[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 65 (Friday, May 16, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND RIGHT TO KNOW ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 1997

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today H.R. 1636, 
the Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act of 1997. 
This bipartisan legislation--which has over ninety original 
cosponsors--builds on longstanding state and federal public disclosure 
programs. If enacted, this legislation will guarantee the public's 
right to know about the toxic chemicals in their homes and communities, 
and give parents the information they need to protect their children 
from toxic chemical hazards. H.R. 1636 means parents will have the 
tools to be smart consumers, whether they are buying household products 
or moving to new neighborhoods.
  Because children have greater sensitivities to contaminants in our 
food and air, they are especially vulnerable to environmental hazards. 
And when they crawl on the floor or play in the dirt, they are exposed 
to environmental contaminants in ways that adults seldom are.
  The Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act is 
supported by the Children's Health Environmental Coalition, the 
Alliance To End Childhood Lead Poisoning, Physicians for Social 
Responsibility, the International Association of Firefighters, the 
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, the 
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers, the National Council of Churches, the 
U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the Environmental Information 
Center, the Sierra Club, the Sierra Club Legal Defense, the Natural 
Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, Citizen 
Action, the Environmental Working Group, OMB Watch, Friends of the 
Earth, and Public Citizen.
  I want to summarize a few of the legislation's most important 
provisions.
  The Federal Hazardous Substances Act [FHSA], administered by the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC], addresses toxic threats and 
safety hazards by banning hazardous children's products and requiring 
warning labels on hazardous adult products. However, while CPSC can 
usually tell whether a toy, a crib, or other consumer product presents 
a safety hazard, CPSC often has little way of knowing whether toxic 
ingredients exist in a given household product.
  The Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act of 1997 
will improve the Federal Hazardous Substances Act by drawing from the 
successes of California's ``Prop 65'' law. Over the past ten years, 
Prop 65's public disclosure requirements have resulted in manufacturers 
removing lead from dishes and faucets, carcinogens from diaper pail 
deodorizers and shoe polish, and reproductive toxins from nail polish. 
And for every such example we know about, dozens of other businesses 
are quietly finding ways to make their products safer.
  Under the proposal we are introducing today, manufacturers and 
importers of consumer products with toxic ingredients will publicly 
disclose the presence of the toxic ingredients to the CPSC without any 
new labeling requirements. In addition, our proposal will allow citizen 
enforcement of our consumer product safety laws. The experience with 
Prop 65 in California is that few such suits are ever brought. While I 
expect few lawsuits will similarly result from this legislation, 
citizen suits create a real incentive for businesses to voluntarily 
eliminate the toxic ingredients in the products they sell.
  The act will also build on a second successful Federal program, the 
Toxics Release Inventory. The Toxics Release Inventory was created in 
1986 in the wake of the toxic chemical disasters in Bhopal, India, and 
Institute, WV and was aimed at giving people more information about the 
toxic chemicals routinely released into their communities. The law's 
done that, and it's also resulted in a 40 percent reduction in the 
release of toxic chemicals.
  The Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act of 1997 
will expand the Toxics Release Inventory to disclose the amount of 
toxic chemicals shipped in and out of a facility, stored on-site, and 
otherwise used.
  This will create incentives to prevent the accidents that accompany 
such use. According to reports by the National Environmental Law Center 
and the state Public Interest Research Groups, from 1993 to 1995, 
23,000 accident reports involving toxic chemicals were reported 
nationwide--an average of 21 each day. Worse still, 1 out of 20 of 
those accidents resulted in immediate injury, evacuation or death. The 
chemical plant fire last week in Arkansas, in which three firefighters 
died, was but one recent tragic example. These statistics are only the 
tip of the iceberg, since they neither account for under-reporting of 
accidents nor the chronic health effects due to the accidental 
releases. Under the proposal, businesses will also disclose their 
employees' exposure to toxic chemicals, creating an incentive to reduce 
those exposures.
  We have statutes regulating chemical transportation and management, 
and occupational exposure to toxic chemicals to set minimum safety 
standards. But public disclosure will create the incentive to go beyond 
the minimum.
  In New Jersey, where public disclosure of toxic chemical use has been 
in place for 10 years, production-related wastes have been declining 
steadily since 1990, while staying steady for the nation as a whole. In 
Massachusetts, a survey of businesses required by State law to report 
their toxic chemical use shows that 60 percent decreased their use of 
toxic chemicals per unit of total production since 1990. In addition, 
67 percent of businesses that reported implementing toxics use 
reduction said they actually saw direct cost savings and 66 percent 
reported improvements in worker health and safety.
  The economic benefits of focusing on toxic chemical use were 
apparently anticipated by industry during the passage of the New Jersey 
and Massachusetts laws. The New Jersey Pollution Prevention Act was 
supported by industry and actually signed into law at two New Jersey 
chemical plants. The Massachusetts law passed both houses unanimously 
because industry, as well as environmentalists, supported the law.
  In drafting this legislation, I have worked Mr. Saxton, Mr. Pallone, 
Mr. Markey, and Mr. Andrews to ensure that legitimate industry concerns 
were addressed. Under this act, for instance, business could withhold 
from public disclosure legitimate trade secrets regarding their toxic 
chemical use. Second, this proposal includes provisions to ensure that 
public disclosure is not unduly burdensome. The Children's 
Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act of 1997 will require EPA 
to consolidate all Federal environmental reporting--including air, 
waste, and water reporting and the reporting required by this 
proposal--eliminating hours of business effort to find and interpret 
the applicable reporting requirements.

  In closing, Mr. Speaker, the Children's Environmental Protection and 
Right to Know Act of 1997 will give parents information they need to 
protect their children from toxic hazards, provide businesses an 
incentive to voluntarily reduce their use and waste of toxic chemicals, 
protect legitimate trade secrets, and reduce the administrative burdens 
associated with environmental reporting. It will be good for our health 
and good for our economy. I ask for the support of all Members in 
passing this important piece of legislation.

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