Opposing camps agree on rewriting toxin law

Environmentalists and chemical manufacturers don't often agree. But on Tuesday, environmentalists and industry leaders called on Congress to change the way that the country protects children from toxic chemicals. The law that governs toxins, the Toxic Substances Control Act, is more than 30 years old and "badly broken," says Richard Denison, senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund. In three decades, the Environmental Protection Agency has used the law to ban or severely restrict only about half a dozen chemicals, says Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group. Members of the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, agreed that the law has not kept pace with science. Giving the EPA more money and power to ban dangerous substances will help restore confidence, says the council's president and chief executive officer, Cal Dooley. "It is clear that many in the public for a variety of reasons do not have a lot of confidence in the system," Dooley said at a news conference...USAToday