BREAKING NEWS

ASC members should be aware that H.R. 5820, The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act has been introduced in the House.  ASC will be reviewing the 166-page Bill and providing context to its members in the coming days and weeks.

Letter from ASC President to Subcommittee on Superfund
Publication - February 2011
In early February, Senator Frank Lautenberg held hearings as a prelude to his introduction of TSCA Reform legislation in the 112th Congress.  ASC provided the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health the following letter outlining the adhesive and sealant industry’s principle understanding of what must be included in a modernized TSCA.

Chairman Rush, Waxman Release H.R.  5820, The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act
Publication - Thursday, July 22, 2010
Today, following hearings and an extended stakeholder process in response to the release of a discussion draft in April, U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010, a major piece of legislation aimed at strengthening and updating the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976, the primary statute governing the safety of chemicals in commerce.

For now, follow these links to the details of the Bill:
Text of H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010
Summary of the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010
Section by Section Summary of the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010
Lautenberg Safe Chemical Act of 2010
Toxic Substances Control Act - Amended
Letter to Commerce Trade Subcommittee

TSCA Legislative Reform
Legislative efforts are underway in Congress to make significant revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Written in 1976 to protect the public from risks created by manufactured chemicals, there has been a general consensus that the regulation is somewhat out of step with chemical production, science and public expectations regarding testing.
                                                     
Since early 2010, Congress has held exploratory hearings and begun drafting reform language. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has formally introduced legislation (S. 3209, Safe Chemicals Act of 2010) in the Senate. In the House, Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Bobby Rush’s (D-IL) staffs have circulated draft language (Toxic Chemical Safety Act of 2010), which has been reviewed by congressional staff, nongovernmental organizations and industry.  

These bills are quickly becoming the single largest regulatory issue facing ASC member companies in 20 years.

The present language being considered would amend TSCA in some of the following ways:

• Require manufacturers to develop and submit a minimum data set for each formulation they produce, and provide EPA with authority to request additional information.
• Require that a safety threshold is met for all products on the market and shift the burden of proof to manufacturers to prove the safety of their products.
• Establish a public database to catalog information submitted by chemical manufacturers and EPA’s safety determinations.
• Impose a five-year limit on protection of Confidential Business Information (CBI). This could supersede patent protection, making CBI public domain much earlier.

The language in both documents is similar and raises concerns with the chemical-related industries from a number of different perspectives. Just some of the potential effects include: 

• stifling innovation
• moving jobs off shore
• establishing a safety threshold that is unattainable
• ignoring current successful risk management strategies, and
• forcing corporations to publish intellectual property.

At the ASC, we are monitoring these legislative activities extremely closely, but we need full input and support from you—our members—particularly when we need to develop a specific industry response or need your company to provide comments to its federal legislative representative. 

Below find links to current TSCA documents:

April 25, 2011 - Policy Statement—Chemical-Management Policy: Prioritizing Children’s Health

April 25, 2011 - ASC Supports AAP State on Need for TSCA Modernization

April 15, 2011 - AAI Lautenberg Statement

April 15, 2011 - Senator Lautenberg introduces Safe Chemicals Reform Act of 2011

April 15, 2011 - ASC’s statement on the Lautenberg legislation

May 24, 2010 – ACC’s Comments on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Discussion Draft

May 24, 2010 – CSPA, GMA and SDA’s Comments on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Discussion Draft

April 26, 2010 – TSCA Discussion Draft (as amended by House Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010)

April 16, 2010 – TSCA (as amended by Lautenberg Safe Chemicals Act of 2010)

If you would like more information about TSCA, contact Mark Collatz, Director of Government Relations, at (301) 986-9700 ext. 112.