Yesterday, with the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) in attendance, President Obama finally signed the long-awaited legislation to reform the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act.
Signed at 11:30 am, The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, will give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more power to regulate chemicals that entered the marketplace before 1976, and also the new chemicals that will be entering the marketplace in the future.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act will:
– Provide the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the correct tools that will ensure chemicals in commerce are safer for consumer use.
– It will create a new system for the EPA, to assist them to evaluate and manage risks associated with chemicals that are currently on the market.
– Ensure all the fees that are paid to the EPA are only used for chemical management activity.
– The Act will maintain that protection of all confidential business information. All confidentiality claims must be reclaimed after 10 years.
– Provide limited pre-emption of state law. Once the EPA makes a final decision on if a chemical poses unreasonable risk, the EPA action would generally apply in all states.
– Set deadlines for the EPA to take action. Risk evaluations must be completed within three years and risk management rules must follow completion of risk evaluations by 90 days.
The Next step is now the implementation phase, where the CSPA and the EPA will work together.
For more information, please visit CSPA News Stream. Please contact Nexreg for more information about TSCA and Chemical Regulations.
