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Senator pushes for EPA to consider asbestos under revised TSCA

September 23rd, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

Senator pushes for EPA to consider asbestos under revised TSCA

The recent revision of the Toxic Substances Control Act means significant changes to the way the Environmental Protection Agency investigates and regulates a wide variety of potentially hazardous substances. The new TSCA requires the federal environmental regulator to consistently assess the danger associated with such chemicals, both maintaining a significant number of open investigations and quickly starting the process again once a previous effort concludes. Additionally, time constraints on those investigations mean a relatively steady stream of decisions from the EPA, a stark difference from the lengthy periods that were previously associated with such efforts.

A recent effort from Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat from California, to have the agency make the review of asbestos a high priority under the revised TSCA and apply the relevant environmental regulations is notable both for the political pressure and the long history of regulatory efforts targeted toward the insulating substance.

Asbestos' past history encourages senator to push for regulation
Past efforts to regulate asbestos under the original version of the TSCA ended poorly from the EPA's perspective, considering the proven and serious health hazards associated with the material. As Morning Consult pointed out, the federal regulator's initial effort to restrict asbestos use was found to be illegal based on the language of the TSCA in its original form. Boxer cited information related to the dangers of asbestos in a letter sent to top EPA officials, noting statistics from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization put the total number of related deaths per year in the U.S. at 15,000.

The Hill relayed the strong language used in Boxer's letter, which pushed for an EPA review of the material to occur as soon as possible.

"The U.S. now has the ability to be a global leader and join the many other nations that have acted to address the harms posed by asbestos," Boxer wrote, according to The Hill. "EPA should seize this opportunity by including asbestos in the first 10 chemicals that it acts on under the new law."

The push by Boxer for a quick EPA review of asbestos is noteworthy because its results will give businesses an initial idea of how significantly the agency's new TSCA process can be influenced by lawmakers and, potentially, other prominent figures. Additionally, businesses need to be aware that whether or not outside influence has a major bearing on TSCA decisions, the timeline for decisions is now clearer and much shorter.

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