The Safe Chemicals Act: States Still In The Lead

This post was originally published by Safer States.

By Laurie Valeriano, policy director, Washington Toxics Coalition.

This is a big moment for environmental health advocates and organizations like the Washington Toxics Coalition: today Congress released the Safe Chemicals Act, which is the first draft of a bill which will eventually overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – a decades-old law that oversees our toxic chemicals in the United States.

In a lot of ways, the release of this bill is the realization of hard work of the Safer States Coalition. 

We have been pushing for reform of chemical policies on the state level, and the federal government is finally beginning to understand what the states have known for a long time: there needs to be stronger oversight of ubiquitous toxic chemicals that have a daily, persistent effect on our families and children.

Consumers are demanding change every day. They are asking for BPA-free baby bottles, phthalate-free shampoos, and DECA-free upholstery. States are demanding safer alternatives to chemicals with laws like Minnesota’s Toxic Free Kids Act and Connecticut’s landmark BPA bill.

And the federal government is finally hearing the demand for change, but the legislation needs major changes for it to protect children and families from harmful chemicals.

The Safe Chemicals Act is proposing that the EPA gather safety and health data for all chemicals and that there at least be a minimum health based standard that chemicals have to meet. It will also identify “hot spot” communities that are disproportionally impacted by toxic chemicals and create action plans to provide relief for these communities.

This is good news, and will go a long way in overhauling the laws that we have now, which do not protect Americans from the proven health risks of toxic chemicals.

However, Congress is missing the mark on several key points which must be addressed before this bill passes into law.

The legislation doesn’t require a ban of chemicals that we know pose serious health and environmental threats, not even chemicals that are found in newborn babies (persistent bioaccumulative toxics or PBTs). Washington State has been at the forefront, recognizing that these chemicals pose a unique challenge because they persist for long period of time, build up and increase in concentration in the food chain and are toxic at extremely low levels. Under this bill, it is not certain that PBT chemicals such as the toxic flame retardants (PBDEs), which numerous state legislatures have already banned, will be banned.

This is seriously flawed as the best thing to do for persistent, bio-accumulative chemicals that build up in our bodies is to phase them out, not allow small amounts of them. In December, 13 states signed a letter dictating principles for reform and asked that the Safe Chemicals Act deliberately phase out chemicals that threaten the most vulnerable populations.

Another huge flaw is that again, for chemicals like the hormone disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA), it does not require restrictions or bans. While the House version of the bill acknowledges the dangers of BPA by putting it on a list for quick evaluation, it falls short of ensuring restrictions or bans will be put in place. 

We already know that alternatives to the use of BPA in the majority of products, especially ones that children are exposed to, have safer alternatives available. Numerous states have already taken action to restrict the use of BPA—Congress should not lag behind in requiring immediate reductions of hormone disrupting and other chemicals. Our children deserve better.

We need harmful chemicals out of our lives completely as quickly and efficiently as the system allows. The Safe Chemicals Act should be taking its cues from successful state laws which have been passed by moving quickly against the worst chemicals using the common sense, business-like approaches to chemical regulation.

Clearly there are still major gaps that will be left if this bill becomes law. States will have to continue to pass strong chemical laws that phase out the worst chemicals and reduce other harmful chemicals, especially when safer alternatives are available. And that’s what states should continue to do as Congress debates this topic.