May 9 – States and cities move to curb toxic substances the EPA hasn’t

USA Today discusses TSCA regulations as well as environmental, health and safety regulations at the state and local level, such as:

California’s air-pollution agency last month set limits on formaldehyde fumes wafting from particle board and other wood products. Formaldehyde acts as a glue, but the EPA believes its fumes can cause cancer. No federal law allows the EPA to regulate fumes from finished products, agency spokesman John Millet says.

In January, state officials decided to ban the chemical perchloroethylene, which most dry cleaners use to launder clothes and other items. The EPA in July restricted use of the chemical but did not ban it.

“Our responsibility is to the citizens of California,” said Dimitri Stanich, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board.

Maine’s Legislature held a hearing last week on a bill to bar the sale of children’s plastic products, such as baby bottles, containing a chemical called bisphenol A or others called phthalates. These widely used chemicals help give items their texture, but both have been linked to developmental problems in lab animals. The EPA is studying these chemicals and has not taken a stance on them yet.

See States and cities move to curb toxic substances the EPA hasn’t for the full article.