Two competing bills designed to revise the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) were introduced this month, and only one is winning the approval of a public advocacy group that is concerned about the federal government's power to override states’ rights when it comes to chemical safety.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) released a draft bill entitled the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA) on Thursday, Feb. 27 that provides no significant improvements in protecting public health and the environment from toxic chemicals. Many of the provisions in the draft bill maintain the already deficient approaches to health protections now included under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our nation's outdated and ineffective chemical safety law.

A Senate effort to reform the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is scheduled for a hearing next week in the House. The controversial legislation, which was introduced in May by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), will likely get a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.

The EPA has launched a web-based tool, called ChemView, to improve access to chemical specific regulatory information developed by EPA and data submitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The EPA says it will begin assessing 23 chemicals – 20 of which are commonly used as flame retardants (FR) -- for potential risks to human health and the environment. This effort is part of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan which identifies commonly used chemicals for risk assessment.

The EPA has released for public comment draft risk assessments, for particular uses, on five chemicals found in common household products. The draft risk assessments were developed as part of the agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, which identified common chemicals for review over the coming years to assess any impacts on people’s health and the environment.

The EPA has released a report identifying substitutes for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), a commonly used flame retardant chemical which has been shown to damage human health and the environment.