The first Earth Day protest is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the birth of the modern environmental movement in the 1970s, which led to passage of landmark environmental and public health laws like the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Endangered Species Act. And in the forty years since that first Earth Day, these celebrations have often focused on a particular legislative initiative in Congress, or a major action under way regarding a specific environmental law. But one major law enacted in the wake of the first Earth Day is never invited to the celebration, and is never the focus of an Earth Day anniversary. That law is the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), widely regarded as the greatest failure in the post-Earth Day class of environmental statutes.
Poor TSCA. It was intended to stem the rising tide of toxic chemicals to which the public was regularly exposed, in their homes, the workplace and the marketplace. Unfortunately, it started off on the wrong foot , grandfathering the 62,000 chemicals then in use out of new testing and review for safety. In addition, the law was written in a way that has made it extremely difficult for the Environmental Protection Agency to establish which chemicals may be harmful and impose regulatory controls on even those that are widely known to be unsafe – carcinogens like asbestos for example – to which people continue to be widely exposed. The list of TSCA’s problems and failures is long, and the cumulative result of those failures is that, 40 years after Earth Day, we continue to be in the dark about the health and environmental effects of thousands of chemicals in use in all kinds of products, and we don’t really have a functioning system for addressing those chemicals that are unsafe or for protecting the public.
But the time may have finally come for TSCA to have its day in the sun. Tomorrow, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Congressmen Bobby Rush and Henry Waxman will introduce legislation in Congress to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act. The details won’t be available until the bills are released, but, based upon general descriptions there is a lot to look forward to. Each bill would go a long way toward reforming the nation’s chemical policies. The bills will expand the public’s right to know about the health and safety effects of most chemicals, require chemicals to meet a safety standard that protects children and other particularly vulnerable populations, and put the burden on the chemical industry to prove that its products are safe. The legislation also requires EPA to develop action plans to reduce unsafe chemicals in communities disproportionately exposed to toxic pollution.
It sounds like the bills will have some shortcomings that will need to be improved (more on this in future posts). But, on balance, the bills that will be introduced tomorrow are likely to provide an excellent starting place to strengthen EPA’s authority to protect the public…which means that the chemical industry is likely to be strongly opposed, and will gear up to weaken or kill the proposals.
Whether it is lead, formaldehyde, asbestos, TCE, arsenic, dioxin, persistent flame retardants, Bisphenol A in bottles and cans, or phthalates in toys – the chemical industry is always ready with deep pockets and an army of lawyers, lobbyists, press flacks, and scientists-for-hire to block, weaken, delay or overturn measures intended to protect the public from unsafe chemicals.
The public should therefore expect that, whether publicly or behind closed doors, the lobbyists for the chemical industry are going to work overtime to pressure members of Congress and the Obama Administration to weaken the bills that will be introduced tomorrow, to ensure that the reforms proposed are less effective, and the protections adopted at the end of the process, do as little as possible to truly reform the nations’ chemical policy.
It will be too soon to celebrate a reformed TSCA this year. This Earth Day people should be gearing up for a fight, to ensure that the best, and strongest possible reform bill can move through Congress and make it to the President’s desk. Some Earth Days, including the first one, have been days of protest, and organizing. Meaningful TSCA reform is not going to be handed to us, either by chemical companies or politicians. We have to win this one for ourselves.
Today I walked briefly through a small park near the Senate that was full of blooming cherry blossoms and azaleas. It was stunningly beautiful, and that got me in the mind of the celebration element of Earth Day, and being grateful for all that we have all around us. So, with Earth Day around the corner, I’m hoping millions of people across the country will celebrate the beautiful planet we all call home, and think about the people they love. Some of them, family or friends, may have cancer, or may have a learning or developmental disability, or autism, or be wrestling with infertility. I hope people will think of everyone they love and care about, and will gear up to Take Out Toxics and join the fight for real chemical policy reform that will make a difference in all of our lives, and will make perhaps the next Earth Day one that is cause for a great celebration.
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Here’s what the Agency announced:
“a series of actions on four chemicals raising serious health or environmental concerns, including phthalates. For the first time, EPA intends to establish a “Chemicals of Concern” list and is beginning a process that may lead to regulations requiring significant risk reduction measures to protect human health and the environment. The agency’s actions represent its determination to use its authority under the existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the fullest extent possible, recognizing EPA’s strong belief that the 1976 law is both outdated and in need of reform.
In addition to phthalates, the chemicals EPA is addressing today are short-chain chlorinated paraffins, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorinated chemicals, including PFOA. These chemicals are used in the manufacture of a wide array of products and have raised a range of health and environmental concerns.”
And:
“The actions announced today include:
Adding phthalates and PBDE chemicals to the concern list.
Beginning a process that could lead to risk reductions actions under section 6 of TSCA for several phthalates, short-chain chlorinated paraffins, and perfluorinated chemicals.
Reinforcing the DecaBDE phaseout – which will take place over three years – with requirements to ensure that any new uses of PBDEs are reviewed by EPA prior to returning to the market.”
In the short time that EPA has been under new leadership, the Agency has taken significant and laudable steps toward chemical policy reform, which NRDC has highlighted in our new report the Obama Record. Some key items worth spotlighting right now include:
Today’s announcement is an excellent step forward. EPA is demonstrating a commitment to use its existing authorities to focus on chemicals of concern, including phthalates, brominated flame retardants, and other toxic chemicals. The measures announced today will help increase public awareness and expand the public’s right to know about these chemicals, and start the agency down the road toward reducing or eliminating the use of these toxic substances.
EPA can ring in the New Year proudly. The Agency has accomplished a lot in 2009 and has redeemed its once-tarnished reputation as protector of health and the environment.
]]>EPA and the Administration have taken another step in the direction of making reform of our nation's premier law for managing the safety of chemicals one of its top environmental priorities. That's a good thing, because the law has barely worked over the 33 years since it was enacted (some characterize TSCA as "badly broken" while others are more definitive, calling it a total failure).
Principles of this kind are by nature general and EPA did not commit itself to any particular legislative language or specific approach for altering TSCA in what it announced today. However, the written Principles themselves, and the accompanying comments made by Administrator Jackson make clear that some key elements need to be included in any approach that will meet with the Administration's approval. These include:
These are some of the key elements outlined in the Administration's Principles that correspond well with the platform articulated by NRDC and its coalition partners in the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families campaign.
In the classic reggae duet "Right Track," Hopeton Lewis and Phyllis Dillon, the Queen of Jamaican Soul, sing "if you want to be on the right track, you've got to move along with me. You'll never, never be on the right track, until you move along with me."
While EPA's Principles don't answer every question, or address every concern, they suggest that EPA and the Obama Administration are moving along the right track to support strong and meaningful TSCA reform legislation.
In the next few weeks the effort to reauthorize and thoroughly reform TSCA will begin in earnest when legislation is introduced in Congress by Senators Frank Lautenberg and Barbara Boxer, and Congressmen Bobby Rush and Henry Waxman. It will be the job of NRDC, the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families campaign, and so many other health, environment, family, labor, religious and business-based organizations, as well as millions of American's to ensure that the Administration and Congress remain on the right track and enact a law that finally provides real protection for all Americans from unsafe chemicals.
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