On October 11, 1976, five years after initial introduction of federal legislation to regulate toxic substances, President Ford signed into law the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).¹ Although the regulatory scheme established by the TSCA is in some respects cumbersome and fragmented, due in large part to the close balance of opposing forces in the 94th Congress, the Act is probably the most significant piece of environmental legislation to be enacted in the last two years. Moreover, recent advances in the science of toxicology give substantial promise of easing the cumbersome and costly aspects of regulation under the TSCA.

The TSCA subjects a broad range of consumer, commerical and industrial chemicals and mixtures to direct (and, for new compounds, anticipatory) federal regulation for the first time. In general terms, it fills the regulatory gap between pesticides, already subject to pre-market screening by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and food, drug and cosmetic chemicals, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Toxics Act subjects to commercial restrictions any chemical found unreasonably hazardous by the Administrator of EPA.