Reforming TSCA - Bill Time

Today, the respective players in the House and the Senate have put out draft language of the reform bill.  I imagine that for many people this means a big pot of coffee and some interesting reading.  For Act4Chemisty it means it is time for a quick primer:

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has had no revisions since its inception in 1976.  The original intent of the act was to task the EPA with the regulation of chemicals to manage risk and protect both human and environmental health.  Due to funding deficiencies, grandfather clauses, and lawsuits (most notably: Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA - where we learned that TSCA couldn't even hold up against asbestos), TSCA has become largely ineffective.  Whish is why people are gearing up for reform.  There are a whole host of issues that are relevant, including new technologies, public and stakeholder interests, and regulations recently adopted elsewhere (most notably: REACH in the E.U., the California Green Chemistry Initiative, and CEPA in Canada).

This would be a great chance to refer to the Science & The Congress Project.  ACS has put a great deal of effort into providing good information to Congress on the topic.  Check out our archives:

Advances in Toxicity Testing to Inform Chemicals Policy (December '09)

Reforming Toxic Substances Control: Meet the Players (September '09)

Chemicals in Our Bodies: Use of Biomonitoring Data for Policymaking (March '09)

We even had a great panel this week hosted by Congressman Rush on "Advancing Sustainability: Safer Alternatives  to Products and Processes".  Videos should be up shortly.

With that out of the way, we can head to the drafts.

Here is the press release and links to the bill Congressman Rush and Waxman from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  And a snippet:

"Through the open stakeholder process that we are commencing today, I am optimistic that the discussion draft of my bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act will lead to a number of constructive improvements," said Subcommittee Chairman Rush.  "Already, the Environmental Protection Agency, the states, industry, environmental groups and labor have provided substantial assistance to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection in this endeavor.  This process is well worth the additional  investment of time to ensure that the bill I ultimately introduce enables the EPA to better regulate, understand the properties of, and manage the health and environmental risks associated with the tens of thousands of chemicals that we find in our communities, homes, personal and work spaces, food and our bodies.

And here is the press release from Senator Lautenberg.

“America’s system for regulating industrial chemicals is broken,” said Senator Lautenberg. “Parents are afraid because hundreds of untested chemicals are found in their children’s bodies. EPA does not have the tools to act on dangerous chemicals and the chemical industry has asked for stronger laws so that their customers are assured their products are safe. My 'Safe Chemicals Act' will breathe new life into a long-dead statute by empowering EPA to get tough on toxic chemicals. Chemical safety reform is not a Democratic or Republican issue, it is a common-sense issue and I look forward to building bipartisan support for this measure.”

Finally, here are some links to the relevant news articles of the day:

Washington Post

New York Times