Bill to Amend Toxic Substances and Control Act Int
Washington, DC, January 24, 2006--Representative Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Environment and Hazardous Materials subcommittee, recently introduced legislation to amend the Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA), to make it consistent with three international treaties controlling hazardous chemicals.
The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish Federal Register notices updating interested parties on key actions taken under the treaties, such as proposals to add new chemicals to the lists of compounds covered by the agreements.
The three treaties, which have entered into force, and which the United States has signed but not yet ratified, are: (i) the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs); (ii) the POPs Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP); and (iii) the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.
While giving EPA the authority to regulate chemicals added to either of the POPs treaties, the bill does not require the agency to take such action.
