Reducing the use of carcinogens: the Massachusetts experience.

Toxics use reduction (TUR) is one part of a comprehensive cancer prevention strategy. TUR emphasizes reducing the use of cancer-causing chemicals by improving manufacturing processes and identifying and adopting safer alternatives. This analysis draws on 20 years of data collected from industries reporting to the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) program to assess trends in the use and release of chemicals associated with cancer. We used a master list of known and suspected carcinogens developed from authoritative sources and a list of carcinogens grouped by their association with 11 cancer sites to analyze trends in use and release of chemicals by industrial facilities reporting to the TURA program from 1990 to 2010. The trend analysis shows that reported use and releases of carcinogens by these Massachusetts companies have decreased dramatically over time. Reported use declined 32% from 1990 to 2010, and reported releases declined 93% from 1991 to 2010 (1991 is when additional industrial sectors, including electric utilities, were phased into the program). Particularly large reductions were achieved in the use of trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and cadmium and cadmium compounds. The analysis of groups of chemicals associated with specific cancer sites shows similar trends. Important opportunities for further reductions in many carcinogens, including formaldehyde, hexavalent chromium, and a variety of halogenated compounds are identified. Continued work to minimize the use of carcinogens can help to reduce the burden of cancer in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

How developing nations can protect children from hazardous chemical exposures while sustaining economic growth.

Increasing worldwide use of chemicals, including heavy metals used in industry and pesticides used in agriculture, may produce increases in chronic diseases in children unless steps are taken to manage the production, use, trade, and disposal of chemicals. In 2020 the developing world will account for 33 percent of global chemical demand and 31 percent of production, compared with 23 percent and 21 percent, respectively, in 1995. We describe present and potential costs of environmental exposures and discuss policy options to protect future generations of children in a sustainable development context. Specifically, we describe the principles of sound chemicals management, as follows: precaution, or the use of cost-effective measures to prevent potentially hazardous exposures before scientific understanding is complete; the right to know, or informing the public--especially vulnerable groups--in a timely fashion about the safe use of chemicals and any releases of chemicals into the environment; pollution prevention, or preventing the use of hazardous chemicals and the production of pollutants, rather than focusing on managing wastes; internalization of environmental and health costs, or ensuring that the consequences of exposures are reflected in the price of chemicals through such approaches as "polluter pays"; and use of best available scientific information in making decisions such as what chemicals to allow into the market. We recommend that industrializing nations in particular employ these principles to prevent disease among their populations while at the same time minimizing the risk to their own economic development.

Higher hazard substances under The Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act: lessons from the first four years.

The Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) has achieved significant reductions in toxic chemical use in Massachusetts, using a combination of regulatory and voluntary measures. Historically the program has regulated only users of relatively large quantities of toxic chemicals, with services provided to facilities of all sizes on a voluntary basis. Statutory amendments adopted in 2006 created an authority to designate Higher and Lower Hazard Substances (HHS and LHS). The HHS designation extends TURA program requirements to smaller quantity chemical users. This article reports on experiences from the first four years of implementing this new authority. A case study of trichloroethylene is provided as an example. The article also discusses steps taken to regulate n-propyl bromide, a drop-in substitute for TCE that is minimally regulated at the federal level. TURA program experiences may be of interest to other jurisdictions that are working to reach small-quantity chemical users, and to categorize and prioritize chemicals.