{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.countable.us/bill/photo/s697-114/featured_frank-r-lautenberg-chemical-safety-for-the-21st-century-act-1463123006.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.countable.us/bill/photo/s697-114/featured_large_frank-r-lautenberg-chemical-safety-for-the-21st-century-act-1463123006.jpg","shareable":"https://n.countable.us/share-images/bills/s697-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2015-03-10","title_override":"Standardizing and Strengthening Chemical Safety Regulations","summary_override":"

This bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to base chemical safety decisions solely on risks to public health and the environment, and prevents costs and benefits from being factored in to a chemical safety evaluation.

All chemicals involved in commerce — including those “grandfathered” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) — would be required to undergo safety reviews. New chemicals would be required to go through the safety review process before entering the market.

Vulnerable people who are either more likely to be exposed to chemicals or especially vulnerable to an exposure -- namely infants, children, pregnant women, workers, and the elderly -- would be clearly defined in this bill as needing protection from toxic chemicals.

If enacted, this bill would not affect the ability of Americans to sue and seek damage for harm done by a chemical exposure, and clarifies that it would not impact the litigants ability to access confidential information in a judicial proceeding.

State chemical regulations passed before January 1, 2015 would be “grandfathered” in, and states would retain the ability to restrict a chemical until the EPA reviews it and its uses, and could regulate other uses than those which the EPA has ruled on.

After the EPA finalizes its action on a chemical substance, a uniform federal standard is applied across the nation. This would mean that states with stronger restrictions would have those reduced to the federal standard.

The EPA would be required to review claims that attempt to protect the identities of chemicals used in commerce, and such claims must be substantiated.

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The safety standard must also protect potentially exposed or susceptible populations, not just the general population, from unreasonable risks. Further, costs or other nonrisk factors may not be considered in developing the safety standard.\n\n(Sec. 4) Within two years, the EPA must develop any policies...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate found that this bill would reduce discretionary costs by $8 million over the five year period.","impact":"People who could be exposed to harmful chemicals, the chemical lobby and the chemical industry, state regulators, the EPA.","argument_for":"This bill would help protect against harmful chemicals — especially among the most vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and pregnant women. It is an attainable and worthwhile compromise.","argument_against":"Reforming chemical safety laws is a great idea, but unfortunately this bill doesn’t create strong enough protections. 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Standardizing and Strengthening Chemical Safety Regulations