Re NY Times article on 13 states wanting Congress to open up TSCA confidential information to them and the public: http://nyti.ms/cP4F7V
Yes, it would be good to share information with states that EPA collects under TSCA. The problem is that states are rotten at taking care of confidential information. They are leaky sieves. Of course, they'd just as soon not have to treat any of the info as confidential because the public has a right to know and (mostly) it's a pain to manage confidential information. Find the state's letter here: http://www.maine.gov/dep/oc/safechem/13states_release.html
Yes, but.... Companies do have legitimate claims on proprietary information they spent a lot of effort and dollars developing (crafting new molecules, innovative functions and applications in products, processing technology). I'm not talking about data on health and environmental effects and risks of their operations and products. That kind of info can and should be open - though not in every excrutiating detail. Using generic characterizations (category names for chemicals, generic use descriptions, volume ranges), it is possible to describe the nature of exposure and hazard for others to review. If they need more detail, work out a deal with the company to view it, with agreement not release specific proprietary information to competitors.
And, yes, companies need to quit being so knee-jerk in claiming everything confidential. Furthermore, being embarrassed or worried about revealing risk information is not an acceptable basis for a confidentiality claim. Communicating risk to the public is a major responsibility of product stewardship. Companies need to figure out how to communicate adequate information to the public or they will lose any and all protection for everyone.
See more discussion here.