CPSC Chairman Calls For National Focus On Chronic Hazards

S. John Byington, Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, today suggested that American health officials give the Commission their views ""on the single most compelling national problem the Commission currently faces -- chronic hazards"".

In a speech delivered before the National Environmental Health Association in San Diego, California, Byington pointed out "There has been an interesting evolutionary change taking place in CPSC's regulatory activities. When the agency came into existence in 1973, its focus was on the acute hazards which we all recognize -- abrasions, lacerations, broken bones etc. However, we are now betting increasingly active in the area of chronic hazards--those hazards which produce a delayed, often unforeseen, harmful effect on health. These recent actions by CPSC reflect, in part, a growing national concern over the impact of known or potential chronic hazards."

He went on to state that "In recent years this nation has been devoting increasing resources to the determination of the causes and development of a cure for such chronic diseases as cancer. A tangential development has been a significantly increased capability to use extremely sophisticated testing mechanisms to detect minuscule traces of elements which may be hazardous. This combination of events has not only greatly altered this nation's perception of the pervasity of chronic hazards, but it has also caused the Commission to re-evaluate its approach to protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury."

Several Federal agencies are currently involved in the chronic hazards area, but Byington noted that "A particular substance may not surface for testing because it represents a relatively small portion of the problem as seen from single agency points of view. Yet total exposure to the substance may be large or the substance may interact synergistically or additively with other substances."

"In addition, remedial strategy decision-making processes differ among agencies. In short, there is no common approach to assessing the feasibility of reducing or Eliminating exposure to chronic hazards."

The CPSC Chairman said that the agency is currently in the process of developing a policy on chronic hazards. He indicated that "CPSC's approach to chronic hazards must also consider such points as:

- what criteria should be applied during the selection and/or priority ordering of potential hazards?

- what standards of acceptability should the commission establish for the evidence it must use to make its determination about chronic hazards?

- what interpretations should be placed on animal test findings in the regulatory determination of chronic hazards to man?"

"Even after a hazard has been identified we must decide whether a chronic hazard presents an unreasonable risk in and of itself and must automatically be banned, or whether we should determine whether to ban these substances on a case-by-case basis, which allows the flexibility to take into account any mitigating factors."

The complete text of Chairman Byington's remarks can be obtained from the Office of Media Relations, 1111 18th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20207