US on the brink of TSCA chem-safety reform

Christie Moffat

19-May-2016

Photo by Cultura REX ShutterstockHOUSTON (ICIS)–US lawmakers confirmed on Thursday that they are in the process of finalising a long-awaited bill that will overhaul existing chemical safety legislation.

The draft legislation is the result of months of negotiations between Senate and House leaders, who have been working to reconcile separate chemical safety reform bills that passed each of the chambers last year.

The bill will overhaul the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a 40-year-old principal US regulatory structure for ensuring the safety of chemicals in commerce.

Titled ‘The Frank R Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act’, the draft bill has adopted several provisions from the Senate bill (S-697) that passed in December last year.

The House passed its own, less-detailed TSCA reform bill (HR-2576) in June last year.

Under the draft bill, all new and existing chemicals used in commerce will be subject to a safety review and risk evaluation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with clear and enforceable deadlines.

In addition, the legislation will expand the EPA’s authority to require the generation of health and safety data for untested chemicals, and will require the EPA to affirmatively determine that new chemicals meet the safety standard before entering the market.

The bill will also increase the public transparency of chemical information and will provide the EPA with the funds to carry out these improvements.

“The TSCA legislative draft that EPA has seen is a clear improvement over current law and is largely consistent with the administration’s principles for TSCA reform,” an agency spokesperson said. “We understand that parties continue to work on further improvements to the draft, and EPA stands ready to support the effort to finalise strong legislation to protect public health.”

Once a final agreement on the bill is reached, it is expected that the House will pass the bill first, followed by the Senate.

In a press conference on Thursday, lawmakers indicated their intention to have the bill finalised and passed through both the House and the Senate by the end of next Friday, which marks a scheduled break for the Memorial Day long weekend in the US.

Both the chemical industry and the environmental community have long been in agreement that the existing TSCA legislation is badly out of date and in need of major reform.

The announcement was welcomed by industry groups.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) said it was “almost unprecedented” to have such broad bipartisan support for an environmental law of such consequence.

“As with any compromise, this legislation balances the priorities and interests of multiple stakeholders while producing an agreement that pragmatic industry, environmental, public health and labour groups can ultimately support,” said ACC president and CEO Cal Dooley.

“We strongly urge swift bipartisan passage in the House and the Senate so that the president can sign the bill into law and finally bring TSCA into the 21st century,” he said.

The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) also welcomed the news and said that TSCA reform should soon become a reality.

“After years of stalemates it is now abundantly clear that Congress is finally poised to modernise the manner in which chemicals in commerce are regulated,” said SOCMA president and CEO Lawrence Sloan.

(Photo by Cultura/REX/Shutterstock)

READ MORE

Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)

See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.

Contact us

Now, more than ever, dynamic insights are key to navigating complex, volatile commodity markets. Access to expert insights on the latest industry developments and tracking market changes are vital in making sustainable business decisions.

Want to learn about how we can work together to bring you actionable insight and support your business decisions?

Need Help?

Need Help?