The Power of the Chemical Industry at Work

By Cindy Luppi, New England Regional Director Yesterday Senators Vitter (R-LA) and Udall (D-NM) introduced the bill the chemical industry has wished for, one that allows Big Chem to continue to profit at the expense of our health. Upon introduction of the bill today, Cal Dooley, President and CEO for the industry trade association, urged its “swift passage”. And no wonder... the bill, an update to our nation’s main chemical policy, includes a number of gifts for the industry. A few examples:

• Gift #1: The bill would tie the hands of state governments. But it is the states that have actually been making progress on reasonable chemical policy, protecting our health over the last several years. The proposed bill would block states from taking new action on a toxic chemical simply because EPA has put the chemical on its “to review” list. Once a chemical is on the “to review” list, EPA action can take up to 7 years, keeping the health of our families and communities at risk.
• Gift #2: The bill sets up two paths for chemicals -- one that requires a safety assessment, and a second that would mean a free ride for the chemical if it is deemed "likely to" meet a safety standard. To top it off, that free ride designation can't be reviewed in court. It's a dead end for any needed health protections.
• Gift #3: The bill blocks state co-enforcement, blatantly weakening overall enforcement efforts. This is despite state co-enforcement being the norm for other major environmental health laws.

But we're not about to roll over. On this side of this battle for our health and that of generations to come: a coalition made up of several hundred groups that Clean Water Action helps steer called Safer Chemicals Healthy Families. Here’s what its director Andy Igrejas has to say:

“Firefighters, nurses, parents of kids with learning disabilities and cancer survivors all still oppose this legislation. In its current form it would not make a big dent in the problem of toxic chemical exposure and would even do some harm by restraining state governments. While Senators Vitter and Udall have made some positive changes, the bill is not up to the important task of protecting public health. We plan to work with Senators from both parties to make the needed improvements.”

The chemical industry has scored a coup today. The next chapter of this fight needs to star all of us, every single person who has watched a family member suffer with cancer or has struggled with infertility or been born with a preventable birth defect…and those who love them. Please call your Senator today and urge them to withhold support of this bill until it is strengthened to effectively protect our health.  We can get there, we just need to stand up to Big Chem and stand up for our health.