ABSTRACT
The Chemical Abstracts Service, which registers new chemical compounds as they are discovered, lists several million unique chemicals. Around sixty thousand or so are in common use spread throughout the economy. Several hundred additional chemical compounds are introduced into commerce in one form or another each year. While the biological “pathways” of human exposure to toxic substances are sometimes quite subtle, many sources of such exposure are not quite so difficult to envision. The Office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress, in a recent study of hazardous waste in the United States, concluded, “It is possible that large segments of the population are being exposed to releases of hazardous waste constituents.” In light of the potential threat posed by hazardous and toxic materials, a legislative framework directed at various aspects of the problem has been constructed by Congress.
