From eNewsUSA:
A new analysis by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) indicates that a set of mostly voluntary initiatives recently announced by the U.S. EPA to identify and manage the risks of thousands of chemicals “will provide far less protection than the more comprehensive approach taken under the European Union’s new REACH Regulation” … EDF presented its latest critique of EPA’s Chemical Assessment and Management Program (ChAMP) at a meeting held by EPA to receive input on its initiatives.
On March 18, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson at a presentation to the Global Chemical Regulation Conference indicated, “While EPA supports the health and environmental protection goals of REACH, we believe that effective protection can be obtained through a more targeted and strategic approach to chemical assessment and management. In that vein, this past August, the countries of North America came together to announce a strategic approach under the Security and Prosperity Partnership, or SPP. . . I believe this approach can provide a more focused, productive and workable scheme than the REACH framework. . .” As part of that effort EPA has made a commitment to complete initial assessments and take needed actions on the thousands of chemicals produced above 25,000 pounds-per-year in the U.S. by 2012…
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