Environmental health experts have been eagerly awaiting updates to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 for decades, and this May, that day finally arrived. The new bill is named the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act in honor of Senator Lautenberg, who helped introduce the bill in 2013 and has since passed away.
““This new bill is certainly an improvement on the current Toxic Substances Control Act,” said Landrigan, noting that it would increase pre-market safety testing requirements, with a mandatory emphasis on vulnerable populations. The act also removes some “trade secret” loopholes, which allowed companies to hide data on chemical testing. “But it also doesn’t go as far as a lot of us in the public health community were hoping it would go.”” (Click here to view the original article in The Atlantic)