In the Obama administration's ongoing effort to increase transparency within the regulatory agencies, the EPA announced Monday that it would make its inventory of toxic chemicals available to the public for free. Previously the database was only available for a fee.
"The American people are entitled to easily accessible information on chemicals, and today's action is part of a series of ongoing steps that EPA is taking to empower the public with this important information," said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, in a statement.
Those steps in upcoming months will include giving the public access to information about facilities that manufacture and use toxic chemicals. It's all part of the agency's effort to reform the 30-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) law.
The TSCA inventory lists more than 84,000 industrial chemicals.
To view the inventory, visit http://www.epa.gov/oppt/newchems/pubs/invntory.htm
