July 26, 2011
By Mickey Friedman
An unborn child - Photo: EPA Office of Children's Health Protection
According to a new report by Arthur A. Elkins, Jr. and his Office of Inspector General at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), EPA’s own “Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program” (VCCEP) did not achieve its stated goal to protect children’s health.
Touted by the Clinton Administration as a program to give parents more information about toxic chemicals and their children’s exposure to toxics, an April 21, 1997 Executive Order directed EPA to undertake testing on chemicals to which children were disproportionately exposed.
With input from industry, EPA created a voluntary pilot program to assess the possible risks from 23 chemicals:
EPA asked the manufacturers and importers of 23 chemicals to volunteer to provide data sufficient for EPA to evaluate the risks of these chemicals to children’s health …Thirty-five companies and 10 consortia volunteered to sponsor 20 of the 23 chemicals by June of 2001.
