Was Re: RE - Smells like a health hazard - Now Burden of Proof

[Guest guest]

Thank you Carl for your wisdom.

I'd like to add, if I might, a few more comments.

1. Having worked recently for the renewal of a re-registration for

chemical, I'd say EPA takes a very very very conservative approach for those

kinds of products. Despite that approach, human failure occurs. I had

client enter into a coma from using a particular miticide (for public use)

because of a poorly evaluated product stewardship situation.

2. The benefit to society from this approach has outweighed the costs.

If we reverse this, I think the cost would easily outweigh the benefit.

3. For Workers Comp, the onus is on the employer to prove that a harm

did not occur. This is a different construct to better promote business

prosperity and presumable public good but making the presumption in the

favor of the employee. The downside is that the recovery for the affected

person is not really very equitable in the eyes of many (including Canada

based on some work I did there).

4. All this points to a need to properly manage the product stewardship

on the front end (regulatory and non-regulatory standard of care).

5. The new requirements out of Europe under REACH will require a

significant body of publicly available knowledge to be prepared (or

investigated through R & D) for many many chemicals. I expect this to stifle

new development (progress in the extended future) but help catch up on our

overall understanding of toxicity and mechanisms.

6. Lastly, it points to the need for newer metrics for evaluating

public risk (DALY, QALY, etc.) so that public health progress on the front

end can limit litigation on the back end.

Tony

.......................................................................

" Tony " Havics, CHMM, CIH, PE

pH2, LLC

5250 E US 36, Suite 830

Avon, IN 46123

www.ph2llc.com

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