Safe Chemicals Act 2011 Legislation

U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced legislation to follow-up on last year's regualtions to update the “Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976” (TSCA). This regulation looks to protect Americans from exposure to dangerous chemicals. Lautenberg, the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health, wants to start requiring chemical manufacturers to demonstrate the safety of industrial chemicals used in common household products.

Safe Chemicals Act of 2011

TSCA reform is still continuing even as the IUR regulations are being evaluated. Below are links and information on the Safe Chemicals Act (SCA) introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg including highlights from Senator Lautenberg's website.

Highlights of the Safe Chemicals Act
• Provides EPA with sufficient information to judge a chemical’s safety.
• Prioritizes chemicals based on risk.
• Takes fast action to address highest risk chemicals.
• Ensures safety threshold is met for all chemicals on the market.
• Creates open access to reliable chemical information.
• Promotes innovation and development of green chemistry.

States Lead on Chemical Regulations

Despite well-funded opposition from the chemical industry, 9 states passed legislation to protect the public from toxic chemicals this year. Four states took administrative action to regulate dangerous chemicals in products often consumed by children, including bisphenol A (BPA), cadmium, formaldehyde, and chlorinated tris.

On the state level, there's been bipartisan support for protecting children's health and the environment from dangerous chemicals. 99% of Democrats and 86% of Republicans supported the policies listed below. 18 states have passed over 80 chemical safety laws in the last nine years by an overwhelming margin with broad bipartisan support.

With federal action uncertain, if not impossible, state governments are expected to continue introducing and passing laws to curb toxic chemicals in 2012.

Safe Chemicals Act Passes Committee

For the first time in thirty-six years, a Congressional committee voted to update the outdated chemical safety laws. Below is information on the hearing and a summary.

For more details on the Full and Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health joint hearing including majority and minority statements see the following information and links.

"Oversight of EPA Authorities and Actions to Control Exposures to Toxic Chemicals." Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Webcast of the proceeding

This is a major milestone to update a regulation which has not received a major overhaul since its inception. The goal is to "modernize" TSCA to increase the regulation's ability to protect people and the environment.

Lautenberg Leads TSCA Reform

Monday, July 09, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and 25 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter today calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize its proposed actions regarding a class of toxic flame retardant chemicals. The letter also acknowledges that the EPA has limited authority to fully protect the public from these toxic chemicals under the current Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and calls for reforms to the law to adequately protect American families from dangerous chemicals.

Chemicals Law Overhaul Proposed in House

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressional leaders today introduced in the House the first comprehensive overhaul in more than 30 years of a federal law that has been widely condemned for failing to protect Americans against the risks of toxic chemicals.

The legislation filed by Reps. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) to reform the Ford-era federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) would fundamentally change the process by which chemicals – current and future – are cleared for use.

TSCA Reform Continuing?

Below are several efforts showing that TSCA reform is still a topic of discussion.

Shimkus Open To Piecemeal TSCA Reform But Rejects Democrats' Efforts

http://environmentalnewsstand.com/

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee's environment panel, says there may be sections of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that his subcommittee will consider reforming, but is rejecting outright using Democrats' TSCA reform legislation from the 111th Congress as a starting point in the debate.

Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Assessing the Effectiveness of U.S. Chemical Safety Laws

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Source: Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

On February 3, 2011, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health held a hearing entitled 'Assessing the Effectiveness of U.S. Chemical Safety Laws.' Subcommittee Chair Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) last year introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010, a bill that would have reformed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by shifting the burden of proof to industry to show chemicals are safe, rather than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proving that they pose a risk.

American Chemistry Council (ACC) endorses cumulative impact assessment for all TSCA regulations!

By: Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
Environmental Defense on 03/14/2011

In what seemed a startling move, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) last week gave testimony at a Congressional hearing that included a full-throated endorsement of mandating that EPA be required to assess cumulative impacts when developing regulations addressing chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

EPA Administrator Comments on TSCA Reform

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson comments on the current TSCA reform effort for a Huffington Post article.

In 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act -- or TSCA -- to protect our health from the increasing number of chemicals in our products and our environment. In the four decades since its passage, many laws have changed to better protect our safety, yet TSCA has not.

American Chemistry Council's 10 Principles for modernizing TSCA

The American Chemistry Council's (ACC) offers ideas, but Cal Dooley, President of the American Chemistry Council, still sees “some significant flaws” in the reform bill.

10 Principles for Modernizing TSCA

1. Chemicals should be safe for their intended use.
2. EPA should systematically prioritize chemicals for purposes of safe use determinations.
3. EPA should act expeditiously and efficiently in making safe use determinations.
4. Companies that manufacture, import, process, distribute, or use chemicals should be required to provide EPA with relevant information to the extent necessary for EPA to make safe use determinations.
5. Potential risks faced by children should be an important factor in safe use determinations.
6. EPA should be empowered to impose a range of controls to ensure that chemicals are safe for their intended use.  
7. Companies and EPA should work together to enhance public access to chemical health and safety information.
8. EPA should rely on scientifically valid data and information, regardless of its source, including data and information reflecting modern advances in science and technology.
9. EPA should have the staff, resources, and regulatory tools it needs to ensure the safety of chemicals.
10. A modernized TSCA should encourage technological innovation and a globally competitive industry in the United States.

Lautenberg TSCA Reform Interview

Despite two hearings, several private stakeholders meetings and plenty of bluster, the effort to reform how chemicals are regulated remains largely where it was a year ago as Congress prepares to conclude its work for 2011. To be sure, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and his staff have worked tirelessly to attract industry and Republican support for his "Safe Chemicals Act" (S. 847), which would reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). But after a fiery recent hearing, industry appears hesitant to lend its support and it looks as if Lautenberg won't meet his goal of holding a markup on the bill before the end of the year.

EPA Proposes New SNURs for PBDE, Benzidine, Chlorinated Parafins, HBCD, DnPP

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that companies be required to report to EPA all new uses, including in domestic or imported products, of five groups of potentially harmful chemicals. Over the years, these chemicals have been used in a range of consumer products and industrial applications, including paints, printing inks, pigments and dyes in textiles, flame retardants in flexible foams, and plasticizers. This action is part of EPA’s work to ensure chemical safety in order to protect Americans’ health and the environment.

Legislative Hearing on TSCA Reform

Full and Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health joint hearing entitled, "Legislative Hearing on the Safe Chemicals Act." 

   Thursday, November 17, 2011 10:00 AM
   EST EPW Hearing Room - 406 Dirksen

Taking the NanoPulse -- Toxic Substance Meets Poison Thinking

New toxics legislation aims for safe. But is it sound?

In April, the Safe Chemicals bills were introduced into the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, designed to oveahaul the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA. This is probably old news to most of you. Since your business has probably been laboring under the regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency for decades when it comes to formulations of your products, you're already anticipating what's to come -- the good, the bad and the ugly. But for those of us in the nanotechnology field, there's an additional wrinkle beyond the chemical formula of our products. Both the House and Senate version of the bill now include size, size distribution, shape and surface structure in the definition of a chemical's "substance characteristic." That means that over and above concerns about the chemical formula a nanotechnology company may be using, it may become suspect simply because of its nanoscale characteristics.

No TSCA Changes Expected for 2010

Key House lawmakers are set to introduce this week a bill reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which will be based on a widely circulated discussion draft but could incorporate suggestions brought up in recent stakeholder meetings.

Sources say the bill is slated for introduction by House Democrats on July 15 and will be based on a discussion draft floated by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and commerce panel chairman Bobby Rush (D-IL) in April.