Obama signs chemical safety bill into law

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has signed a bill, supported by both major parties, to reform the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The TSCA was passed in 1976 to prevent dangerous chemicals with toxic side effects from entering the US market, but many health advocates claimed the law had too many gaps and did not prevent even known carcinogens such as asbestos from being banned because the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was not allowed to examine the 62,000 chemicals that were already available on the market.

Obama remarked that of the original 62,000 chemicals, only five have been subsequently banned. He said, “Only a tiny percentage [of which] have even been reviewed for health and safety”.

The new law is named the Frank R Lautenberg Chemicals for the 21st Century Act, after the late senator from New Jersey who championed the reformation concept for almost a decade.

The law expands the authority of the EPA, including allowing the EPA to examine all chemicals intended for market – and the chemicals already commercially available – for harmful effects. It will also have an increased budget and a uniform authority between states.

“[The law] will do away with an outdated bureaucratic formula to evaluate safety, and instead focus solely on the risks to our health. And it will finally grant our scientists and our public servants at the EPA the funding they need to get the job done and keep us safe,” added Obama.

The EPA said in a statement that the signing of the new act was “a huge win for public health,” and it was “eager to get to work” on providing safety data for thousands of chemicals.

Last month the bill passed in the lower house by a vote of 403 to 12, then was delayed slightly on its way through the senate as senators took time to review the finer points of the bill before passing it in a voice vote earlier this month.