The Controversy of the Use of ‘No Safe Threshold Exposure’ for Asbestos

The following is a commentary by Kim E. Anderson, Ph.D., and Cynthia A. Boyd of GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. For more on the authors, please scroll to the bottom of this article.

Historically, governmental agencies in the United States that oversee food, workplaces, consumer products and the environment have responded to rising cancer incidence rates through the promulgation of regulations. As early as 1958, Congress included the “Delaney Clause” within the food additives amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), named after New York Congressman James Delaney, which stated:

“No additive shall be …