New Safe Chemicals Act Introduced in Congress

Last year I wrote about the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act and encouraged you to support it.

Last week, an updated version was introduced in Congress, called the Safe Chemicals Act, authored by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Congressmen Bobby Rush (D-IL) and Henry Waxman (D-CA).

The new law will:

• Empower the EPA to regulate toxic chemicals, and act quickly when necessary.
   
• Ensure the EPA is given sufficient information to evaluate the safety of a chemical.
   
• Establish new research programs to help everyone understand the risk toxic industrial chemicals pose to children, adults, and the environment.
   
• Force industry to prove their products are safe, both those already on the market and those they introduce in the future. In the past, the burden of proof was the responsibility of the EPA, who didn’t have the power, information or funding needed to be effective.
   
• Provide the public with transparent and adequate information to make their own judgments and decisions.

These changes have long been needed, and will result in more nontoxic products and more information about products to make it easier for us to make choices.

You can tell Congress to pass this bill at Take Action: Ask Congress to Pass a Strong Safe Chemicals Act.

You can read the full text of the bill here: http://lautenberg.senate.gov/assets/SCA2010.pdf.