Bill Text: IL SR0070 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Encourages Congress to enact federal legislation to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-03-31 - Resolution Adopted [SR0070 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SR0070-Introduced.html

---

SR0070 LRB097 10540 RPM 50878 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Children and the developing fetus are uniquely
vulnerable to the health threats of toxic chemicals, and
early-life chemical exposures have been linked to chronic
disease later in life; and
WHEREAS, A growing body of peer-reviewed scientific
evidence links exposure to toxic chemicals to many diseases and
health conditions that are rising in incidence, including
childhood cancers, prostate cancer, breast cancer, learning
and developmental disabilities, infertility, and obesity; and
WHEREAS, The President's Cancer Panel report released in
May 2010 says "the true burden of environmentally induced
cancers has been grossly underestimated", and the panel advised
the President "to use the power of your office to remove the
carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that
needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's
productivity, and devastate American lives"; and
WHEREAS, Workers in a range of industries are exposed to
toxic chemicals that pose threats to their health, increasing
worker absenteeism, worker compensation claims, and healthcare
costs that burden the economy; and

SR0070 - 2 - LRB097 10540 RPM 50878 r
WHEREAS, A recent national poll found that 78% of likely
American voters were seriously concerned about the threat to
children's health from exposure to toxic chemicals in
day-to-day life; and
WHEREAS, States bear an undue burden from toxic chemicals,
including health care costs and environmental damages,
disadvantaging businesses that lack information on chemicals
in their supply chain and increasing demands for state
regulation; and
WHEREAS, The primary governing federal statute, the Toxic
Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), was intended to
authorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
protect public health and the environment from toxic chemicals;
and
WHEREAS, When the TSCA was passed, about 62,000 chemicals
in commerce were grandfathered in without any required testing
for health and safety hazards or any restrictions on usage; and
WHEREAS, In the 35 years since the TSCA passed, the EPA has
required chemical companies to test only about 200 of those
chemicals for health hazards and has issued partial
restrictions on only 5 chemicals; and

SR0070 - 3 - LRB097 10540 RPM 50878 r
WHEREAS, The TSCA has been widely recognized as ineffective
and obsolete due to legal and procedural hurdles that prevent
the EPA from taking quick and effective regulatory action to
protect the public against well-known chemical threats; and
WHEREAS, In January 2009, the U.S. General Accounting
Office (GAO) added the EPA's regulatory program for assessing
and controlling toxic chemicals to its list of high risk
government programs that are not working as intended, finding
that:
(1) the EPA has been unable to complete assessments
even of chemicals of highest concern;
(2) the EPA requires additional authority to obtain
health and safety information from the chemical industry
and to shift more of the burden to chemical companies to
demonstrate the safety of their products; and
(3) the TSCA does not provide sufficient chemical
safety data for public use by consumers, businesses, and
workers and fails to create incentives to develop safer
alternatives; and
WHEREAS, The National Conference of State Legislatures
unanimously adopted a resolution in July 2009 that articulated
principles for TSCA reform and called on Congress to act to
update the law; and

SR0070 - 4 - LRB097 10540 RPM 50878 r
WHEREAS, In August 2010, the Environmental Council of
States, the national association of state environmental agency
directors, unanimously adopted a resolution entitled
"Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act", which endorsed
specific policy reforms; and
WHEREAS, Ten states have come together to launch the
Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse to coordinate state
chemical information management programs and a coalition of 13
states issued guiding principles for TSCA reform; and
WHEREAS, Seventy-one state laws on chemical safety have
been enacted and signed into law in 18 states with broad
bipartisan support over the last 8 years; and
WHEREAS, State policy leadership on chemical management,
although outstanding, cannot substitute for Congressional
leadership to reform the TSCA, a reform which all parties agree
is urgently needed; and
WHEREAS, The TSCA is the only major federal environmental
statute that has never been updated or reauthorized; and
WHEREAS, Legislation to substantially reform the TSCA was
introduced during the 109th Congress in 2005, the 110th
Congress in 2008, and again in the 111th Congress in 2010;

SR0070 - 5 - LRB097 10540 RPM 50878 r
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the we encourage the
112th United States Congress to enact federal legislation to
modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 to
strengthen chemicals management through policy reforms that:
(1) require chemical manufacturers to prove that all
existing and new chemicals are not harmful to human health
and provide essential health and safety information on
chemicals to inform the market, consumers, and the public;
(2) require immediate action to reduce or eliminate the
worst chemicals, including persistent, bioaccumulative,
and toxic chemicals (PBTs) and other priority toxics to
which there is already widespread exposure;
(3) preserve the authority of state and tribal
governments to operate chemicals management programs that
are more protective than the federal government's;
(4) establish health safety standards for chemicals
that rely on the best available science to protect the most
vulnerable among us, such as children and the developing
fetus;
(5) reward innovation by fast-tracking approval of
new, demonstrably safer chemicals and invest in green
chemistry research and workforce development to boost
American business and spur jobs, making safer

SR0070 - 6 - LRB097 10540 RPM 50878 r
alternatives; and
(6) promote environmental justice by developing action
plans to reduce disproportionate exposure to toxic
chemicals in hot spot communities; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
presented to each member of the Illinois congressional
delegation.