Midland, Michigan - Dow Chemical Co. and other chemical manufacturers met with the American Chemistry Council in Washington DC recently to recommend guiding principles for the modernisation of US chemical safety laws.
It is expected, Dow said, that new reforms to America's 30-year old chemical regulation policy, The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) are about to introduced.
The industry proposed ten key principles aimed to "help build a more effective product stewardship system that ensures consumer safety," Dow said 6 Aug.
"Some might be surprised that our industry is supporting enhanced regulation - but they shouldn't be," said David Kepler, Dow executive vice president. "We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars annually in evaluation and research to support a robust chemicals management system and we want a result that restores public confidence."
Dow said that in the ten guiding principles there are four themes that reflect the industry's position on US chemicals management policy:
• Regulation must be modernised to earn the public's confidence about the safety of chemical products
• Safety is a shared responsibility between the government, the chemical industry, partners in the value chain, and consumers
• The federal government needs the proper authority, accountability and resources for managing and enforcing a national chemicals management policy
• The chemical industry must be accountable for sharing scientific data and safety information
To see the full list of principles visit: http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/sec_article_acc.asp?CID=2178&DID=9939 (RD)
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