The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), enacted in 1976, is a key law for regulating toxic substances in the United States. The Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the health and environmental effects of chemicals already on the market and new chemicals proposed for commercial manufacture. If the EPA finds these health and environmental effects to pose unreasonable risks, it can regulate, or even ban, the chemical(s) under consideration.

The initiative to regulate toxic substances began in the early 1970s. In 1971, the Council on Environmental Quality produced a report on toxic substances. It concluded that existing health and environmental laws were not adequately regulating such substances. The report recommended that a new comprehensive law to deal with toxic substances be enacted. Among the problem substances that had helped to focus national concern on toxic substances were asbestos, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs...