Chemicals policy in the 2008-2009 President's Cancer Panel Report

The President's Cancer Panel 2008-2009 report, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now, was a watershed event in the U.S. chemicals policy process. The report, which was released after two years of public meetings and input from a variety of scientists and organizations, concluded that the national cancer program has not adequately addressed "grievous harm" from chemical carcinogens. Consistent with public health principles, it recommended that a prevention-oriented approach to regulating chemicals should replace the current "reactionary" approach. Various responses of cancer organizations and spokespeople in the aftermath of the release of the report are described. The report explicitly supports the type of policy reform contemplated in the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010, which failed to pass in the 111th Congressional session. In the absence of meaningful action at the federal level, the report will still provide strong support for state and local policy initiatives in coming years.