A new GAO report concludes that limitations in EPA's authority to regulate chemical safety leaves the public with only "limited assurance" that the 700 new chemicals entering the marketplace each year are safe and won't harm the environment. Some of the findings:

• EPA's reviews of new chemicals provide limited assurance that health and environmental risks are identified before the chemicals enter commerce. Chemical companies are not required by TSCA, absent a test rule, to test new chemicals before they are submitted for EPA's review, and companies generally do not voluntarily perform such testing.
• Given limited test data, EPA predicts new chemicals' toxicity by using models that compare the new chemicals with chemicals of similar molecular structures that have previously been tested. However, the use of the models does not ensure that chemicals' risks are fully assessed before they enter commerce because the models are not always accurate in predicting chemical properties and toxicity, especially in connection with general health effects.
• EPA does not routinely assess the risks of all existing chemicals and EPA faces challenges in obtaining the information necessary to do so.
• TSCA's authorities for collecting data on existing chemicals do not facilitate EPA's review process because they generally place the costly and time-consuming burden of obtaining data on EPA.
• Partly because of a lack of information on existing chemicals, EPA [initiated a voluntary disclosure program with industry]. It is unclear whether the program will produce sufficient information for EPA to determine chemicals' risks to human health and the environment.