The Toxinator: EPA'Bot Tests for Poisons

摘要

More than 83,000 chemicals go into solvents, cosmetics, and other American products, but no one knows how the vast majority of them affect our health. For the Environmental Protection Agency, screening a single chemical can take years and cost millions. The agency has ordered testing on just 200 compounds and restricted or banned only five since it gained the authority to regulate new chemicals in 1976 under the Toxic Substances Control Act. (Among the banned substances are poly-chlorinated biphenyls, or pcbs, which can cause cancer and liver dysfunction.)