WASHINGTON , DC — Investors managing more than $35 billion in assets warned Congress this week that outdated federal policy on toxic chemicals is threatening U.S. businesses by making them vulnerable to increased health, safety and environmental risks, litigation and other costs.

"Exposures to toxic chemicals produce a tremendous drag on the U.S. economy, contributing to health problems throughout supply chains," representatives of 51 investments firms and corporate responsibility groups said in a letter Monday to congressional leaders.

The investors, whose effort was coordinated by the Investor Environmental Health Network and the American Sustainable Business Council, are urging lawmakers to overhaul the Toxic Chemical Substances Act of 1976 by adopting S.3209, the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010, and H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010.

While opponents contend that it will cost businesses more to comply with updated and stricter regulations at time when companies can ill-afford greater expense, advocates of reforms say the costs to U.S. businesses will be even higher if changes are not made.

In addition to posing health and safety risks, the lack of tougher policy makes U.S. companies vulnerable to operational, reputational and other costs that arise from using and disposing of toxic substances, supporters of the legislation say.

Reform advocates also contend businesses face increased potential for litigation and decreased value for shareholders. And in the global marketplace, U.S. firms run the risk of being non-starters because their international competitors develop, manufacture and distribute products that are held to higher standards for toxic chemicals.

"The European Union, individual European nations, various U.S. states, large retailers, health care companies and companies in many other sectors have outdistanced the U.S. federal government in removing chemicals from the market place," the letter to legislators said. "TSCA needs to be strengthened to align it with these other leading efforts -- speeding chemical management decisions and promoting data development and disclosure."

In closing, the letter said that policy reform should "move American business swiftly away from 20th century chemistry, with its legacy of Superfund sites, impaired human health and damaged ecosystems, to green 21st century chemistry that will better serve the long term well-being of business, humanity and Planet Earth."

Image CC licensed by Flickr user C.G.P. Grey.