Troubling national trends show increases in reproductive health problems as the widespread use of certain chemicals has increased dramatically. A new analysis of available data makes several recommendations for U.S. chemicals policy to address the growing health concerns and potential links to toxic chemicals. Among the recommendations is a call for greater public disclosure of chemical safety information, increased federal research on safer chemical substitutes, and removing political influence from assessments of chemical safety.

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is proposing to add 30 chemicals linked to reproductive harm and cancer to the state's Proposition 65 list. Proposition 65, a statute passed by California voters in 1986, requires the state to list chemicals known to cause public health problems and bars some actions that could expose people to the substances.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced it will increase the influence of scientists and the level of transparency in setting standards for common air pollutants, a reversal of a Bush administration policy that politicized scientific analyses. Clean air advocates are welcoming the policy reversal as a restoration of the role of science in crafting policies that impact environmental and public health.