Main description:

This one-stop resource is ideal for understanding the extent to which toxic chemicals are used in U.S. industry and agriculture-impacting public health and the environment through everything from industrial solvents to children's toys.

Every year, about 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are generated and released by U.S. industries. Do these chemicals pose a potential health threat to American families, including vulnerable groups like children and the elderly? Is their manufacture and use adequately regulated to protect both human and environmental health? Is the Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, signed in June 2016 by President Barack Obama with bipartisan support, truly the first major overhaul of toxic chemical regulation in 40 years to put human health first, as its supporters asserted? Or is it a fatally flawed bill that does the bidding of industry by undermining strong state environmental and public health laws, as some detractors claim?

This two-volume set addresses all of those questions. Moreover, it presents and examines arguments marshaled by business interests, community leaders, scientists, activists, and lawmakers alike. It thus provides users with the information they need to accurately assess the impacts-pro and con-that industrial chemicals are having in shaping the world in which we work, eat, drink, breathe, and play.

Approximately 300 encyclopedia entries on toxic chemicals in the United States, including product/commercial uses, laws and regulations governing their use, environmental and human health risks, types of contamination, and notable events and individuals

Chronology of major events in the development and regulation of toxic chemicals in the U.S.

Authoritative and objective analysis of the risks and benefits of chemicals in modern society

Perspectives of chemical industry and related businesses, environmental and public health advocacy organizations, and lawmakers from across the political spectrum