Oregon may regulate toxic chemicals in toys
A bill that would regulate toxic chemicals in children’s products is back before the Oregon Legislature.
“Many of these chemicals in children’s products and toys can lead to serious health effects,” Sheri Malstrom, a public health nurse, said at a brief hearing in a Joint Ways and Means subcommittee Tuesday. The hearing was continued to Wednesday.
Senate Bill 478 would require the state to maintain a list of chemicals of concern for children’s products, require manufacturers to provide notice of chemicals on the list that they use in children’s products, and eventually require manufacturers to remove or use substitutes for certain chemicals.
It’s modeled on a similar program implemented in Washington state in 2009. California, Vermont and Maine also have state-level toxics laws.
Proponents in Oregon have been trying to pass legislation for at least six years. A similar bill passed the Oregon House in 2013, but stalled in the Senate.
The current bill proposes focusing on the same 66 chemicals as Washington’s law.
“There is sound scientific evidence showing that each of the chemicals on this list are of high concern to children’s health,” said Angela Crowley-Koch, legislative director for the Oregon Environmental Council.
Opponents say such regulation should be done at the federal level.
The federal Toxic Substances Control Act, passed in 1976, gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency power to require testing of chemicals. But the EPA has rarely used that power, prompting states to move on their own.
Congress is working on an update to the law and is expected to vote on reforms this summer.
“States have the opportunity to participate in that process,” Tim Shestek, of the American Chemistry Council, told the committee.
However, the proposal has been criticized for restricting states’ rights to pass their own rules about dangerous chemicals.
Several amendments to the Oregon proposal are in the works.
Although they slightly weaken the bill, the Oregon Environmental Council is supporting them in order to get the bill passed, Crowley-Koch said.
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About the bill
Senate Bill 478 would require the state to maintain a list of chemicals of concern for children’s products, require manufacturers to provide notice of chemicals on the list that they use in children’s products, and eventually require manufacturers to remove or use substitutes for certain chemicals.
The Joint Subcommittee on Human Services will hold a public hearing on the bill at 8:30 a.m. June 10 in Hearing Room F at the State Capitol.
Source: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2015/06/09/oregon-may-regulate-toxic-chemicals-toys/28750043/