238
Toxic Chemicals
own. This is especially true for small businesses. This can be accomplished
by providing direct technical assistance and by providing a clearinghouse
for industry sectorwide toxic chemical use reduction methods.
Further details of these nine specific proposed program elements are provided in
the remainder of this chapter.
TARGET IMPACT CHEMICALS
Based on the analysis of the TRI releases in 2007 (Figure 16.1), any program should
start with targeting the toxic chemicals that have the most potential toxic impact.
The first 10 chemicals (of the 650 chemicals reported as part of the TRI program)
represent over 99.98 percent of the estimated toxicity impact.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION REPORTING
When a chemical product is supplied to a company user, it is typically supplied with
an MSDS. An MSDS provides basic information on the properties and potential
hazards of the material, how to use it safely, and what to do if there is an emergency associated with the chemical. An MSDS describes hazards associated with
the material by effects such as
• Health hazards (e.g., skin contact with strong acids will cause burns)
• Fire hazards (e.g., propane burns easily and may explode)
• Reactivity hazards (e.g., mixing ammonia and household bleach will result
in the release of a harmful gas)
An MSDS does not contain sufficient information on the concentrations or
physiochemical characteristics of toxic chemicals contained in the product for an
individual to determine the degree of toxicity or the total amount of the chemical
used in the product. When MSDSs contain composition information, the information
is usually limited to reporting concentrations of 1 percent or higher. More composition information is needed as a starting point in any program designed to reduce or
eliminate the use of toxic chemicals.
The TRI program places the burden of inventorying toxic chemicals on the users
of those chemicals. The result of the TRI program was to require product suppliers to reveal the concentrations of TRI chemicals in products sold to those companies required to report under the TRI program. This composition reporting was one
of the more difficult parts of the TRI program as it was based on each user agreeing to supply the information provided by each of the suppliers of that company.
Composition information is generally considered to be proprietary and is usually well
protected from competitors. Think of the secret formula for Coca-Cola, for instance.
As a result of the TRI program, the hurdle of providing toxic chemical composition in products has been lowered. Chemical composition information for toxic
chemicals needs to be provided to all users and end users of products containing
these chemicals.
Toxic Chemicals
own. This is especially true for small businesses. This can be accomplished
by providing direct technical assistance and by providing a clearinghouse
for industry sectorwide toxic chemical use reduction methods.
Further details of these nine specific proposed program elements are provided in
the remainder of this chapter.
TARGET IMPACT CHEMICALS
Based on the analysis of the TRI releases in 2007 (Figure 16.1), any program should
start with targeting the toxic chemicals that have the most potential toxic impact.
The first 10 chemicals (of the 650 chemicals reported as part of the TRI program)
represent over 99.98 percent of the estimated toxicity impact.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION REPORTING
When a chemical product is supplied to a company user, it is typically supplied with
an MSDS. An MSDS provides basic information on the properties and potential
hazards of the material, how to use it safely, and what to do if there is an emergency associated with the chemical. An MSDS describes hazards associated with
the material by effects such as
• Health hazards (e.g., skin contact with strong acids will cause burns)
• Fire hazards (e.g., propane burns easily and may explode)
• Reactivity hazards (e.g., mixing ammonia and household bleach will result
in the release of a harmful gas)
An MSDS does not contain sufficient information on the concentrations or
physiochemical characteristics of toxic chemicals contained in the product for an
individual to determine the degree of toxicity or the total amount of the chemical
used in the product. When MSDSs contain composition information, the information
is usually limited to reporting concentrations of 1 percent or higher. More composition information is needed as a starting point in any program designed to reduce or
eliminate the use of toxic chemicals.
The TRI program places the burden of inventorying toxic chemicals on the users
of those chemicals. The result of the TRI program was to require product suppliers to reveal the concentrations of TRI chemicals in products sold to those companies required to report under the TRI program. This composition reporting was one
of the more difficult parts of the TRI program as it was based on each user agreeing to supply the information provided by each of the suppliers of that company.
Composition information is generally considered to be proprietary and is usually well
protected from competitors. Think of the secret formula for Coca-Cola, for instance.
As a result of the TRI program, the hurdle of providing toxic chemical composition in products has been lowered. Chemical composition information for toxic
chemicals needs to be provided to all users and end users of products containing
these chemicals.