US Congress Proposes to Require Regulation for Allowable Use of Toxic Chemicals

HONG KONG, China - Aug. 27, 2014 - PRLog -- The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be charged to identify allowable uses as well as to protect public health and the environment.

On 24 July 2014, the US Congress introduced S.2656 ‘Protecting America’s Families from Toxic Chemicals Act of 2014’. The act requires the administrator of the EPA to establish a list of chemicals that are persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBT) and to list allowable uses for PBT chemicals (1).

Under the proposal, a list of PBTs would be established within 180 days after the criteria to identify substances as PBTs have been finalized. The proposal also lists 21 chemicals that meet the criteria of PBTs based on existing evidence.

Demands on Toxic Chemicals with Allowable Uses

According to the proposal, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged to
- Identify allowable uses,
- Specify a date when to cease the manufacture and distribution of PBT substances not identified for allowable uses,
- Identify conditions to protect public health and the environment, including disposal of chemical applicable to the allowed uses,
- Consider petitions to allow future allowable uses of PBT chemicals.

There is also a presumption to allow specific uses of
- Cadmium and its compounds
- Lead and its compounds
- Mercury
- PFOS and PFOF

Highlights of the proposal are summarized in Table 1 (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/0...) within the latest SafeGuards bulletin.

References:

(1) Protecting America's Families from Toxic Chemicals Act of 2014 (https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill...)

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