On July 22, 2010, Representatives Rush (D-IL), Waxman (D-CA),
Castor (D-FL), DeGette (D-CO), Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sarbanes
(D-MD) introduced the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 (TSCA).
This bill is similar in many respects to one entitled Safe
Chemicals Act of 2010 filed by Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) on April
15, 2010. Both of these proposals to amend TSCA could have
far-reaching effects on the chemical industry and on manufacturers,
processors and importers of a wide range of materials, potentially
subjecting them to requirements like those under the REACH program
instituted in the European Union.
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which authorizes U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the safety of
chemicals distributed in commerce, is the only major environmental
statute that has not been reauthorized since original enactment in
1976 – but change may be coming. Bills recently
introduced in Congress to amend TSCA could have
