WASHINGTON – New York’s junior Senator in Washington is teaming up with Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), the leader in Congress on reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in an effort to pass the “Safe Chemicals Act.”
Accoring to a release from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the Act would protect Americans from dangerous toxic chemicals that are found in everyday consumer products. Senators Lautenberg and Gillibrand have been working to reform TSCA and provide the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the authority to protect Americans from harmful chemicals.
The bill already has the support of more than one-quarter of the U.S. Senate with 27 additional Senators listed as original co-sponsors.
Senator Gillibrand said she was shocked to learn that in most instances, the federal government is unable to require safety testing of the chemicals used in the products my kids use every day.
The “Safe Chemicals Act of 2013” would modernize TSCA to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the tools it needs to collect health and safety information, screen chemicals for safety, and require risk management when chemicals cannot be proven safe.
According to Gillibrand’s office, testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found more than 212 industrial chemicals in Americans’ bodies, including at least six known carcinogens and dozens that are linked to cancer, birth defects, and other diseases. Many of these chemicals are found in a wide-range of consumer products including cleaners, detergents, furniture, food packaging, electronics, vinyl products, non-stick cookware, and even children’s products. Research has shown that children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to toxic chemical exposures.
Leave a Reply