[Senate Report 116-251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 513
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-251
_______________________________________________________________________
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2019
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 999
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
August 12, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
99-010 WASHINGTON : 2020
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred sixteenth congress
second session
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROY BLUNT, Missouri AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
MIKE LEE, Utah JON TESTER, Montana
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
RICK SCOTT, Florida
John Keast, Staff Director
David Strickland, Minority Staff Director
Calendar No. 513
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-251
======================================================================
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2019
_______
August 12, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wicker, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 999]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 999) to provide for Federal
coordination of activities supporting sustainable chemistry,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment (in the nature of a
substitute) and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 999, the Sustainable Chemistry Research
and Development Act of 2019, is to designate an interagency
entity to coordinate Federal research and promote sustainable
chemistry. It would also support collaborative research of
sustainable chemistry at institutions of higher education and
with industry through Federal partnerships in order to improve
training and professional development in the field.
BACKGROUND AND NEEDS
Sustainable chemistry can generally be summarized as the
design of chemical products and processes that reduces or
eliminates the generation of hazardous substances released into
the environment that may pose a danger to public health or the
environment.\1\ Sustainable chemistry's aim is to prevent
pollution at any point in the life cycle of a chemical product,
``including its design, manufacture, use, and ultimate
disposal.''\2\ The legislative origin of Federal activities
related to sustainable chemistry has its roots in the Pollution
Prevention Act of 1990, which ``focused industry, government,
and public attention on reducing the amount of pollution
through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and
raw materials use,'' rather than relying on remediation.\3\
Section 2 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 establishes a
pollution prevention hierarchy which ranks preventing pollution
at the source as the most important and preferred method of
pollution reduction.\4\ Sustainable chemistry inhabits this
most important level of pollution prevention because it aims to
reduce the intrinsic hazards of chemical pollution at the
source.\5\
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\1\Environmental Protection Agency, ``Basics of Green Chemistry,''
Mar. 21, 2017 (https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/basics-green-
chemistry) (accessed May 13, 2020).
\2\Id.
\3\Environmental Protection Agency, ``Summary of the Pollution
Prevention Act,'' Aug. 15, 2019 (https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/
summary-pollution-prevention-act) (accessed May 13, 2020); Basics of
Green Chemistry, supra note. 2.
\4\``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1; Environmental
Protection Agency, ``Pollution Prevention Law and Policies,'' Jul. 15,
2019 (https://www.epa.gov/p2/pollution-prevention-law-and-policies)
(accessed May 13, 2020).
\5\``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1.
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As a result of its cross-disciplinary application,
sustainable chemistry is a broad concept unified by 12 design
principles. The primary principle of sustainable chemistry is
that a chemical, process, or product is sustainable if its
chemical syntheses is designed to prevent waste.\6\ The
remaining 11 design principles of sustainable chemistry are
essentially methods through which the core goal of preventing
waste may be achieved.\7\ The second design principle is
maximizing atom economy by designing chemical syntheses ``so
that the final product contains the maximum proportion of the
starting materials[,]'' thus capitalizing the incorporation of
all materials used in the process.\8\ The third design
principle is to design less hazardous chemical syntheses in
order to ``use and generate substances with little or no
toxicity to either humans or the environment.''\9\ The fourth
principle of sustainable chemistry is to design safer chemicals
and products which ``preserve efficacy of function while
reducing toxicity.''\10\ The fifth principle is to use safer
solvents and reaction conditions by avoiding, to whatever
extent possible, the use of ``solvents, separation agents, or
other auxiliary chemicals'' or, in the alternative, to use
safer ones.\11\ The sixth principle is to increase energy
efficiency by running chemical reactions at ambient, or room,
temperature and pressure where possible.\12\ The seventh
principle is to use starting materials, or feedstocks, which
are renewable. Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal are
depletable feedstocks. Agriculturally derived products such as
biodiesel and bioethanol are examples of renewable
feedstock.\13\ The eighth principle of sustainable chemistry is
to reduce the use of chemical derivatives, which require
additional reagents and generate more waste.\14\ The ninth
principle is to minimize waste by using catalysts, which can
carry out a single reaction multiple times, in place of
stoichiometric reagents, which carry out a reaction only
once.\15\ The tenth principle is to design chemicals and
products to degrade after use so they do not accumulate in the
environment. The eleventh design principle is to ``[i]nclude
in-process, real-time monitoring and control during syntheses
to minimize or eliminate the formation of byproducts.''\16\ The
final principle of sustainable chemistry is to minimize the
potential for accidents in the design of chemicals to reduce
the likelihood of including explosions, fires, and releases to
the environment.\17\ Sustainable chemistry is promoted if a
process or chemical product achieves any of these design
principles. There are many ways in which sustainable chemistry
can be applied to the field of science. Several examples follow
below.
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\6\American Chemical Society, ``12 Design Principles of Green
Chemistry'' (https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/greenchemistry/
principles/12-principles-of-green-chemistry.html) (accessed May 13,
2020).
\7\Id.
\8\``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1; ``12 Design
Principles of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 6.
\9\``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1.
\10\``12 Design Principles of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 6.
\11\``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1.
\12\``12 Design Principles of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 6;
``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1.
\13\``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1.
\14\``12 Design Principles of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 6.
\15\``Basics of Green Chemistry,'' supra note 1.
\16\Id.
\17\Id.
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Metathesis
In 2005, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three
scientists who developed a process in organic chemistry called
metathesis, which is broadly applicable to the field of
science.\18\ Metathesis is a chemical process that uses less
energy, is stable at normal temperature and pressure, can be
combined with sustainable solvents, and produces less hazardous
waste.\19\ Metathesis directly furthers the principles of
sustainable chemistry. In 2012, Elevance Renewable Sciences, an
organization which produces high-performance, cost-advantage
green chemicals from renewable oils, won the Presidential Green
Chemistry Challenge Award by using metathesis to break down
natural oils and recombine the fragments into chemicals which
consume less energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as
much as 50 percent.\20\
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\18\``The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005,'' NobelPrize.org press
release, Nobel Media (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2005/
press-release/) (accessed May 13, 2020).
\19\American Chemical Society, ``Green Chemistry Examples''
(https://www.acs.org/
content/acs/en/greenchemistry/what-is-green-chemistry/examples.html)
(accessed May 13, 2020).
\20\Environmental Protection Agency, ``Presidential Green Chemistry
Challenge: 2012 Small Business Award,'' May 14, 2018 (https://
www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/presidential-green-
chemistry-challenge-2012-small-business-award) (accessed May 13, 2020).
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Computer Chips
The manufacture of computer chips requires a large amount
of chemicals, water, and energy. To make the process of
manufacturing computer chips more sustainable, the Los Alamos
National Laboratory developed a process whereby supercritical
carbon dioxide is used in one of the steps of chip preparation.
This single change in the process significantly reduces the
quantities of chemicals, energy, and water needed to produce
computer chips. Alternatively, Richard Wool, the former
director of the Affordable Composites from Renewable Sources
(ACRES) program at the University of Delaware, developed a
method of using the keratin in chicken feathers to make a fiber
light and tough enough to withstand mechanical and thermal
stresses.\21\ This fiber can be used in computer chip circuit
boards that work two times faster than traditional circuit
boards.\22\
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\21\``Green Chemistry Examples,'' supra note 19.
\22\Id.
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Paint
Oil-based paints release a large quantity of volatile
organic compounds which evaporate from the paint as it dries,
causing various environmental impacts. Paint manufacturers have
been developing methods of minimizing hazardous volatiles in
their products. Procter & Gamble, working with Cook Composites
and Polymers, developed a mixture derived from soya oil and
sugar that replaces fossil-fuel-derived paint resins and
solvents.\23\ This paint is safer to use, cuts hazardous
volatiles by 50 percent, and produces less toxic waste.\24\
Similarly, Sherwin-Williams developed water-based acrylic alkyd
paints with low volatiles, made from recycled soda bottle
plastic, acrylics, and soybean oil.\25\ In 2010, Sherwin-
Williams eliminated over 800,000 pounds of volatile organic
compounds using these paints.\26\
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\23\Id.
\24\Id.
\25\Id.
\26\Id.
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Medicine
The production of medicines which produce less toxic waste
is a growing field within the pharmaceutical industry. Merck &
Co., Inc., one of the world's largest pharmaceutical
manufacturers, worked with Codexis, Inc., a protein engineering
company, to develop a sustainable synthesis of sitagliptin, the
active ingredient in Januvia, a type 2 diabetes treatment. This
new process reduces waste and improves yield and safety.
Simvastatin is a leading prescription for treating high
cholesterol which uses hazardous reagents and produces a large
amount of toxic waste. Professor Yi Tang, at the University of
California, Los Angeles, created a synthesis of Simvastatin
using an engineered enzyme and a low-cost feedstock which he,
in conjunction with Codexis, Inc., optimized to reduce hazard
and waste.
In 2010, Congress directed the National Science Foundation
(NSF) to establish a sustainable chemistry basic research
program.\27\ The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of
Energy (EPA), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of
Agriculture (USDA), Department of Commerce (DOC), and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) all fund and/or
carry out activities related to sustainable chemistry.\28\
While some of these entities coordinate with each other on an
ad hoc basis, no Federal coordinating entity exists to
strategically drive progress in this discipline.\29\ The
Committee notes that other nations are developing national
strategic plans and investing in sustainable chemistry research
and development (R&D).\30\
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\27\America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010; Pub. L. 111-358.
\28\Government Accountability Office, Technology Assessment:
Chemical Innovation, Feb. 2018 (https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/
689951.pdf) (accessed May 13, 2020).
\29\Id.
\30\United Nations Environment Programme, Advancing
Entrepreneurship and Start-up
Initiatives for Sustainable Chemistry: Learning from Case Studies, Sep.
14, 2017
(http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/22044/
SC%20Startup%20WS_Case
%20Studies%20Compilation_Final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) (accessed
May 13, 2020); see also Chemical Watch, ```Green Chemistry' Key Plank
of Brazil's Economic Strategy,'' Feb.
2011 (https://chemicalwatch.com/6504/green-chemistry-key-plank-of-
brazils-economic-strategy) (accessed May 13, 2020); see also Shariq
Khan, ``A $163 Billion Sector Is Fighting Against a Hazardous Future,''
Economic Times, Oct. 23, 2019 (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
small-biz/sme-sector/a-163-billion-sector-is-fighting-against-a-
hazardous-future-chemical-sector-india/articleshow/
71716343.cms?from=mdr) (accessed May 13, 2020).
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SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
S. 999, the Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development
Act of 2019, would do the following:
Establish an interagency entity under the National
Science and Technology Council which would coordinate
Federal programs that support research and development
of sustainable chemistry. In coordination with
stakeholders, the entity is tasked with developing a
Federal strategic plan for sustainable chemistry and a
consensus definition of sustainable chemistry.
Require a report to be submitted to Congress
summarizing federally funded sustainable chemistry
research, the financial resources allocated to
sustainable chemistry incentives, the current state of
sustainable chemistry, an analysis of the entity's
progress in achieving the goals designated by the
legislation, recommendations for further program
activities in support of sustainable chemistry, and an
evaluation of efforts taken to date and future
strategies to avoid duplication of efforts and spread
best practices.
Designate appropriate agency activities, including
supporting the research and development of sustainable
chemistry, disseminating information about sustainable
chemistry, expanding sustainable chemistry education
and training, examining methods related to sustainable
chemistry standards, developing metrics for sustainable
chemistry programs, and public outreach.
Allow Federal agencies to partner with institutions
of higher education and industry to create
collaborative sustainable chemistry research, train
students, develop curricula, and provide for
professional development in the field of sustainable
chemistry.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 999 was introduced on April 3, 2019, by Senator Coons
(for himself and Senators Collins, Capito, and Klobuchar) and
was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate. On October 17, 2019, the
Committee met in open Executive Session and, by voice vote,
ordered S. 999 reported favorably with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute and three first degree amendments.
An identical bill, H.R. 2051 was introduced on April 3,
2019, by Representative Lipinski (for himself and
Representative Moolenaar) and was referred to the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives.
There are 16 additional cosponsors. On December 9, 2019, H.R.
2051 was passed on a motion to suspend the rules and pass that
bill, as amended, in the House of Representatives.
ESTIMATED COSTS
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 999 would direct the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP) to establish an interagency entity--with
representation from at least nine federal agencies--to
coordinate federal programs and activities in sustainable
chemistry. The bill would require the entity to consult with
stakeholders, develop metrics to assess sustainable chemistry,
and report to the Congress on related initiatives and
priorities. Participating agencies also would be required to
incorporate sustainable chemistry into existing programs for
research and development, demonstration, technology transfer,
commercialization, and education and training.
Using information from the Government Accountability
Office, CBO expects that many agencies are already conducting
activities similar to those required under the bill.\1\ On that
basis, and using information from OSTP and several of the
affected agencies, CBO estimates that each of the nine agencies
and OSTP would require, on average, two additional employees at
an average annual cost of $150,000 each to manage and
participate in the interagency entity. CBO estimates that
implementing S. 999 would cost $2 million in 2020 and $14
million over the 2020-2024 period; such spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
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\1\See Government Accountability Office, Chemical Innovation:
Technologies to Make Processes and Products More Sustainable, GAO-18-
307 (February 2018), www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-307.
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On November 15, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 2051, the Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development
Act of 2019, as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology on October 17, 2019. The two
bills are similar, and CBO's estimates of their budgetary
effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
Number of Persons Covered
S. 999, as reported, would not create any new programs or
impose any new regulatory requirements, and therefore will not
subject any individuals or businesses to new regulations.
Economic Impact
S. 999 is not expected to have a negative impact on the
Nation's economy. It is likely to have a net positive benefit
by coordinating Federal research and promoting the field of
sustainable chemistry.
Privacy
S. 999 would have no impact on the personal privacy of
individuals.
Paperwork
S. 999 would require the newly created interagency entity
to complete a report, to be submitted to Congress and the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), relating to the state
of sustainable chemistry and current Federal funds dedicated to
the promotion of sustainable chemistry.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as
the ``Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of
2019''.
Section 2. Findings.
This section would establish that Congress recognizes the
importance of sustainable chemistry as a key component to
business competitiveness, open market innovation, avoiding
environmental harm, and improving the efficiency of the use of
natural resources to meet human needs. This section also finds
that GAO has found that the Federal Government could play a key
role in helping sustainable chemistry reach its full potential
domestically.
Section 3. National coordinating entity for sustainable chemistry.
This section would convene an interagency entity (the
Entity) responsible for coordinating Federal programs and
activities in support of sustainable chemistry for a period of
10 years after enactment under the National Science and
Technology Council. The Entity would be co-chaired by the
Office of Science and Technology Policy and a representative
from the EPA, National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), and NSF. The Entity would include representatives from
the EPA, NIST, NSF, Department of Energy, USDA, DOD, National
Institute of Health, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and any other
appropriate Federal agency.
Section 4. Strategic plan for sustainable chemistry.
This section would require the Entity to develop a
framework of attributes characterizing sustainable chemistry
and to assess the state of sustainable chemistry in the United
States. It would also require the Entity to coordinate and
support Federal research development of sustainable chemistry,
identify ways in which agencies can facilitate incentives for
development, and identify major scientific challenges and/or
roadblocks to progress in sustainable chemistry. This section
would also require the Entity to consult with stakeholders in
business and industry, the scientific community, the defense
community, State, Tribal, and local governments,
nongovernmental organizations, and other organizations as
appropriate. These actions by the Entity would be required no
later than 2 years after enactment.
This section also would require the Entity to submit a
report to Congress and GAO not later than 3 years after
enactment with a summary of federally funded sustainable
chemistry research, the financial resources allocated to
sustainable chemistry initiatives, the current state of
sustainable chemistry, an analysis of the entity's progress in
achieving the goals designated by the legislation,
recommendations for further program activities in support of
sustainable chemistry, and an evaluation of efforts taken to
date and future strategies to avoid duplication of efforts and
spread best practices.
Section 5. Agency activities in support of sustainable chemistry.
This section would require agencies participating in the
Entity to carry out activities in support of sustainable
chemistry as appropriate to each agency's mission. This
includes coordinating their efforts, promoting sustainable
chemistry education and training, disseminating information on
sustainable chemistry, expanding sustainable chemistry
education and training, examining methods related to
sustainable chemistry standards, developing metrics for
sustainable chemistry programs, and public outreach. It would
limit the use of Federal funds provided for under this section
to pre-competitive activities and not for the promotion of a
specific product or technology, or to disparage a specific
process or technology.
Section 6. Partnerships in sustainable chemistry.
This section would allow the agencies participating in the
Entity to facilitate and support the creation of partnerships
between institutions of higher education, industry, and
nongovernmental organizations to create collaborative
sustainable chemistry research, development, demonstration,
technology transfer, and commercialization programs, as well as
provide professional development in fields related to
sustainable chemistry. To be eligible for support, a
partnership must include a private sector organization.
This section would limit the ways in which Federal funds
could be used by partnerships to preclude expanding regulatory
chemical management programs under State law, constructing or
renovating any building or structure, or promoting the sale of
a specific product or technology.
Section 7. Prioritization.
This section would require the Entity to focus its support
for sustainable chemistry on activities that best achieve the
goals outlined in the Act.
Section 8. Rule of construction.
This section states that nothing in the Act would be
construed to alter or amend any State law relating to
sustainable or green chemistry.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.
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