In a commentary published in Frontiers in Toxicology, researchers highlight the gaps preventing current regulatory approaches from adequately addressing harmful chemical exposures.
In short:
- Many chemicals are approved for use with little to no scrutiny from regulatory agencies.
- Current hazard assessment methods don’t take advantage of advancements in scientific tools, and often don’t consider all organs known to be sensitive to chemical exposures, like breast tissue.
- The authors point to the judicial system as a potential avenue to hold both industry and regulatory agencies accountable for their failures to safeguard public health.
Key quote:
“Ultimately, the best available scientific evidence must be used to support decision-making by regulatory authorities, and their decisions should be reviewed with the latest and best scientific evidence in mind. Approaches to toxicity testing, exposure assessment, risk assessment, and risk management should change with time. A static regulatory system puts human and environmental health at risk.”
Why this matters:
Regulatory bodies still rely on outdated methods and disproven assumptions to justify safety limits for chemical exposures that are well above levels where health impacts are possible. Studies have proven that regulatory policies are an effective tool in reducing harmful chemical exposures, but as the science on chemicals’ health impacts has continued to develop, the risk assessment and testing methods that underpin regulatory toxicology haven’t been updated to match.
Related EHN coverage:
- Ending exposure to two plastic chemicals could have saved over 500,000 lives in one year, study estimates
- Plastic chemicals are more numerable and less regulated than previously thought: Report
More resources:
- The Food Packaging Forum tracks proposed regulations open for public comment from around the world.
- Safer States tracks U.S. state-level chemical regulations.
- You can also follow author Dr. Maricel Maffini on Bluesky or on X for U.S. regulatory updates.
Maffini, Maricel & Vandenberg, Laura for Frontiers in Toxicology. Jan. 10, 2025
