Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 was introduced in the U.S. Senate today by Senator Frank Lautenberg and is co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar, Charles Schumer, and Barbara Boxer.
In the TSCA reform debate, some things haven’t changed from last year: TSCA is just as badly in need of an overhaul, and consumers and the chemical industry’s customers have no more confidence in the safety of chemicals in use today than they did a year ago. States, other countries and the marketplace all continue to act to advance modern chemical safety policies and practices. We in the advocacy community are still waiting for the chemical industry to offer some of its own proposals for reform – though some individual companies and product associations have been more forthcoming.
In contrast, the 2011 version of the Safe Chemicals Act has changed in some important ways – and for the better. It includes a number of improvements over last year’s version that would both boost health protections and ease implementation and workability.
[Updated 5-9-11: Here’s a side-by-side comparing the 2011 version to the 2010 version of the Act.] Read More »