From life-saving medications to fuel for our cars, most people would agree: Our lives are better because of modern chemistry. While banning, restricting, or regulating a chemical family may be well intentioned, the truth is it doesn’t make for effective science based policy.
As an industry, ACC is committed to addressing potential concerns about chemicals and supports strong regulations that protect human health and the environment. However, the growing practice of banning, restricting, or regulating entire classes of chemicals, without acknowledging individual properties and behaviors, is neither scientifically accurate nor appropriate.
Lately, there has been a trend in one-size-fits-all policies by federal and state policymakers to ban, restrict, or regulate entire chemical families. Reviews and regulations should take into account the significant differences among the many compounds that are part of a chemical family. Rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, we need a fact-based discussion about the nature of these substances, how they differ from each other and what they do affect – and what they don’t – in terms of human health and the environment.
A one-size-fits-all approach is neither scientifically accurate, nor appropriate. The truth is, just like in our own families, every individual chemical in a family has its own unique set of qualities and behaviors that can provide important benefits.
