Investors Warn Congress: Obsolete Federal Chemicals Policy Threatens Business Recovery

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Investor Environmental Health Network

Sep 27, 2010, 12:01 ET

Managers of $35 billion in assets cite economic burden from chemical exposures

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While attention in Congress is focused on contentious economic stimulus programs, investors reminded legislators today that reforming obsolete federal policy governing toxic chemicals is necessary for American companies to be able to compete better internationally, lower health care costs, enhance productivity, and drive innovation.

An investor letter, sent today, signed by 51 organizations managing more than $35 billion in assets, endorses S.3209, the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010, and H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010. Both bills comprehensively overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). The letter, coordinated by the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) and the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), is directed to pertinent members of Congressional committees and subcommittees.

Richard Liroff, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Investor Environmental Health Network, commented, "Exposures to toxic chemicals produce a tremendous drag on the U.S. economy, contributing to health problems throughout supply chains." The letter notes that chemical exposures have been linked by scientists to cancer, learning and developmental disabilities, reproductive health and fertility problems, and asthma. Savings in health care costs from reducing exposures consistently add up to billions of dollars annually. Exposures lower worker productivity and raise corporate health care costs, and weaken consumer confidence. These burden corporate performance and reduce investor returns.

Because of TSCA's weaknesses, companies have encountered major challenges in identifying the chemicals in their products and supply chains and gathering information about the toxic hazards of those substances.

The investor letter supports a core goal of chemical policy reform: "to move American business swiftly away from 20th Century chemistry, with its legacy of Superfund sites, impaired human health, and damaged ecosystems, to green 21st Century chemistry that better serves the long term well-being of business, humanity and Planet Earth."

"We need policies that support a marketplace that operates with integrity and transparency while producing safe products. Investment dollars and the future of our economy rest on our businesses' ability to restore consumer confidence in the products they use every day. American business can and will meet this opportunity with the right support," says David Levine, Executive Director and co-founder of the American Sustainable Business Council.

More info:

http://www.asbcouncil.org/Investor_Press_Release.html

http://iehn.org

SOURCE Investor Environmental Health Network