By: Siel Ju

So long as companies claim the chemicals are a trade secret, neither the names nor the properties of the chemicals need to be released, except to a handful of Environmental Protection Agency employees who aren't allowed to share that information.

EWG calls this toxic "trade secret" loophole a "de-facto witness protection program" for chemicals, pointing out that "a large number of these secret chemicals are used everyday in consumer products, including artists' supplies, plastic products, fabrics and apparel, furniture and items intended for use by children."

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