Just how dangerous are modern chemicals? According to experts, not as much as regulators or the media would have you think. That’s the finding from a new survey by the Society of Toxicology, George Mason University and the Statistical Assessment Service. It calls into question our incessant march towards tighter regulation of chemicals—especially as European governments reconsider their expansive approach to chemical regulation.

The survey queried around 1,000 members of the Society of Toxicology, the group that represents America’s academic and professional experts on chemical risk. Large majorities disagree that chemical food additives and cosmetics pose a significant health risk, although slim majorities believe that pesticides and endocrine disruption pose some health risks. However, the scientists overwhelmingly reject certain notions that have become conventional wisdom due to environmentalist campaigns. The respondents do not believe that any exposure to chemicals is unacceptable, that organic food is safer, that any level of chemicals involves a health risk, or that animal testing is unnecessary.