Industry research and analysis on health and safety risks of their products is frequently subject to public criticism as inevitably biased. On the other hand, similar activity by government agencies is also often criticized as biased by the use of conservative assumptions and data selection and the intrusion of precautionary sentiment.
As a contradiction, it is sometimes argued that industry should be required to develop and submit data on health and safety to government agencies so that companies will bear most of the burden of assessing health and safety of their products (often referred to as “the polluter pays”). This position is frequently taken in arguing for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, and is evident to some extent in the recently re-introduced Safe Chemicals Act bill in the U.S. Senate.