L IKE other kinds of regulation, disclosure requirements can miss the mark. Consider the example of the Toxics Release Inventory, one of the oldest and most successful requirements. Its success is more limited than one might think. Industry can outsmart the regulators. Companies that use toxic chemicals have found many ways to avoid public humiliation.
Selective publicity can create a selective view of reality.
What Congress leaves out of disclosure requirements matters. In the case of toxic chemicals, Congress left out most of the problem. The TRI requires disclosure of some of the toxins used by large manufacturers. This spring the electrical-power industry, the mining industry, and several others will for the first time report on their toxic emissions, by chemical and by facility. Also missing from the TRI is information on levels of human exposure and on chemical toxicity, making it impossible to calculate risks.