Update: President Barack Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act into law on June 22, 2016.
President Barack Obama signed legislation on June 22 that will overhaul how the U.S. government regulates toxic chemicals, possibly moving the United States a step closer to banning asbestos. Earlier this month, Congress passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1979. The bill will give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greater power to better review chemicals for safety and restrict their use. One of the reasons asbestos is not banned in the U.S. is because the current law requires the EPA to find the “least burdensome” way for the industry to control asbestos — an unsurmountable task for the regulatory agency given its current restrictions. The new law eliminates that provision.
“The EPA must limit delay by including asbestos in the list of the first chemicals it evaluates and quickly exercising its authority under this legislation to ban asbestos,” Reinstein said. “Until a complete ban is in place, asbestos will be found in construction materials, automobile parts, and even children’s toys.” While the White House and top Democrats supported the bill, other high-ranking Democrats felt the bipartisan text may limit states that already act more progressively against toxic substances. California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont already regulate chemicals aggressively. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland and U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, all fought for the bill to include language enabling states to maintain their current chemical legislation if it’s more stringent than the new federal guidelines. The legislation includes a proposal grandfathering state laws in place before April 22 to trump federal law. Meanwhile, development of new state regulations would be allowed in tandem with development of federal rules. States with limited chemical regulation would follow the new federal standard. Pelosi, Hoyer and Pallone issued a statement saying the measure “is not the bill Democrats would have written on our own, but it is a long overdue step forward to protect families and communities from toxic substances.” The White House issued a similar sentiment: “The bill is a clear improvement over the current TSCA and represents a historic advancement for both chemical safety and environmental law.”
On the day the Senate approved the bill, Environmental Defense Fund lead senior scientist Richard Denison said “today’s vote is a historic victory for public health.” While Denison admits the legislation misses the mark in some ways, he says “it fixes the biggest problems with our current law by requiring safety reviews for chemicals in use today, mandating greater scrutiny of new chemicals before they can be sold, and removing barriers that prevented the EPA from banning asbestos and other harmful chemicals.” For the ADAO, the legislation opens the way for immediate action. “We can’t afford to wait another year, another month, another day,” Reinstein said.