In 2010, China continued its environmental development goals outlined in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan passed in 2006. This annual review surveys the major developments in Chinese environmental law and policy in the past year. The Article covers developments in international environmental law, water and soil conservation, and other law and policy developments in environmental protection in China in the past year.

Since the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1976, EPA has struggled with implementation of the law, and with intermittent initiatives has explored, proposed, and attempted solutions to key chemicals management challenges. The successes or failures of TSCA (or any environmental policy for that matter) are not simply an issue of statutory language. Passage of legislation, even well-written and well-intended, is only the first step in successful implementation of a policy.

Proponents of the precautionary principle argue that it should be rigorously applied to ensure the safety of human activities that potentially impact public health or welfare before those activities commence.