Industrial chemicals and their keepers : comparing chemical regulation in the U.S. and Europe : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

This paper focuses on the human health consequences of toxic chemicals, and compares the European Union and United States' chemical regulatory policies. It explores the human health consequences of industrial chemicals used in consumer products; issues impeding conclusive findings about the body's reaction to chemical pollution; and the chemical industry's role in regulation. The philosophies and functioning of the TSCA, the US' primary chemical legislation, and REACH, the comprehensive chemical policy which overhauled Europe's numerous and divergent policies in 2007, are described and compared. The paper concludes by discussing the possibility of TSCA's reform. The appendix supplements the text's regulatory focus with intriguing information that synthesizes TSCA and REACH's regulatory differences by discussing topics relevant to industrial toxins and human health.