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Strengthen EPA's Ability to Regulate Harmful Chemicals 



Governments at all levels are under increasing pressure to address the public's 

 concerns about pollution and public expectations for a cleaner environment. Much 

 of this attention is now focused on toxic pollutants because of their potentially seri- 

 ous health and environmental effects. As both govenmient and industry look for 

 ways to respond to the public's demands, it is increasingly evident that achieving 

 substantial progress in dealing with toxics will require a comprehensive approach 

 that addresses the life cycle of chemicals from their manufacture and distribution 

 in commerce to their use and eventual disposal or release to the environment. Con- 

 ventional pollution abatement strategies typically involve only certain pollutants at 

 one stage of generation and at a readily identifiable source. Exposures and releases 

 to the environment can occur during any or all stages of a chemical's life cycle, and 

 all stages need to be examined. In some cases, the most appropriate way to deal 

 with a toxic chemical may be to not produce it in the first place. 



Although TSCA can be an important part of a comprehensive toxics control pro- 

 gram, the act's authorities have not been used effectively when EPA has considered 

 how to address toxic chemical concerns. One of our preliminary observations is that 

 TSCA authorities could be used more effectively if the act were on more of an equal 

 footing with other environmental laws. Another is that TSCA could be made less 

 burdensome to use by allowing EPA to regulate a chemical on the basis of a finding 

 that the chemical presents a significant risk to human health or the environment, 

 without having to demonstrate that the risk is also unreasonable based on com- 

 prehensive analyses of the costs and benefits of regulating the chemical. 



Clarify TSCA's Role and Relationship to Other Laws 



TSCA's role — that is, how and under what circumstances EPA can use the act to 

 deal with toxic chemical concerns — has long been controversial within EPA and 

 among Members of Congress, the regulated community, and environmental organi- 

 zations. The major point of contention has been whether TSCA should be a com- 

 prehensive '-umbrella" statute aimed at regulating all unreasonable risks fi-om 

 chemical exposures or whether it should be a gap-filler to address chemical risks 

 that cannot be controlled under other statutes. 



TSCA does not clearly articulate what the act is to achieve through its regulatory 

 authorities. In addition, section 9 generally requires that other environmental laws 

 be used to address the risk posed by a chemical, if the EPA Administrator deter- 

 mines that such laws can eliminate or sufficiently reduce the chemical's risk. EPA 

 has generally interpreted this section to mean that TSCA is not a comprehensive 

 chemical control statute and should be used primarily to fill gaps in the authorities 

 of other laws, such as the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Occupational Safety and 

 Health Acts. While these other laws can control environmental releases and certain 

 exposures to chemicals during their production and use, they do not offer the flexi- 

 bility provided in TSCA to control the production, distribution, and use of the chemi- 

 cals themselves. 



In our view, there are at least two possibilities for using TSCA as a more com- 

 prehensive chemical control statute. EPA could provide a different interpretation of 

 the statute or the statute itself could be revised to remove references to other envi- 

 ronmental statutes, leaving the EPA Administrator free to use TSCA whenever he/ 

 she believes it is necessary to reduce risks. Using TSCA in a more comprehensive 

 manner would make control actions under the act an option in EPA's deliberations 

 on how best to deed with toxic chemical concerns — either through TSCA, one or 

 more of the other laws, voluntary actions by industry, or a combination of these ap- 

 proaches. This would give EPA a cost-effective way of controlling pollution other 

 than by placing restrictions on industry at the end of the pipe. 



Establish a New Framework for Taking Action 



To regulate a chemical under TSCA, EPA must show that the chemical presents 

 or will present an "unreasonable" risk. To determine whether the risk is unreason- 

 able, EPA assesses the chemical's risks and performs analyses to weigh the benefits 

 of controlling the chemical against the economic and social costs of any con- 

 templated regulations. 



