Unacceptable levels: A documentary about what goes in our bodies

[proverbialwisdom]

1. Lautenberg to push bill to regulate chemicals

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20130410_Lautenberg_to_push_bill_to_regulate_chemicals.html

Lautenberg to push bill to regulate chemicals

Sandy Bauers, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: Wednesday, April 10, 2013, 3:01 AM

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), plans Wednesday to introduce what he hopes will be signature legislation for his final term in office - a bill aimed at ensuring the safety of the many chemicals that Americans come in contact with every day.

The measure would give regulatory officials the authority to evaluate the safety of the flame retardants in couches, the phthalate compounds responsible for the smell of new vinyl shower curtains, the bisphenol A that protects food in cans, and other chemicals of concern in common household products.

Lautenberg's legislation would update the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA. Environmental groups, public-health advocates, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials and the chemical industry have called for reform.

But the bill will likely face heavy opposition from industry. Scott Jensen, a spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, said the version of the legislation he is familiar with has "serious deficiencies" that would make a complicated program "even more complex."

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Lautenberg has been working on TSCA reform since 2005. Last year, his proposed legislation gained committee approval. But it passed out of committee late in the congressional schedule and never made it to the floor.

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