164 



D. TSCA needs to be redesigned to broaden public access to information about toxic 

 chemicals and to encourage public participation in decisions about the use of 

 toxic chemicals 

 The creation of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) under Section 313 of the Emer- 

 gency Planning and Community Right to Know Act produced one of the govern- 

 ment's most successful and least costly instrument for promoting responsible toxic 

 chemical management. The vast array of data collected under TSCA needs to be bet- 

 ter integrated with the TRI in order to provide more depth for researchers and the 

 public wishing to use the TRI to better understand public and environmental health 

 risks. The TRI has demonstrated that firms can release significant amounts of 

 chemical information without jeopardizing proprietary interests. This lesson needs 

 to be carried over into the reconsideration of the TSCA confidential business infor- 

 mation protection provisions. 



(10) Sections 8. 9 and 10 should all be expanded to authorize closer collaboration 

 and coordination between business record keeping. TSCA data collection and the 

 Toxics Release Inventory. The Agency shoxild be required to assess its data collec- 

 tion requirements so as to reduce the reporting bvu-den on businesses while, at the 

 same time, coordinate its various data bases into more centralized, integrated and 

 publicly accessible data. At a minimum the TSCA Inventory Update Rule data and 

 the TRI data should be integrated to permit cross checking and validation. In addi- 

 tion, the TRI reporting should be referenced to the TSCA Master Testing List. 



(11) Section 10 should be expanded to include a special section authorizing public 

 dissemination of TSCA information not specifically protected as confidential. The 

 Agency should be authorized to annually release a special report to the public on 

 TSCA programs and to make its public data available through common electronic 

 data networks. The annual report should cover the scientific and testing work of the 

 Agency and it should be written in language accessible to a broad range of the pub- 

 lic. Ideally, the report should be released in parallel with the annual release of the 

 annual report on the TRI. 



(12) Section 14 needs to be more tightly drafted to reduce the misuse of the con- 

 fidential business information protection. Studies by the Agency and Hampshire As- 

 sociates have documented excessive overuse of the confidential business information 

 claim from businesses submitting data to the Agency. It is stated that up to 50 per- 

 cent of the chemical data collected under TSCA is claimed as confidential business 

 information. While credible claims need to be honored, the Agency should have 

 wider authority to review and determine the credibility of confidentiality claims, to 

 challenge frivolous claims, and to assess penalties for patterns of misuse of these 

 protections. 



Statement of Roger A. Kanerva, ENvraoNMEisfTAL Poucy Adviser, Illinois 

 Environmental Protection Agency 



I greatly appreciate having the opportunity to appear on this panel to express my 

 views regarding TSCA reauthorization and, in particular, the state's role with re- 

 gard to this Act. My testimony is presented on behalf of the Illinois Environmental 

 Protection Agency (lEPA). The lEPA is responsible for administering the State's pol- 

 lution control laws and regulations and for working cooperatively with the USEPA 

 in implementing similar federal programs. I report to the Director of the lEPA and 

 manage development of environmental policy and planning and certain environ- 

 mental safety functions such as emergency preparedness and response and worker 

 safety practices. I have been with the lEPA for over 16 years while serving in var- 

 ious senior management positions. 



Prior to this time in Illinois, I worked for nearly nine years with the Maryland 

 Department of Natural Resources. My B.S. and M.S. degrees are in watershed man- 

 agement from the University of Arizona, and I finished most of a M.L.A. degree pro- 

 gram at Johns Hopkins University with msgor emphasis on enviroimiental and so- 

 cial sciences. 



My involvement with the TSCA began in the early 19808 when we were trying 

 to develop a comprehensive toxics control strategy for Illinois. We contacted the 



