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.

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For the first time in thirty-six years, a Congressional committee voted to update the outdated chemical safety laws.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 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.

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

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.

States Lead on Toxic Chemical Reform - Report

A first-ever analysis of votes on state laws aimed at protecting the public from toxic chemicals found that 18 states have passed 71 chemical safety laws in the last eight years by an overwhelming margin with broad bipartisan support.

According to the report released on Nov 2010, of more than 9,000 votes cast by state legislators, 73% of Republicans and 99% of Democrats favored stronger protection of children's health and the environment from dangerous chemicals, with equal support from governors of each party. The report found that the pace of state policymaking on chemicals has more than tripled in eight years.

EPA TSCA CDR / IUR Presentation

As part of EPA’s comprehensive approach to enhance the Agency’s current chemicals management program, EPA plans to use a two-step process to identify priority chemical substances for review and assessment under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA’s goal is to identify priority chemicals for near-term evaluation, not to screen and prioritize the entire TSCA Inventory of approximately 84,000 chemicals. EPA held a webinar and is hosting an online discussion forum to get public input on the prioritization factors and data sources the Agency is planning to use in this process.

Nanoparticles a Risk in Food?

A new study reveals that nanoparticles are being used in everything from beer to baby drinks despite a lack of safety information

Plastic imbued with clay nanoparticles helps make Miller Brewing Co. beer bottles less likely to break as well as improves how long the brew lasts in storage. Simply H's Toddler Health nutritional drink mix includes 300-nanometer (300 billionths of a meter) iron particles. And a wide range of cooking and cleaning items now employ nanosize silver particles to kill microbes.

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.