164 • Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing, and Education 
and Disease Registry under the Department of 
Health and Human Services. This registry will track 
persons exposed to hazardous substances, along 
with the medical testing and evaluation that fol- 
lows the exposure. 
Consumer Product Safety 
Commission 
The CPSC administers the Consumer Product 
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), the Federal Haz- 
ardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.), the 
Poison Prevention Packaging Act (15 U.S.C. 1471 
et seq.), and the Flammable Fabrics Act (15 U.S.C. 
1191 et seq.). 
The Consumer Product Safety Act empowers 
CPSC to prevent unreasonable risks of injury from 
consumer products. Included are both the risk of 
acute and chronic toxicity and the risk of physical 
injury. Under this statute, industry regularly con- 
ducts animal toxicity testing to determine the safety 
of consumer products. 
The Federal Hazardous Substances Act provides 
for the regulation of hazardous substances used 
in or around the household. These are defined as 
any substance or mixture that is toxic, corrosive, 
flammable, or combustible, that is an irritant or 
a strong sensitizer, or that generates pressure 
through decomposition, heat, or other means, if 
such substance may cause substantial personal in- 
jury or illness during customary or reasonably 
foreseeable handling or use. Unlike its usual meth- 
od of letting a regulatory agency or the manufac- 
turer determine what kind of testing is needed to 
determine safety, in this act Congress defines a 
“highly toxic” substance in terms of the results of 
the LD 50 test and requires certain labeling when 
the LD S0 is less than 50 mg/kg body weight, 2 mg/1 
of air inhaled for an hour or less, or 200 mg/kg 
of dermal exposure for 24 hours or less . Although 
the act does not literally require that these tests 
be done, a manufacturer cannot know whether 
they are in compliance with the act unless they 
perform the tests . CPSC has issued regulations re- 
garding testing requirements needed to determine 
whether a substance is a skin or an eye irritant 
(16 CFR 1500). 
The Flammable Fabrics Act authorized regula- 
tion of wearing apparel and fabrics that are flam- 
mable. Industry regularly conducts animal test- 
ing to determine the toxicity of substances applied 
to fabric in order to reduce or eliminate flamma- 
bility. 
Department of Labor 
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
(29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) requires the National Insti- 
tute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
to conduct health hazard evaluations of the work- 
place (see section on Centers for Disease Control). 
A goal of the act is that no employee suffer 
diminished health as a result of conditions in the 
workplace. To this end, employers have a duty to 
communicate safety information about substances 
present in the workplace through labels, material 
safety data sheets, and training. Most safety test- 
ing is done with animals. 
Under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 
of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), employers must 
determine whether substances found or used in 
mines are potentially toxic at the concentrations 
at which they occur. 
Department of Transportation 
The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (49 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) requires that any materials 
shipped in interstate commerce be properly la- 
beled and contained in a manner reflecting the 
degree of hazard present. DOT requires that acute 
toxicity studies be carried out on substances not 
already classified or for which toxic effects to hu- 
mans or test animals are not already known. A 
substance would be treated as a class B poison (and 
thus as presenting a health hazard during trans- 
portation) if its administration to 10 or more rats 
at a single dose of a specified amount (orally, der- 
mally, or by inhalation) killed at least half the ani- 
mals within 48 hours. Analogous authority exists 
for the U.S. Coast Guard under the Dangerous 
Cargo Act (46 U.S.C. 179) and the Ports and Water- 
ways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.). 
