In April of this year, U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg introduced a draft bill proposing reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), enacted in 1976. The House of Representatives also introduced a draft bill for discussion, which will be reviewed by members of Congress, government officials, industry representatives, and non-governmental organizations in the coming months.
The Toxic Substances Control Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to set restrictions on chemicals and chemical mixtures, and to require businesses to fulfill reporting, record-keeping, and testing responsibilities. Certain products are exempt from this Act, including food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and pesticides. The Act includes numerous provisions, such as requiring manufacturers, importers, and processors to notify and test before manufacturing new chemical substances; the EPD must maintain a database containing information on over 83,000 chemical substances; and chemical importers and exporters must comply with certification reporting and/or other requirements.
Lautenberg stated that the U.S. industrial chemical regulatory system is inadequate, and his bill aims to significantly revise the Toxic Substances Control Act, requiring all industrial chemicals to undergo safety testing, strengthening the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate the use of hazardous chemicals, and requiring manufacturers to submit documentation demonstrating the safety of chemicals in production or new chemicals to be released to the market. Key points of the bill include:
- Manufacturers are required to submit a brief summary of each chemical they manufacture so that the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) can determine the safety of the chemicals and avoid redundant testing. The EPD has the right to request additional information.
- The EPD is urged to classify chemicals according to risk and concentrate resources on assessing chemicals most likely to cause harm.
- Chemical manufacturers are responsible for demonstrating the safety of their chemicals. All uses and safety must be identified before chemicals are put on the market or continue to be used.
- For chemicals proven to be hazardous, the EPD must take swift action to mitigate the risk.
- A public database will be established to record information submitted by chemical manufacturers and the EPD's approval results.
- A funding scheme and research center will be established to develop safe chemical alternatives.
The EPD also believes that the Toxic Substances Control Act is outdated and must be reformed. Commissioner Lisa Jackson stated that the Act allows the production and use of all chemicals manufactured for commercial use in 1976 or earlier. Therefore, manufacturers of these chemicals are not required to provide toxicity data or assess potential risks. The regulatory law also does not grant the EPA sufficient power to reassess existing chemicals when new problems or new scientific data emerge. Jackson further pointed out that the regulatory law does not hold manufacturers legally responsible for testing new chemicals that will be released to the market. Furthermore, numerous legal obstacles prevent the EPA from taking swift regulatory action to protect the public from unreasonable risks. Last fall, the Obama administration released the following legislative principles to guide Congress in revising and reforming the regulatory law. - Reassess chemicals based on sound scientific safety standards. Safety standards should be based on scientifically proven risk evidence. The EPA should have clear authority to set safety standards consistent with the best available scientific knowledge. - Providing adequate health and safety information should be the industry's responsibility. Manufacturers must provide information on the risks and uses of chemicals to demonstrate that the new and existing chemicals being evaluated are safe. If the industry fails to provide information, the EPA should have methods to quickly require the industry to conduct testing or to request more information from manufacturers to help determine the safety of the chemicals.
- The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) should have clear powers to take risk management actions when chemicals fail to meet safety standards, taking into account multiple factors, including children's health, economic costs, and social benefits.
- The EPD should have clear powers to set priorities for safety assessments to protect health and the environment as early as possible and to help businesses determine their business plans and investment strategies.
- The government should encourage the development and innovation of the environmental chemicals industry and support research activities, education, and certification programs. This work must be transparent and open, respecting the public's right to know.
- The implementation of the legislation should have sufficient and sustained funding to achieve the goal of ensuring chemical safety and to give the public confidence that the EPD can achieve this goal.
Recently, the EPD announced a series of actions that may ultimately restrict the import of four categories of chemicals used in the manufacturing of various products: phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), long-chain perfluorinated chemicals, and short-chain chlorinated paraffins.
The legislative process for reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act is expected to involve many stakeholders whose views and policies may not align with Lautenberg's bill. For example, James Inhofe, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, believes that reforming regulatory laws should adopt a risk-based approach rather than a prevention-based principle.
-Reference source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council website, 2010-05-14
