Bill Text: FL S1154 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Chemicals of High Concern

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-05-03 - Died in Environmental Preservation and Conservation [S1154 Detail]

Download: Florida-2013-S1154-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2013                                    SB 1154
       
       
       
       By Senator Sobel
       
       
       
       
       33-01144-13                                           20131154__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to chemicals of high concern; creating
    3         s. 403.9339, F.S.; providing a declaration of state
    4         policy regarding the identification of chemicals of
    5         high concern; providing definitions; requiring the
    6         Department of Environmental Protection, in
    7         consultation with the Department of Health, to
    8         generate a list of chemicals of high concern;
    9         providing requirements for the review, revision, and
   10         publication of the list; providing criteria for the
   11         designation of a chemical as a chemical of high
   12         concern; authorizing the Department of Environmental
   13         Protection to participate in an interstate
   14         clearinghouse regarding the use of chemicals in
   15         consumer products; providing an effective date.
   16  
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. Section 403.9339, Florida Statutes, is created
   20  to read:
   21         403.9339 Chemicals of high concern to pregnant women and
   22  children in consumer products.—
   23         (1) It is the policy of the state, consistent with its duty
   24  to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens, to
   25  reduce the exposure of pregnant women, children, and other
   26  vulnerable populations to chemicals of high concern by publicly
   27  identifying such chemicals and encouraging substitution with
   28  safer alternatives whenever feasible.
   29         (2) As used in this section, the term:
   30         (a) “Chemical” means a substance with a distinct molecular
   31  composition or a group of structurally related substances,
   32  including the breakdown products of the substance or substances
   33  that form through decomposition, degradation, or metabolism, and
   34  the precursor compounds that decompose, degrade, or are
   35  metabolized to form the substance or substances.
   36         (b) “Chemical of high concern” means any chemical
   37  identified by the department that meets the criteria established
   38  in subsection (4) or subsection (5).
   39         (c) “Child” means a person younger than 18 years of age.
   40         (d) “Consumer product” means any item, including component
   41  parts and packaging, sold for indoor use in a residence, child
   42  care facility, or school and any item sold for outdoor use if a
   43  child or pregnant woman may have direct contact with the outdoor
   44  item.
   45         (e) “Credible scientific evidence” means the results of a
   46  study, the experimental design and conduct of which have
   47  undergone independent scientific peer review, that are published
   48  in a peer-reviewed journal or in a publication of an
   49  authoritative federal or international governmental agency,
   50  including, but not limited to, the United States Department of
   51  Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program, the
   52  National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the United
   53  States Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease
   54  Control and Prevention, the United States Environmental
   55  Protection Agency, the World Health Organization, and the
   56  European Chemicals Agency of the European Union.
   57         (3)(a) By January 1, 2014, the department, in consultation
   58  with the Department of Health, shall publish an initial list of
   59  at least 50, but not more than 100, chemicals of high concern.
   60         (b) The department shall review and revise the list of
   61  chemicals of high concern at least once every 3 years. The
   62  department may add a chemical to the list if the chemical meets
   63  the requirements of subsection (4) or subsection (5).
   64         (c) The department shall publish the initial list of
   65  chemicals of high concern on its website and shall update the
   66  published list whenever the list is revised.
   67         (4) A chemical may be designated as a chemical of high
   68  concern if the department, after consultation with the
   69  Department of Health, determines that the chemical meets the
   70  following criteria:
   71         (a) The chemical is identified by an authoritative
   72  governmental agency on the basis of credible scientific evidence
   73  as being known or likely to:
   74         1. Harm the normal development of a fetus or child or cause
   75  other developmental toxicity;
   76         2. Cause cancer, genetic damage, or reproductive harm;
   77         3. Disrupt the endocrine or hormone system;
   78         4. Damage the nervous system, immune system, or organs or
   79  cause other systemic toxicity;
   80         5. Be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic; or
   81         6. Be very persistent and very bioaccumulative.
   82         (b) There is credible scientific evidence that the chemical
   83  has been:
   84         1. Found through biomonitoring studies to be present in
   85  human blood, human breast milk, human urine, or other human
   86  bodily tissues or fluids;
   87         2. Found through sampling and analysis to be present in
   88  household dust, indoor air, or drinking water or elsewhere in
   89  the residential environment; or
   90         3. Added to, or is present in, a consumer product used or
   91  present in or around a residence, child care facility, or
   92  school.
   93         (5) In lieu of meeting the requirements of subsection (4),
   94  a chemical may be designated as a chemical of high concern if
   95  the department, after consultation with the Department of
   96  Health, determines that:
   97         (a) Based upon criteria that are substantially equivalent
   98  to those in subsection (4), the chemical has been formally
   99  identified by another state as a priority chemical or a chemical
  100  of high concern; or
  101         (b) One or more of the criteria in paragraph (4)(b) are met
  102  and the chemical has been formally identified by another state
  103  as being known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other
  104  reproductive harm.
  105         (6) The department may participate with other states and
  106  governmental entities in an interstate clearinghouse in order
  107  to:
  108         (a) Promote the use of safer chemicals in consumer
  109  products.
  110         (b) Organize and manage available data on chemicals,
  111  including information on uses, hazards, and environmental
  112  concerns.
  113         (c) Produce and inventory information on safer alternatives
  114  to specific uses of chemicals of high concern and model policies
  115  and programs related thereto.
  116         (d) Provide technical assistance to businesses and
  117  consumers related to the use of safer chemicals.
  118         (e) Undertake other activities in support of state programs
  119  to promote the use of safer chemicals in consumer products.
  120         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.