"Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Give EPA Power To Ban Dangerous Chemicals"

"In a rare display of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, a group of key senators unveiled legislation Wednesday that would require chemical companies to provide more health and safety information about their products and give regulators more power to force harmful compounds off the market."



"The compromise bill, supported by some health advocates and the chemical industry's chief trade group, would overhaul a 1976 federal law that by all accounts has failed to protect Americans from harmful chemicals added to household products, including furniture, baby products, toys and electronics.

Sponsored by Democrat Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Republican David Vitter of Louisiana, the proposed Chemical Safety Improvement Act for the first time would require the Environmental Protection Agency to review the safety of more than 84,000 industrial chemicals, many of which already were on the market when Congress last acted on the issue nearly four decades ago."

Michael Hawthorne reports for the Chicago Tribune May 22, 2013.

Source: Chicago Tribune, 05/23/2013