BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – Boston Attorney General Maura Healey praised the U.S. Senate for advancing a bill to reduce toxic chemicals.
“The Senate’s passage of this bill is a landmark event toward final legislation that will help protect the public from risky chemicals,” Healey said. “We support and appreciate the ongoing bipartisan efforts in Congress to modernize TSCA, and I thank Sen. Markey for his efforts to help improve the Senate bill, including his continued commitment to preserving state authority to regulate toxic chemicals.
The legislation is titled the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. The Senate bill, along with a similar bill advanced back in June by the House of Representatives, would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA).
“As TSCA reform moves toward President Obama’s desk, the final legislation must not compromise any state’s ability to address the risks of toxic chemicals on its own” Healey said. “We will continue to work closely with our state partners to pursue a final bill that maintains the traditional state-federal partnership that protects the public.”
As of now, federal law allows both state and federal governments to address toxic chemical risks. States have been at the forefront of reducing risk, and this legislation would help bring the national government more into the picture. The TSCA set restrictions on chemicals back in 1976, but due to limitations in the statute, it has largely failed in its original purpose.