This seminar will explore the regulation of potentially dangerous levels of toxic substances in products and workplaces. Particular attention will be devoted to considering the structure of the current legal framework for ensuring that the public is adequately represented in these highly complicated regulatory programs that impose substantial costs on manufacturers. After studying key aspects of the major federal programs that oversee the manufacture and marketing of toxins in products and workplaces, seminar participants will consider the role that tort law plays in supplementing regulation. The seminar will conclude by considering whether there are additional, more rigorous means of overseeing the long-term safety of products and workplaces. Students will be expected to write a substantial research paper related to one of the themes or topics of the course.
Wagner, Wendy E.