U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) joined representatives from the chemical, environmental and business areas at Croda’s Atlas Point manufacturing site to applaud the passage of legislation to reform the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA).
Earlier this month, the bill passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming support and is expected to be signed by President Obama.
Croda is building a new plant at the site that is bringing construction and permanent jobs to the Atlas Point site in New Castle.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, based on a bill authored by the late -Senator Lautenberg (D-N.J.) overhauls the 40-year-old law that regulates thousands of chemicals.
The new law requires chemicals to meet safety standards before they can enter the market while providing businesses with a predictable and manageable review process to ensure chemicals are deemed safe for commercial use, a release from Carper’s office stated.
“I am incredibly proud that Congress has finally sent President Obama a bipartisan compromise that will reform our broken chemical safety laws,” said Carper. “Over the past 40 years, our country’s outdated and inadequate chemical safety laws have put the public at risk for toxic exposure, and left businesses in Delaware and across the country with a broken regulatory process that undermines innovation. Reaching this historic achievement to overhaul our country’s toxics law was possible only because both sides of the aisle and both chambers of Congress have worked together to compromise on policy without ever compromising our principles.”
“It is a great privilege to host this event at one of our manufacturing sites,” said Robert Stewart, director of operations in North America for Croda and chairman of the Delaware Chemical Industry Council. “The health, safety and quality of the ingredients we make across Croda has always been a top priority. We contribute to the development of such standards around the world and often go above and beyond the regulations required of our manufacturing sites. We thank Senator Carper for his ongoing support of this site and our industry.”
“Reforming TSCA has been a top priority for the Chemical Industry Council of Delaware for several years,” said Josh Young, the executive director of the CICD. “The chemical industry is critical to the state of Delaware, providing thousands of jobs for Delaware residents. Senator Carper played a key role in securing passage of the first update of TSCA since its enactment 40 years ago. Because of his hard work Delaware and the rest of the country will now be able to tout a 21st Century chemical management system.”
The bill had the support of the chemical industry, which preferred a national bill over a patchwork of state standards.
