Environmental regulations other than TSCA

Measurement or estimation of health impacts under TSCA would be premature, since relatively little has been done to regulate new or existing chemicals that could result in health benefits. The principal exception to this generalization is the ban on aerosol uses of CFCs, whose chronic effects on human health derive from their environmental impact rather than direct biological toxicity. Compared with other environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act, the regulatory accomplishments of TSCA are somewhat insubstantial. 

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was passed in 1976 after much debate in Congress, despite intense lobbying by chemical manufacturers (Davis, 1993). It was the first environmental law that tried to look at the other end of the pipe. In other words, it tries to prevent the manufacture of toxic substances rather than try to control their discharge. Prior to the TSCA, the USEPA was solely in a reactive stance and able to regulate chemicals only after the damage was already done. 

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