New legislation in committee that will affect ALL of the chemical industry:
The subcommittee for Environment and the Economy in the US
House of Representatives is holding a hearing today regarding an updated
draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA). CICA, introduced by Illinois
representative and committee chairman John Shimkus, is intended to replace and
improve upon the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) from 1976.
According to the current draft of the bill, which can be
found here,
“The purpose of this Act is to promote uniform protection to human health and
the environment through regulating chemical substances in commerce while
minimizing undue burdens on commerce.”
The bill intends to standardize regulations for chemicals,
sorting them into “low priority” or “high priority” categories. Low priority
chemicals are “not likely to pose an unreasonable risk of harm to human health
or the environment” and will be subject to little or no regulation. High
priority chemicals will be assessed by the EPA, who may require information
from the manufacturers or testing. The EPA can then determine what regulatory
action to take regarding those chemicals.
According to the February 27 Discussion Draft, the Act will benefit
public health and the environment while stimulating the economy and creating
“countless American jobs.”
However, the bill faces some strong opposition. The Center
for Environmental Health opposes it strongly, stating that it lessens the EPA’s
regulatory power toward dangerous chemicals and allows chemical companies to
conceal information about the chemicals they produce and sell. The Safer
Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition also released a document critiquing CICA
for weakening the EPA’s regulatory power and allowing potentially dangerous
chemicals into the marketplace with little testing or assessment.
What's Next?
The bill is still under review, though, so many of these
details could change in the coming months. Red-Line will be watching CICA’s
development closely, so follow our blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay updated!
In the meantime, check out the sources provided below to see both sides of the
issue:
- The Bill - http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF18/20140429/102160/BILLS-113pih-TheChemicalsinCommerceAct.pdf
- Quick Facts Sheet - https://energycommerce.house.gov/fact-sheet/chemicals-commerce-act-cica
- Center for Environmental Health - http://www.ceh.org/stopcica/
- Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Coalition - http://www.saferchemicals.org/2014/02/house-chemical-bill-fails-to-protect-public-from-toxic-chemicals.html
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