Obama Administation Endorses TSCA Overhaul

Our Mission: We ignite the movement that empowers parents to protect children from harmful chemicals. Donate »

Blog

Healthy Child

Thursday, October 01, 2009

In a signal that the EPA has entered a new era, Administrator Lisa Jackson said the time had come to strengthen EPA’s authority to regulate toxic chemicals, which are ubiquitous in the environment and human bodies. She will ask Congress to draft a tougher law to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), passed in 1976.

"The American people are looking to the government for assurance that chemicals have been assessed using the best available science and unacceptable risks haven't been ignored," Jackson said in a conference call with reporters before a formal announcement in San Francisco. "Unfortunately, the current law does not allow us to grant them that assurance." She reaffirmed that chemical management reform is a top priority for the agency.

The new law would require chemical manufacturers to provide the EPA with sufficient data and information to regulate properly. Under current law, manufacturers are not required to develop or supply data on toxicity and exposure that doesn't already exist, which has led to chemicals being used in products that have not been adequately screened for safety. Jackson stated that six chemicals, including BPA and PFCs, will be subject to immediate review.

Many of the reforms the administration has suggested largely mirror those advanced by the chemical manufacturing industry, which is concerned about a patchwork of regulations at the state and local level.

That there is general agreement on many issues is significant, and make TSCA reform more likely to pass Congress. The proposed overhaul has been through an interagency review process and has the backing of the White House.

The principles Jackson outlined to guide Congress in creating new legislation include:

• Chemicals must pass muster under a safety standard that protects human health and the environment;
• Responsibility for providing data rests with the chemical industry, not taxpayers;
• EPA must have clear authority to take quick action to restrict use of chemicals that violate the safety standard;
• Manufacturers and EPA should assess and act on priority chemicals, both existing and new, in a timely manner
• Vulnerable populations, especially children, must be given special consideration when setting safety standards;
• Green chemistry, which will lead to safer chemicals, should be encouraged and the public’s right to know about chemicals must be ensured;
• The EPA should be given a sustained source of funding for implementation and the chemical industry must pay its fair share to implement the new standards.