy reform, especially in the health care setting.

As the U.S. Congress debates the costs of health care and its reform, “The Health Case” documents the enormous health care costs of treating cancer, learning and developmental disabilities, asthma, and other diseases and conditions linked to chemical exposure according to numerous studies. The report found that by updating toxic chemical laws people’s exposure to chemicals contributing to chronic diseases would be reduced. Conservative estimates show that reducing the incidence of these diseases by 0.1 percent could save $5 billion in health care costs. This dollar figure is based on expected health care costs projected for 2020, and assumes full implementation of updated chemical legislation by that year.

The primary federal law governing chemical safety is the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which has never been significantly amended since its adoption in 1976. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has identified comprehensive reform of the toxics law as a key Obama Administration priority, stating that the law fails to provide EPA with the authority it needs to ensure chemicals are safe. Of the 80,000 chemicals used in the U.S., EPA has been able to require safety testing on only 200. And 60,000 chemicals—including bisphenol A—were grandfathered in for use without any testing for health safety. New legislation to bring the toxics law into the 21st century will be introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) in early 2010.

"The use of chemicals is pervasive in our modern society and, when properly tested and used, they improve the quality of life for families here and throughout the world," said U. S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. "But just because chemicals have value, does not mean they are always beneficial to our health, particularly the health and maturation of young children and those whose health has already been compromised. As we work to reform TSCA, I will continue to vigorously prod industry to seek out and invest in the development of safer, more viable alternatives to hazardous chemicals and substances. I applaud the Campaign's release of today's report, which goes a long way toward shedding light on a constructive way to move forward."

“Thousands of chemicals that have not been tested or approved are in use today across the country—many of which are suspected of causing harm to human health,” stated Rachel Gibson, chemicals policy director at Health Care Without Harm. “Yet the nation is receiving very little protection from these chemicals because our out-of-date laws do not provide regulatory agencies with the proper flexibility and authority to make decisions that protect public health.”

The report summarizes a number of peer-reviewed studies that estimate the disease burden attributable to chemical exposure. These estimates vary widely, from five percent of childhood cancer to 30 percent of childhood asthma. Conservatively assuming that chemical policy reform were to reduce the contribution of toxic chemical exposures to chronic diseases by 0.1 percent, the resulting reduction in annual health care costs would amount to an estimated $5 billion. The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition has estimated health care cost savings on a state-by-state basis, using census figures projected for 2020.

During the last 30 years, tens of thousands of peer reviewed studies have built a large body of evidence demonstrating that chemical exposure can cause and contribute to some of our nation’s most serious health problems — from childhood cancer to infertility.

Leukemia and other childhood cancers have increased by more than 20 percent since 1975. A woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is now one in eight, up from one in ten in 1973. Infertility affected 40 percent more women in 2002 than in 1982. The once-rare birth defect of undescended testicles in baby boys increased 200 percent between 1970 and 1993. Since the early 1990s, reported cases of autism spectrum disorder have increased tenfold.

“The widespread exposure of Americans to unregulated toxic chemicals is contributing to an epidemic of chronic disease in this country and financially ballooning health care costs. Reform of the nation’s chemical regulatory framework should be a priority public health intervention for Congress in the coming year,” stated Gary Cohen, president of HCWH. “This will be a major undertaking for Health Care Without Harm in 2010.”

The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families report concludes, “in simplest terms, real [TSCA] reform will lead to more healthy babies, fewer women with breast cancer, a return toward normal fertility patterns, and lower numbers of people with Alzheimer’s disease. This is the promise of TSCA reform.”

The full report, additional quotes, and state-based economic information is available at www.saferchemicals.org.

HCWH is an international coalition of more than 430 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care industry worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH’s chemicals policy work, go to http://www.noharm.org/us_canada/issues/chemicals/.

Heath Care without Harm, an international coalition of more than 500 organizations in 53 countries, is working to transform the health care sector, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. To learn more about HCWH's work, visit our website at www.noharm.org, our YouTube channel at HCwithoutharm, and our twitter feed at hcwithoutharm.