[Pharmwaste] Lautenberg bill seeks to overhaul U.S. chemical laws

[DeBiasi, Deborah (DEQ)]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/14/AR201004
1404827.html?wpisrc=nl_politics

Lautenberg bill seeks to overhaul U.S. chemical laws

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 15, 2010; A06 



After a year of working with environmental groups, government regulators
and the chemical industry, a leading advocate for chemical regulation
has devised a plan to remake the nation's chemical laws -- a 34-year-old
set of regulations that all players agree is outmoded and ineffective. 

The plan, contained in legislation that Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)
is set to file Thursday, would require manufacturers to prove the safety
of chemicals before they enter the marketplace. That would be a
significant departure from current laws, which allow chemicals to be
used unless the federal government can prove they cause harm to health
or the environment. 

"We're saying those who make the chemicals -- and there are 700 new ones
that come to market each year -- ought to be responsible for testing
them first before they're released to the public, instead of having the
EPA play detective to search and try to find problems," Lautenberg said.


The bill would also mandate that manufacturers submit health and safety
data to the EPA for 84,000 chemicals in use. The agency would review the
information to determine whether the chemicals are safe enough to remain
on the market. 

Under current laws, the government has little or no information about
the risks of most chemicals in use. The government cannot act unless a
chemical poses a health threat, but the EPA cannot force companies to
provide data that show risks. 

The hurdles are so high that the government has been unable to ban
asbestos, widely acknowledged as a likely carcinogen and barred in more
than 30 countries. The bill would make it significantly easier for the
EPA to restrict or ban chemicals that are known hazards. 

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson called the legislation a major "step
forward." 

Lautenberg has tried twice to revamp the chemical laws but this time has
support from the White House, environmentalists and, most importantly,
the chemical industry. 

"We're certainly not going to be an obstruction," said Cal Dooley,
president of the American Chemistry Council. "We are committed to being
constructively engaged in their efforts to move this legislation
forward." 

Linda Fisher, vice president of safety, health and the environment at
DuPont, called the bill "a good starting point." 

The chemical industry has long insisted that the 1976 federal laws
governing toxic chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act, has been
working well. But growing concerns have sparked legislatures to ban or
restrict a number of controversial chemicals, creating a patchwork of
restrictions and a regulatory nightmare for companies. The manufacturers
want one set of federal standards to establish some predictability and
reassure the public that everyday products are safe, Dooley said. 

The chemical industry remains wary about some aspects of the bill yet to
be clearly defined, such as how regulators will determine whether a
chemical is "safe." 

"That is going to be one of the most critical issues, in terms of
finding consensus between consumers, environmental groups, industry and
the policy makers: What is the appropriate risk standard?" Dooley said. 

No Republican senators have signed on to Lautenberg's bill, but his
staff said they did not expect strong GOP opposition. Rep. Henry A.
Waxman (D-Calif.) is expected to file companion legislation. 
 


Deborah L. DeBiasi 
Email:   Deborah.DeBiasi at deq.virginia.gov (NEW!)
WEB site address:  www.deq.virginia.gov 
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality 
Office of Water Permit Programs 
Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program 
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents
www.deq.virginia.gov/vpdes/microconstituents.html 
Mail:          P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA  23218 
Location:  629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA  23219 
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