On Monday, the New York State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution (K.400) urging the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The resolution was written by Endwell Democrat Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. Since it was first passed in 1976, TSCA which is the primary federal law that governs chemical management in the U.S. has not undergone any meaningful revision.
Over the past few decades, tens of thousands of new chemicals have been introduced into the environment, often in extremely large quantities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only been able to require testing of 200 chemicals of the 80,000 registered in the U.S.
Lupardo, who is a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee says that the current law is outdated and ineffective and she feels that the EPA is only looking at a fraction of the chemicals many people are exposed to on a daily basis.
Without comprehensive and effective federal laws, states are often forced to take chemical safety matters into their own hands. For example, New York is among a handful of states to make the toxic substance Bisphenol A (BPA) illegal. Before that, BPA was commonly found in baby bottles and other plastics.
Lupardo’s resolution calls on the New York State Congressional delegation to support the reform of the Federal Toxic Substances Act of 1976 to strengthen chemicals management through policy reforms that:
1. provide essential health and safety information on chemicals to inform the market, consumers and the public;
2. require immediate action to reduce or eliminate the worst chemicals, including persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs) and other priority toxics to which there is already widespread exposure like TCE;
3. preserve the authority of state and tribal governments to operate chemicals management programs that are more protective than the federal government’s;
4. establish health safety standards for chemicals that rely on the best available science to protect the most vulnerable among us, such as children and the developing fetus;
5. invest in green chemistry research and workforce development to boost American business and spurs jobs making safer alternatives; and
6. promote environmental justice by developing action plans to reduce disproportionate exposure to toxic chemicals in disadvantaged communities.
