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<TITLE>Not that Innocent - comparison of Canadian, EU and US policies on industrial chemicals</TITLE>
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<P><A HREF="http://www.precaution.org/lib/us_canada_eu_chemicals_policies.070404.pdf"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">http://www.precaution.org/lib/us_canada_eu_chemicals_policies.070404.pdf</FONT></U></A>
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<P><B><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Not That Innocent</FONT></B>
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<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CANADIAN, EUROPEAN UNION</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">AND UNITED STATES POLICIES ON INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">RICHARD A. DENISON, PH.D.</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">Senior Scientist, Health Program, Environmental Defense</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">Washington, DC USA</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">In cooperation with Pollution Probe</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">April 2007</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">An excerpt:</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">"For decades, our policies toward such chemicals have effectively presumed them to be</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">safe</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">, despite the dearth of data available to demonstrate either their safety or adverse</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">impacts. Today there is increasing evidence that certain of these chemicals play a role</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">in human disease and environmental impacts.</FONT>
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<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">These factors the widespread presence of chemicals in humans and the environment,</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">the growing evidence that some of them can cause harm, and the inability of our</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">policies to have predicted or prevented such impacts.have lent urgency to calls for</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">major reforms in industrial chemicals policies worldwide. A sea change is taking place,</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">driven by a growing recognition that existing policies have failed to effectively identify</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">chemicals of concern, to manage their risks, and to facilitate the needed shift toward</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">development and use of safer chemicals.</FONT>
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<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">For the last several decades, government policies have granted the tens of thousands of</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">industrial chemicals already in commerce a strong .presumption of innocence.. In the</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">absence of clear evidence of harm, companies have largely been free to produce and</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">use such chemicals as they.ve seen fit. These policies contrast sharply with the</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">approach closer to presumed guilty until proven innocent adopted for other</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">classes of chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and pesticides. For these substances,</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">producers have the burden of providing information to government deemed sufficient to</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">demonstrate their safety, at least when used as intended."</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Deborah L. DeBiasi</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Email: dldebiasi@deq.virginia.gov</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">WEB site address: </FONT><A HREF="file://www.deq.virginia.gov"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">www.deq.virginia.gov</FONT></U></A>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Office of Water Permit Programs</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218</FONT><B><I> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">(NEW!)</FONT></I></B>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">PH: 804-698-4028</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">FAX: 804-698-4032</FONT>
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