Albany – Yesterday, the New York State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution (K.400) authored by Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) urging the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Since it was first passed in 1976, TSCA – the primary federal law that governs chemical management in the U.S. – has not undergone any meaningful revision.

Over the past few decades, tens of thousands of new chemicals have been introduced into the environment, often in extremely large quantities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only been able to require testing of 200 chemicals of the 80,000 registered in the U.S.

“The current law is outdated and ineffective,” said Lupardo, a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee. “The EPA is only looking at a fraction of the chemicals many of us are exposed to on a daily basis."

Without comprehensive and effective federal laws, states are often forced to take chemical safety matters into their own hands. For example, New York is among a handful of states to make the toxic substance Bisphenol A (BPA) illegal. Before that, BPA was commonly found in baby bottles and other plastics.

“We can no longer afford to take on toxic substances one-by-one,” said Lupardo. There needs to be a national, unified approach.”

In 2008, Lupardo was invited to testify in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at a hearing on “Perchlorate and TCE in Water.” In her testimony, Lupardo discussed the IBM Endicott spill and vapor intrusion. She also called on the EPA to issue national guidelines for trichloroethylene (TCE) that reflect the most protective assumptions about toxicity and exposure supported by science. In the absence of such standards, she has introduced legislation (A.3121) that would require the New York State Department of Health (DOH) to prescribe a maximum indoor air contaminant level for TCE.

Lupardo’s resolution calls on the New York State Congressional delegation to support the reform of the Federal Toxic Substances Act of 1976 to strengthen chemicals management through policy reforms that:

1. provide essential health and safety information on chemicals to inform the market, consumers and the public;
2. require immediate action to reduce or eliminate the worst chemicals, including persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs) and other priority toxics to which there is already widespread exposure like TCE;
3. preserve the authority of state and tribal governments to operate chemicals management programs that are more protective than the federal government's;
4. establish health safety standards for chemicals that rely on the best available science to protect the most vulnerable among us, such as children and the developing fetus;
5. invest in green chemistry research and workforce development to boost American business and spurs jobs making safer alternatives; and
6. promote environmental justice by developing action plans to reduce disproportionate exposure to toxic chemicals in disadvantaged communities.

For additional information about the resolution, please click here k400.

For additional information about the TCE Exposure Prevention Act, please click here a3121.