Right To Know
Cry Wolf Quotes
No jobs have left the city because of the toxic-disclosure law…. But whatever the figures for a statewide right-to-know law, it is hard conceive of them outstripping the astronomical costs—in tarnished corporate images, in legal expenses and in compensating and caring for sick employees—that await businesses without formal, accepted mechanism to warn workers about the health risks they face on the job.
[W]e all probably use salt, sodium chloride, on our food….Salt has been included in the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (published by NIOSH). The toxic dose of salt needed to kill half the test animals is about 1/8 ounce of salt for each 2.2 pounds of weight of the animal. Does this mean that the City of Philadelphia should regulate table salt?
In reviewing the proposed form mandated by S.51, it appears that much of the information required would not be useable….[and] The costs to small businesses of measuring such emissions would be staggering.
The public does not have [an] inherent right to know.
Related Laws and Rules
Evidence
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Reducing Carcinogens in Public Schools: A non-regulatory approach by a regulatory agency
Using the New Jersey Right to Know law, advocates were able to find 318 public school districts in their state that used or held a list of 10 known carcinogens, including arsenic, benezene, vinyl chloride, and lead chromate. The study documents how these substances are used and who is exposed to them. The authors then show that the schools disposed of the toxics, or used them all up and did not order replacements.
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Fear and Loathing about the Public Right to Know: The Surprising Success of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act
Wolf methodically documents at the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act and its effects. He carefully documents industry reaction against the bill, and which of their claims can be supported in retrospect.
Backgrounders & Briefs
Dying To Know: A Historical Analysis of the Right-To-Know Movement
This survey provides a sweeping analysis of the right-to-know movement in America.
