Congress to consider toxic chemical reform

On the heels of a new report by Congress’s watchdog identifying chemical policy as a “High Risk Area” in need of reform, Congressman Bobby Rush will kick-off the debate on Thursday over whether and how to reform the 33-year-old law that is supposed to protect the public from toxic chemicals. The failures of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act have been linked to several hot-button issues over the past few years, including the recall of toxic toys and moves by major retailers to pull some baby bottles off their shelves because of chemical leaching.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued January 22 highlighted chemical regulation as an area needing urgent attention - in the same category as fixing the financial system and regulating medical devices.

It builds on several GAO investigations in recent years detailing major flaws in the Toxic Substances Control Act and highlighting progress in chemical safety in Europe and the states.

In the absence of federal leadership, California, Maine and Washington passed chemical reforms last year.

The progress of these states is outlined in a letter the SAFER Coalition sent to Congressman Rush:

• In Washington State, the Children’s Safe Products Act requires identification of chemicals posing the greatest threat to children and disclosure of toxic chemicals by manufacturers of children’s products;
• In Maine, the Kid Safe Products Act requires adoption of a list of priority chemicals of high concern and disclosure of priority chemicals in consumer products, and authorizes their replacement with safer alternatives;
• In California, two laws require the state to identify and prioritize chemicals of concern, create a toxic chemical database, evaluate alternatives and specify a range of regulatory responses.

In 2008 Senator Frank Lautenberg and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman introduced the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act and have vowed to introduce a new version this year. The legislation would require health information for all chemicals – similar to what Europe now requires – and ensure chemicals meet a children’s safety standard in order to stay on the market.

SAFER called on Congressional leadership to consider four key principles when considering reform of TSCA.

Protect the Most Vulnerable. Toxic chemicals that build up in people’s bodies and get passed onto children in the womb should be phased out in order to ensure that the most vulnerable, including workers and low-income communities of color, are protected;

Address Cumulative Impacts. Our regulatory framework should move beyond the existing silo approach that looks at only one chemical exposure at a time;

Ensure Safer Alternatives. An effective chemical management system should force companies to find the safest alternative substance or technology to replace inherently dangerous chemicals and to make continuous improvements; and

Support the States.  Federal law should support implementation of state chemical policy programs. States should be allowed to adopt more stringent requirements to regulate manufacturing and sale of safer chemicals in consumer products.

Witnesses scheduled to testify in favor of chemical reform during the hearing include representatives from United Steelworkers, Kaiser Permanente, The Learning Disabilities Association, The Environmental Defense Fund and WE-ACT, an organization focused on the disproportionate chemical burden that is placed on minorities.