Will the US ever pass a new chemical safety law?

This news update regarding a new chemical safety law is brought to you by The Guardian.

 

 

Will the US ever pass a new chemical safety law?

 

Two senate bills intended to give an outdated toxic substances act a much-needed revision have stoked political fires about how the US should regulate chemicals.

 

Senators Barbara Boxer and Edward Markey introduced a bill on Thursday to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), just two days after senators David Vitter and Tom Udall introduced a different bill to reform the law, which hasn’t been updated since 1976.

 

Boxer and Markey’s alternate TSCA reform legislation calls for the US Environmental Protection Agency to review chemicals more quickly than it does now, use a stronger standard to judge chemical safety, and prioritize action on asbestos and chemicals that accumulate in human bodies and the environment.

 

“This bill will help ensure that communities are protected from chemical spills and clusters of disease that are related to toxic exposures,” Markey said in a statement.

 

Meanwhile, Vitter and Udall’s bill outlines a new process and deadlines for the EPA’s chemical reviews. It includes a schedule for EPA chemical reviews, but begins with just 25 chemicals – and each review could take up to seven years.

 

 

For more information on a new chemical safety law please visit The Guardian link above. Please contact Nexreg for Regulatory Services.