Number: 1980-11
WHEREAS, of 38 premanufacture notifications received by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), at the end of 1979, all but 8 claimed all or part of the information provided to EPA as confidential (including 15 companies which claimed their company name as confidential, 14 which claimed the chemical identity as confidential, 12 which claimed the physical and chemical properties of the chemical as confidential, and 6 which claimed health and safety data concerning the chemical as confidential); and
WHEREAS, the ability of the public (and even of EPA in seeking the guidance and assistance of outside non-contractor scientists) to evaluate health and environmental risks of a proposed new chemical are severely hampered by lack of disclosure of basic information concerning chemicals proposed to be manufactured; and
WHEREAS, trade secrets can be protected from disclosure to competitors by less drastic and less all-encompassing means;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 20-23, 1980, in Miami Beach, Fla., hereby urges the Congress of the United States to reconsider the broad confidentiality provisions of TSCA with a view toward narrowing them to facilitate meaningful EPA and public review of potentially hazardous chemicals without unduly jeopardizing legitimate trade secrets.