Cheat Sheet on Existing Chemicals Laws

Posted on Mar 5, 2009 | Comments (0)

On February 26, 2009 the US Congress held a hearing regarding the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This is the 33-year old law in place that defines chemical policy in the United States. Not familiar with TSCA and why congress would be discussing the need for reform of this chemical policy? Here’s a cheat sheet.

Michael Belliveau of the Environmental Health Strategy Center in Maine has compiled a chart to help explain the differences between current chemicals policy outlined in TSCA, REACH the regulation system in place in Europe, and regulations in place in the SAFER states, including California.

With both industry and the environmental community agreeing that TSCA needs reform, all that remains is to decide what reform will look like. Will it begin to safe guard Americans against the over 80,000 chemicals in commerce today or will it be as ineffective as its predecessor?