On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2576, a bill reforming the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), with a 398-to-1 vote. Among its provisions, H.R. 2576, called the TSCA Modernization Act, requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use a risk-based approach to regulating new and existing chemicals, as well as a weight of evidence approach that uses credible and authoritative scientific data to demonstrate harm before creating new mandates.
In a release, the Toy Industry Association (TIA) lauded the House’s passage of this bill as representing an important step forward in overhauling the federal chemical law and providing consumers and manufacturers with a national uniform policy for regulating chemicals.
“A modernized TSCA law reflects advances in science and technology, and meets public expectations for vigorous government oversight,” says Ed Desmond, executive vice president of external affairs at TIA. “It also includes a preemptive federal policy to regulate chemicals at the national level rather than allowing for a patchwork of state laws that confuse consumers and ultimately make it more difficult to bring safe products to market.”
TIA is encouraging its members to visit www.reformtsca.com to send a pre-written letter to their local senator asking them to support the legislation. Questions about TSCA reform may be directed to TIA’s Rachel Derby, senior director of federal government affairs, at rderby@toyassociation.org.