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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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Revamp finds industry backing
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is calling for the revamping of a 33-year-old toxic chemical law that is expected to have a profound impact on Louisiana’s chemical industry and the communities that surround their plants.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson recently unveiled a proposal to improve the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act that would require chemical companies to provide information on toxicity, exposure and potential risks of chemicals. Companies would also have to demonstrate to the agency that products meet federal safety standards.
The call is being welcomed by both Louisiana community activists and chemical companies alike who say changes are long overdue. Louisiana ranks second in the nation behind only Texas in chemical production.
“They (producers) report just a fraction of what we’re breathing and ingesting,” Monique Harden, co-director of Advocates for Environmental and Human Rights in New Orleans. “The law is very weak, leaving people exposed and unprotected.”
Concern over the toxicity of chemicals has grown over the last 40 years with the inclusion of toxins in products ranging from baby bottles to medical devices. On new chemicals, companies have no legal obligation to develop new information, only to supply data that may already exist, Jackson said.
Currently, the burden of proof falls on the EPA to police the industry. The law, known in industry circles as TSCA, has impeded the EPA from protecting the public because of obstacles to enforcing it, Jackson said.
Jackson, a native of New Orleans, noted that since 1976, EPA has issued regulations to control only five existing chemicals to prevent unreasonable risk. That is in an arena of 80,000 existing chemicals, she said.
Mark Rohr, chairman and CEO of Albemarle Corporation, which has a research and development facility in Baton Rouge, said newer chemicals are better assessed than older products. Many longtime chemicals were grandfathered in with the adoption of the law, that was seen as groundbreaking around the globe at the time, Rohr said.
Chemical companies such as Albemarle have had to deal with a patchwork of state and federal laws that would now be unified with the revamping of TSCA, producers say.
“How it’s been applied has been a train wreck,” Rohr said of the current law.
What the act will do is shift responsibility from EPA monitoring chemical safety to companies providing the data on risks.
“We’ll take that obligation on,” Rohr said. “It’s a watershed moment … there is a lot of chance for Louisiana to step up and lead the nation.”
Community groups which have battled the industry for years over worry about safety risks, see the move as a long-desired win in their fight.
“This is one of those areas where there is common ground between the chemical industry and public health groups,” said Anne Rolfes, founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade environmental activist group. “I think it’s a real change in philosophy.”
Rolfes attended a TSCA conference last week in Washington that included Jackson and members of the American Chemistry Council.
“They’re people like us too and they don’t want to contaminate people,” Rolfes said. “They realize science and policy is changing and the industry wants to be part of the solution.”
Though the law does not govern emissions from the plant, requiring companies to supply data on chemical risks will have a trickle-down effect on possible dangers to the communities surrounding plants, activists say.
“They need to know as much information about the health impacts of chemicals that they know are in their environment,” said Wilma Subra, who provides technical assistance for community groups, including the Louisiana Environmental Action Network.
Chemical producers acknowledge that meeting the law will require the spending of millions of dollars.
“It’s going to be a lot of work and it should be a lot of work,” said Dan Borne, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association which represents 65 companies with 96 sites in the state.
“In the end, the costs will be justified and we will have a consistent regulatory regime that is protective of the public and does not impede the manufacturing competitiveness,” Borne said.
Harden said the relationship will result in the community having more transparency into an industry it has long battled.
“With reform you can eliminate a lot of dangers we face in Louisiana,” Harden said. “You can put the kibosh on chemicals that are deemed too dangerous for our environment and health.”
“It may seem dry and the debates may be technical but it’s about children and families,” Harden said.
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