The chemical industry lobby is pushing congress to pass new legislation on the regulation of chemicals. The lobby feels the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) is outdated and leaves too much authority to the states when determining regulation. A new federal bill would help to create a more standard set of rules throughout the country and help to regain the confidence of the public in the safety of common chemicals with more rigorous regulations. The leading Democrat in negotiations, Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, is pushing for a deal to get done against the wishes of some of his Democratic counterparts. Critics of the bill cite the lack of input from health experts and state governments, with one sticking point being the pace at which the backlog of chemicals in question will be assessed. The current draft requires the start of testing on 10 high-risk chemicals, though the EPA acknowledges there are about 1,000 chemicals used in the United States that might represent health hazards. “It is not the bill I would have written from scratch,” says Richard Denison, a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and contributor to the drafting of the bill. “But it’s a solid compromise that would be much more protective of public health.”
For more information see NYtimes.