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news.SOCMA opines that poorly planned drastic changes to chemicals policy would severely impact the integrity of the supply chain
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The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) has called on Congress to update the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) chemical management regulation, without enacting a complete overhaul. SOCMA believes this would be unnecessary and unduly burdensome to its membership, many of whom are small-and-mid-sized companies.
Joe Acker, president of SOCMA, said: “Sweeping regulatory overhaul at this time could have disastrous consequences. Most manufacturing industries in America rely on continued supply of chemicals for their products. Poorly planned drastic changes to chemicals policy would severely impact the integrity of the supply chain at a time when manufacturing least needs another financial hit.”
Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator, has expressed confidence in the new chemicals program, a particularly successful portion of TSCA, and interest in further developing efforts for existing chemicals. Earlier, SOCMA emphasized the need to develop the existing regulatory framework, particularly the fledgling Chemicals Assessment and Management Program (ChAMP).
SOCMA also believes that programs such as the EU’s Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACh), give the US the chance to leverage data and use read-across to obtain information without enacting sweeping changes domestically. Such development would continue the information-gathering process about chemicals in commerce, without stifling the innovation and sustainability of the American chemical industry.
Additionally, TSCA section 5 has enabled innovation, while a program like REACh would stifle it by consuming resources that would otherwise be dedicated to innovation.
“Any evaluation of TSCA must recognize that the chemical industry’s innovation has played a huge part in giving the United States one of the highest standards of living in the world, even as overall indices of public health and environmental quality have improved. SOCMA believes this combined success has been achieved due to TSCA’s flexibility,” said SOCMA.