Statement

American Chemistry Council Statement on Society of Toxicology Survey

ARLINGTON, VA (May 21, 2009) – The chemistry industry shares public concerns about the potential impact of chemical products on human health and the environment.  Consumers need balanced and accurate information to make the most appropriate product choices for their families and both our industry and the media play a critical role in providing that information.  In our view, the survey results point to the critical need to enhance the understanding of chemicals risks and how regulatory systems address those risks. 

To that end, we and our member companies are committed to doing our part to generate and provide reliable information about the safety of our products in a transparent manner.  As responsible product stewards, our industry routinely sponsors extensive research and testing of our products to better understand safety and potential risks, including participation in the High Production Volume (HPV) testing program and our Long Range Research Initiative (LRI).  We also strongly support government led programs to develop and apply new scientific technologies including CDC’s ongoing biomonitoring efforts that improve our understanding of chemical exposure, and the US EPA’s newly launched ToxCast program that will develop methods to predict chemical toxicity and prioritize chemical testing.  To be sure that our regulatory systems are as up to date as the science, we also support modernization of the US chemical management system (TSCA).

The ACC members are proud of the products, like life saving vaccines, solar panels and clean water, that make life and the environment better and healthier, but we also know that the scientific understanding of our products continues to develop and evolve.  Consequently, we will continue to work with government and scientific organizations to promote the use of modern technologies to evaluate and understand the potential impacts of chemicals and, based on the science, we will continue to provide balanced and accurate information for consumers on the safety of our products.