Industrial & Manufacturing Services Blog

Bill is Next Step Toward Modernizing US Chemical Safety Regulations

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Written By Matthew Bauer, Marketing Intern

On July 22, U.S. Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL), chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and Henry Waxman (D-CA), chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act.   The following is a brief summary of the key provisions of the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010:

• Establishes a framework to ensure that all chemical substances to which the American people are exposed will be reviewed for safety and restricted where necessary to protect public health and the environment.
• Requires the chemical industry to develop and provide to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency essential data, and improves EPA’s authority to compel testing where necessary.
• Ensures that non-confidential information submitted to EPA is shared with the public and that critical confidential information is shared among regulators, with states, and with workers in the chemical industry.
• Creates incentives and a review process for safer alternatives to existing chemicals as well as a workforce education and training program in green chemistry.
• Promotes research to advance understanding of children’s vulnerability to the harms of chemicals.
• Encourages the reduction of the use of animals in chemical testing.

This bill is a step forward in the modernization of the nation’s chemical safety regulation; the last update being the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA.)  The current law is widely perceived as a flawed and out of date system.  Under the current TSCA, virtually none of the 80,000 chemicals on the market today are regulated, despite many known links to autism, asthma, reproductive disorders, and cancer.

The 2010 reforms ensure public safety by regulating the chemicals in consumer products.  Supporters of the bill believe stricter regulation will greatly benefit the day to day lives of every single American. 

Although many believe the current system needs revisions, many are opposed to the proposed bill. The American Chemistry Council (ACC,) the group that represents the leading companies in the $674 Billion Chemical industry had this to say about the bill: “The federal chemical regulatory system must ensure public safety, protect the ability of American business to innovate, and preserve American jobs. This bill will need more work to get us there.”   Those in the chemical industry worry the proposal will stifle innovation.  With this stricter law many chemical companies will be forced to shut down or downsize, which would result in a loss of jobs.  Stricter regulation of chemicals would have a significant impact on this very important sector of the U.S. economy. 

Supporters of the bill disagree with the opposition’s argument.  They believe stricter regulation will incentivize innovation.  New greener, cleaner, and safer chemical alternatives will need to be created in order to comply with the new regulation.  This increase in needed innovation would actually create more jobs and improve the state of the U.S economy. 

With such strong opposition, it will be very interesting to see whether the bill will make progress in the coming months.  No matter the outcome though, this proposal has initiated a very important conversation.