[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4234 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4234

To require reporting on toxic chemicals, to protect children's health, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 1996

Mr. Pallone (for himself, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Torricelli, and Mr. Markey) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require reporting on toxic chemicals, to protect children's health, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Right-To-Know and Children's 
Environmental Health Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The public has a fundamental right to know how toxic 
        chemicals are used, including information about toxic chemicals 
        contained in consumer products and foods used at workplaces, 
        stored at industrial facilities, and transported over public 
        highways and railways.
            (2) This public's right to know is currently not being met. 
        Without this information, parents cannot take adequate steps to 
        protect their children, consumers cannot make informed choices, 
        and workers and communities cannot protect themselves.
    (b) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States that--
            (1) adequate data should be developed with respect to 
        industry's use of and the public's exposure to toxic 
        substances, with priority given to the exposure of children to 
        toxic substances; and
            (2) such data should be generated by manufacturers, 
        processors, and users of chemical substances and mixtures and 
        then made available to the general public so that parents can 
        take steps to protect their children, consumers can make 
        informed choices, and workers and communities can protect 
        themselves and work with industries to ensure cleaner and safer 
        methods of production.

           TITLE I--TOXICS REPORTING AND PUBLIC RIGHT TO KNOW

SEC. 101. PUBLIC RIGHT-TO-KNOW REPORTING.

    (a) Section 313(g)(1)(C) of the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11023(g)(1)(C)) is amended by inserting at 
the end the following:
            ``(v) Number of employees, including contractors, at the 
        reporting facility; number of employees, including contractors, 
        at the reporting facility exposed to the chemical; and an 
        estimate of occupational exposures to the chemical during the 
        preceding calendar year.
            ``(vi) In accordance with the definitions and requirements 
        of the Pollution Prevention Act, the quantity of the toxic 
        chemical reduced prior to recycling, treatment, disposal, or 
        release to the environment as a result of the following: 
        equipment or technology modifications; process or procedure 
        modifications; reformulation or redesign of products; 
        substitution of raw materials; and improvements in 
        housekeeping, maintenance, training, or inventory control.
            ``(vii) Annual materials accounting information.''.
    (b)(1) Within 12 months after the enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall promulgate 
regulations requiring submission of annual materials accounting 
information pursuant to this Act. At a minimum, such requirements shall 
include the following:
            (A) A description of the use of the chemical at the 
        facility.
            (B) The starting inventory of the chemical at the facility.
            (C) The quantity of the chemical produced at the facility.
            (D) The quantity of the chemical brought into the facility.
            (E) The quantity of the chemical consumed at the facility.
            (F) The quantity of the chemical shipped out of the 
        facility as or in products.
            (G) The quantity of the chemical reported under section 
        6607(b) of the Pollution Prevention Act.
            (H) The ending inventory of the chemical at the facility.
    (2) Such regulations shall require that quantities reported are 
complete and verifiable by computations under conventional materials 
accounting practices.
    (c) The Administrator shall integrate the reporting requirements 
under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 
11001 et seq.), the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 
et seq.), and this Act.

SEC. 102. REPORTING ON HIGHLY TOXIC CHEMICALS.

    (a) Section 313(f)(1) of the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11023(f)(1)) is amended by striking 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:
            ``(A) With respect to a toxic chemical manufactured, 
        processed or otherwise used at a facility, 10,000 pounds of the 
        toxic chemical per year.
            ``(B)(i) Within 24 months of enactment of the Public Right-
        To-Know and Children's Environmental Health Protection Act, the 
        Administrator shall establish additional or revised thresholds 
        for reporting under this section for the following highly toxic 
        chemicals:
                    ``(I) Persistent toxic substances including but not 
                limited to dioxin and the following heavy metals: 
                cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury.
                    ``(II) Bioaccumulative substances including but not 
                limited to substances listed as bioaccumulative 
                chemicals of concern at 60 Federal Register 15393.
        Any chemical for which a threshold is established under this 
        subparagraph shall be considered a covered toxic chemical under 
        section 313(c).
            ``(ii) The Administrator may establish additional or 
        revised thresholds for reporting under this section for highly 
        toxic chemicals. A chemical which is bioaccumulative or 
        potentially bioaccumulative, has a tendency to persist in the 
        environment, or poses a significant threat to public health or 
        the environment at annual release levels below 10,000 pounds 
        per facility shall be considered highly toxic.
            ``(iii) The Administrator shall establish thresholds under 
        this subparagraph at a level which will ensure reporting on a 
        substantial majority of total releases of the chemical at all 
        facilities subject to the requirements of this section.''.
    (b) Section 313(a) of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-
To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11023(a)) is amended by inserting ``or 
released'' after ``manufactured, processed, or otherwise used''.
    (c) Section 313(b)(1) of the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11023(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ``or 
released'' after ``manufactured, processed, or otherwise used''.
    (d) Section 326(a)(1)(B) of the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11046(a)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(vii) Establish reporting thresholds for highly toxic 
        chemicals under section 313(f)(1)(B).''.

SEC. 103. COVERED FACILITIES EXPANSION.

    Section 313(b)(1)(B) of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-
To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11023(b)(1)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(B) The Administrator'' and inserting 
        ``(B)(i) The Administrator''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(ii) Effective beginning with the 1997 reporting year, 
        facilities identified by the Standard Industrial Codes listed 
        in the Federal Register notice at 61 Fed. Reg. 33587-33619 
        shall be subject to the requirements of this section.
            ``(iii) Within 24 months after the enactment of the Public 
        Right-To-Know and Children's Environmental Health Protection 
        Act, the Administrator shall promulgate a final regulation that 
        adds all additional Standard Industrial Codes of facilities 
        that have releases that are similar in volume and toxicity to 
        releases of facilities that are covered by this section as of 
        the date of enactment of such Act.''.

SEC. 104. IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION.

    Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know 
Act (42 U.S.C. 11023) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Improved Data Collection and Dissemination.--
            ``(1) To enhance public access and encourage use, improve 
        the management of information resources, and assist agency 
        enforcement, pollution prevention, and multimedia permitting 
        and reporting initiatives, the Administrator shall, within 24 
        months after the enactment of the Public Right-To-Know and 
        Children's Environmental Health Protection Act, develop and 
        implement a plan for integrating and improving access to 
        publicly available information within the jurisdiction of the 
        agency. The plan shall include, at a minimum--
                    ``(A) creating standard data formats for 
                information management;
                    ``(B) integrating information resources, including 
                the development and implementation of common company, 
                facility, geographic, and chemical identifiers, and 
                other identifiers as the Administrator deems 
                appropriate; and
                    ``(C) establishing a system for indexing, locating, 
                and obtaining agency-held information about parent 
                companies, facilities, chemicals, geographic locations, 
                and the regulatory status of entities subject to agency 
                oversight.
            ``(2) The Administrator shall coordinate the data 
        collection and dissemination activities of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency with other relevant Federal, State, and local 
        agencies in order to promote greater integration of information 
        and reduce the burden on regulated entities. The Administrator 
        may provide for the integration and dissemination of publicly 
        available data not collected by the agency.
            ``(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
        information shall be treated as a trade secret or confidential 
business information unless the submitter demonstrates upon submission 
that--
                    ``(A) the information has not been disclosed to any 
                other person, except the Government or those bound by 
                confidentiality agreements, and the submitter has taken 
                reasonable measures to ensure the confidentiality of 
                the information;
                    ``(B) the information is not required to be 
                disclosed to the public under any other Federal, State, 
                or local statute or regulation;
                    ``(C) the information is not readily discoverable 
                through reverse engineering; and
                    ``(D) disclosure of the information is likely to 
                cause substantial harm to the competitive position of 
                the submitter.''.

SEC. 105. CIVIL ACTIONS.

    Section 326(a)(1)(A) of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-
To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11046(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ``any 
past or ongoing'' after ``An owner or operator of a facility for''.

SEC. 106. REGULATIONS.

    The text of section 328 of the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-To-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11048) is amended to read as follows: 
``The Administrator may prescribe such regulations as may be necessary 
to carry out this title and the Pollution Prevention Act.''

           TITLE II--CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Children's Environmental Health 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that information disclosure imposes a lesser burden 
than mandatory controls and is appropriately required for hazardous 
chemical risks that are less well characterized than those that trigger 
mandatory controls. Requirements to disclose have been shown to improve 
safety and certainty by stimulating avoidance of hazardous chemical 
risks in the marketplace by manufacturers and sellers of products as 
well as by consumers.

SEC. 203. DISCLOSURE.

    Commencing 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, no 
person in the course of doing business shall knowingly expose any 
infant or young child to a hazardous synthetic chemical listed pursuant 
to section 204(a) in any children's food or children's consumer product 
without first providing a clear and reasonable warning of the exposure, 
on or immediately adjacent to the food or product at its point of sale 
to the retail customer, except as provided in section 205.

SEC. 204. LISTINGS.

    (a) Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Administrator shall publish in the Federal 
Register a list of all hazardous synthetic chemicals that have been 
identified or regulated as carcinogens, reproductive toxins, or 
neurotoxins by any agency of the Federal Government.
    (b) The Administrator may publish in the Federal Register a list of 
children's foods and children's consumer products that are known or 
likely to expose children to 1 or more hazardous synthetic chemicals 
and may identify those, if any, for which the Administrator has 
determined that there is a reasonable certainty of no harm from any 
hazardous synthetic chemical listed pursuant to subsection (a).

SEC. 205. EXEMPTIONS.

    (a) Section 203 shall not apply to any exposure to a chemical that 
takes place less than 1 year following the listing of the chemical as a 
hazardous synthetic chemical pursuant to section 204(a).
    (b) Section 203 shall not apply to any business with fewer than 50 
employees or to any public entity.
    (c) Section 203 shall not apply to any food or consumer product for 
which the Administrator has determined that there is a reasonable 
certainty of no harm from any hazardous synthetic chemical listed 
pursuant to section 204(a).
    (d) Section 203 shall not apply if the person responsible for the 
exposure can show that there is a reasonable certainty of no harm from 
the exposure. In an action to enforce section 203, the burden of proof 
to establish that an exposure qualifies for exemption under this 
subsection shall be on the defendant.

SEC. 206. IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT.

    The Administrator is authorized, in the Administrator's discretion, 
to promulgate regulations and to take other appropriate action to carry 
out the purposes of this title, including the bringing of civil actions 
on behalf of the United States to redress any action or inaction in 
violation of this title. In carrying out the Administrator's 
responsibilities under this title, the Administrator may consult with 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the 
Secretary of Agriculture, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and 
any other Federal agency with relevant expertise. In carrying out the 
Administrator's responsibilities under section 204, the Administrator 
shall secure data sufficient to identify hazardous synthetic chemicals 
to which infants and young children are exposed by requiring 
manufacturers or producers to generate such data and by obtaining 
existing data from any Federal, State, or local government agency.

SEC. 207. JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS.

    The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction 
over civil actions to redress any action or inaction that is alleged to 
be or to have been in violation of this title and may--
            (1) restrain any person from taking any action prohibited 
        under this title;
            (2) compel any person to take action required under this 
        title; and
            (3) impose civil penalties.

SEC. 208. PRIVATE CITIZEN ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Any person other than the Administrator may commence a civil 
action on its own behalf--
            (1) against any person for violation of section 203; or
            (2) against the Administrator for the failure to perform 
        any nondiscretionary act or duty under this title.
    (b) No action may be commenced pursuant to this section unless--
            (1) the plaintiff has given notice of its intent to bring 
        such action at least 60 days prior to the commencement of the 
        action to the Administrator and, for a violation of section 
        203, to the violator; and
            (2) for a violation of section 203, the Administrator has 
        not commenced and is not diligently pursuing a civil action on 
        behalf of the United States seeking the civil relief applicable 
        under section 209.
    (c) In any action brought on behalf of the United States following 
receipt of a notice pursuant to subsection (b)(1), the person giving 
the notice may intervene as of right as a plaintiff in such action.
    (d) In an action brought under subsection (a), the court shall 
award to any substantially prevailing plaintiff (and in an action 
brought under subsection (c), to the party intervening pursuant to 
subsection (c) if that party contributed significantly to the success 
of the plaintiff) the costs of litigation including reasonable attorney 
fees, unless the court finds such award to be inappropriate under the 
circumstances.

SEC. 209. CIVIL PENALTIES.

    In addition to any other remedy, including any penalty under other 
applicable law, any person doing business who is found to have violated 
section 203 shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty in 
an amount determined by the court not to exceed the larger of (1) 
$25,000 per day for each violation, or (2) one-half of the total retail 
sales price of all the food and consumer products in violation.

SEC. 210. PREEMPTION.

    Nothing in this title shall affect the authority of any State or 
political subdivision of a State to establish or continue in effect any 
regulation or any other measure relating to any chemical substance or 
article containing a chemical substance, including foods and consumer 
products.

SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this title, the following definitions apply:
            (1) The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) The term ``infant or young child'' means an individual 
        younger than 7 years of age.
            (3) The term ``children's food'' means raw or processed 
        food, including food as defined in section 201(f) of the 
        Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(f)), which 
        is normally consumed by infants or young children.
            (4) The term ``children's product'' means a consumer 
        product, including--
                    (A) consumer products as defined in section 3(a) of 
                the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)); 
                and
                    (B) drugs, devices, and cosmetics as defined in 
                section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
                (21 U.S.C. 321);
        which are sold or intended for use or consumption by infants or 
        young children or for which normal and expected use or 
        consumption in the home or in schools will result in 
        potentially greater exposure to a hazardous synthetic chemical 
        listed pursuant to section 204(a) for infants or young children 
        than for adults.
            (5) The term ``reasonable certainty of no harm'' has the 
        meaning given the term ``safe'' by section 408(b)(2)(A)(ii) of 
        the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 346a(b)(2)(A)(ii)).

                    TITLE III--ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS

SEC. 301. TESTING AUTHORITY.

    In addition to the substances referred to in section 408(p)(3)(B) 
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 346a(p)(3)(B)), 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall provide 
for testing under the screening program authorized by section 408(p) of 
such Act, in accordance with the provisions of section 408(p) of such 
Act, of any substance to which the Administrator determines a 
substantial population may be exposed.

SEC. 302. WARNING LABEL REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--On the basis of the results of the screening 
program authorized by section 408(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 346a(p)), the Administrator may require a 
warning label on or near any product at the product's point of sale if 
such product contains a substance which has an endocrine disrupting 
effect.
    (b) Contents of Label.--Any warning label required under subsection 
(a) shall state the name of the substance for which labeling is 
required and shall state in plain language the potential effects of 
consumption of endocrine disruptors.
    (c) Public Petition.--Any person may petition the Administrator to 
take action under this section. The Administrator shall decide whether 
to act upon such petition and respond in writing within 90 days after 
receipt of the petition.

SEC. 303. REGULATORY DECISIONS.

    If, on the basis of the results of the screening program authorized 
by section 408(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
U.S.C. 346a(p)), the Administrator finds that a substance may have an 
endocrine disrupting effect, such finding shall be sufficient basis for 
applying by rule 1 or more of the requirements under subsection (a) of 
section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2605(a)) to 
such substance. No other subsection of section 6 or other section of 
the Toxic Substances Control Act shall apply to such rule. Such rule 
shall be considered a rule under this Act.

SEC. 304. ENFORCEMENT.

    The Administrator may promulgate regulations and take other 
appropriate action to carry out sections 302 and 303, including the 
bringing of civil actions for enforcement purposes. Any person may 
commence a civil action on its own behalf against any person for 
violation of the requirements of section 302 or 303.
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