The Senate voted last week to approve H.R. 2576, the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” legislation that will reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time since its enactment in 1976. The House of Representatives approved the same bill in late May, and President Obama is expected to sign it into law in the coming weeks.
The product of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans following years of discussions, the legislation will create a new system for EPA to evaluate and manage risks associated with chemicals in the marketplace. The agency will be required to conduct risk assessments to determine if certain chemicals present an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment in the course of their normal conditions of use. If EPA determines a chemical presents an unreasonable risk, then the agency must propose a rule that may restrict the chemical’s use in some circumstances. Importantly, this analysis will focus on risks tied to routine exposure — not extraordinary events like accidental releases of chemical substances.
In the long term, EPA’s new powers may reduce the prevalence of dangerous chemicals that otherwise might find their way into drinking water sources. But the program’s focus on risks related to normal chemical usage makes the reformed TSCA unlikely to be used to regulate drinking water disinfectants like gaseous chlorine – just as EPA never attempted to use the original TSCA law for that purpose.
A summary of the TSCA reform legislation prepared by the House Energy and Commerce Committee is available online.