 |
 ore than 400 companies have signed up to provide accelerated
hazard screening for over 2,000 top-selling chemicals that they
manufacture, the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) and
Environmental Defense announced jointly.
 The companies
are responding to a unique challenge program, designed to secure
preliminary hazard-testing data for the public on the approximately
2,800 highest-volume industrial chemicals in the US economy.
The cooperative program, established by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), sets a 2004 deadline for completing
first-level screening of all US high-production-volume chemicals
(those made or imported in amounts of more than 1,000,000 lbs.
per year).
"These
commitments represent a giant first step," said Fred Krupp,
Executive Director of Environmental Defense, who invited chemical
company CEOs to come forward voluntarily with test results after
his group's 1997 study showed large gaps in the public's knowledge
about thousands of chemicals. "The public's right to know
about the chemicals around us is getting a significant boost
from the companies that make those chemicals. As this becomes
the norm rather than the exception, we will look back and wonder
how it could ever have been the other way around." He noted
that the program must be measured by actual results, which Environmental
Defense will monitor.
"This
is the largest voluntary chemical health and safety program ever,
and working together made it possible," said Fred Webber,
President of CMA. "We have a common goal of protecting public
health." CMA and Environmental Defense are sponsoring newspaper
advertisements, noting the industry's commitments. "Knowledge
and disclosure are key elements of safety, and these efforts
will produce knowledge much faster than merely following the
requirements of law," Webber added.
"EPA
is extremely pleased with such an unprecedented commitment to
providing the public with basic health and environmental information
on the chemicals used most often in this country. The success
of this innovative, voluntary program is a wonderful example
of what can be accomplished when EPA, industry, and the environmental
community work cooperatively toward a common goal," said
Susan Wayland, Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office
of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. Vice-President
Al Gore and US EPA Administrator Carol Browner, along with CMA
and Environmental Defense, announced the HPV Chemical Challenge
Program in October 1998. Companies then had until December 1999
to commit chemicals voluntarily for hazard-screening, with a
mandatory EPA testing process as backup for chemicals not volunteered.
CMA is
the leading voice of the US chemical industry. CMA represents
its members on public policy issues, coordinates the industry's
research and testing programs, and sponsors the industry's environmental,
health, safety and performance improvement initiative, known
as Responsible Care. 
|
| Environmental
Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization based in New
York, represents more than 300,000 members. Since 1967, they
have linked science, economics, and law to create innovative,
equitable, and cost-effective solutions to the most urgent environmental
problems. Contact: Tom Gilroy, (703) 741-5804; Allison Cobb,
(202) 387-3500; David Roe, (510) 658-8008. |
