{"id":715,"date":"2010-06-18T13:36:48","date_gmt":"2010-06-18T18:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/nanotechnology\/?p=715"},"modified":"2025-06-05T14:09:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T19:09:46","slug":"a-glimmer-of-good-news-flowing-from-the-gulfs-other-recent-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2010\/06\/18\/a-glimmer-of-good-news-flowing-from-the-gulfs-other-recent-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"A glimmer of good news flowing from the Gulf\u2019s other recent disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard Denison, Ph.D.<\/em>, is a Senior Scientist.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been blogging for some weeks now<\/a> about how we may be compounding the problems of the BP oil disaster through our massive use of inadequately tested and ineffective dispersants.\u00a0 There\u2019s an eerie echo in these events to the compounding effects of decisions made in the wake of the Gulf region\u2019s last<\/em> major disaster, 2005\u2019s Hurricane Katrina: specifically, the decision to house victims forced out of their homes in trailers made from imported plywood that exposed them to toxic levels of formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.<\/p>\n

In what I choose to regard as a silver lining arising from this earlier debacle, the U.S. Congress is finally \u2013 nearly five years later \u2013 inching toward passing legislation that seeks to prevent a repeat of that episode, by putting limits on how much formaldehyde can be emitted from imported and domestically manufactured pressed wood products.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

This week the Senate unanimously passed<\/a>, by voice vote, S. 1660<\/a>, \u201cAn act to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to reduce the emissions of formaldehyde from composite wood products, and for other purposes.\u201d\u00a0 The lead cosponsors of the bill were Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Michael Crapo (R-ID).<\/p>\n

A counterpart bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 4805<\/a>, introduced by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), passed the Energy and Commerce Committee in May and is expected to be voted on in the next week or two.<\/p>\n

There is another connection between the formaldehyde and dispersants episodes worth noting:\u00a0 Both problems point to fundamental flaws in our nation\u2019s main chemical safety statute, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).\u00a0 In testimony I gave in the House last year<\/a>, I described EPA\u2019s inability to use its authority under TSCA to do what the Senate and House bills would now do \u2013 by amending TSCA to give EPA the needed authority.<\/p>\n

Of course, as welcome as they are, these bills address only one<\/em> use of one<\/em> toxic chemical.<\/p>\n

Just last week, I joined several other scientists on a teleconference<\/a> sponsored by the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families<\/a><\/em> coalition to highlight how TSCA has failed to require the testing, disclosures\u00a0and demonstration of safety that could have answered the myriad questions and concerns now surfacing because of the unprecedented scale of use of dispersants to address the BP oil disaster.\u00a0 The coalition has called on Congress to include provisions in TSCA reform legislation<\/a> that would specifically correct these deficiencies.<\/p>\n

My hope is that, in the wake of these national disasters, another silver lining will soon emerge:\u00a0 passage of strong legislation to overhaul this outmoded and ineffective law so that it truly protects all Americans and our environment from toxic chemicals.<\/p>\n

Join us as we press for real reform:<\/p>\n