A bipartisan effort has resulted in a bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to revise the regulation of chemicals. The new bill establishes a safety standard to ensure that no unreasonable risk of harm to health or the environment will result from exposure to a chemical under the conditions of use. The bill is regarded as the biggest chemical safety legislation in 40 years.
The bill revises the authority of the Environmental Protective Agency (EPA) to require the development of new information about a chemical by establishing a risk-based screening process. The bill also sets deadlines for the EPA to designate a certain number of existing chemicals as high- or low-priority for safety assessments and determinations and conduct safety assessments and determinations for high-priority chemicals.
Experts believe the bill will require an affirmative finding that chemicals are safe in order for them to stay on the market.
For more information on this bill, click here.