Tester Protects Families and Children from Dangerous Chemicals

Senator Brings Toxic Substance Control Act into the 21st Century

(U.S. Senate) -Senator Jon Tester joined his colleagues to overhaul the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976 bringing the law into the 21st Century to better protect families, children, and workers.

“Our primary chemical safety law has been broken for the last 40 years and it’s high time we changed it,” Tester said. “Protecting families from dangerous substances in the products we use every day is critically important to ensuring a brighter future. I am proud to see this bipartisan bill passed and I look forward to it becoming law.”

Senator Tester co-sponsored the Senate version of this bill and pushed for key provisions to protect communities from asbestos. Under this bill, dangerous substances, like asbestos, are regulated based solely on the risk they pose to public health not corporate costs.

This bill ensures chemicals currently being used in a variety of products undergo a safety review and requires that any new chemicals receive a safety finding before they can hit the open market.

The measure draws support from both business and environmental groups, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Chemistry Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation all supporting final passage.

The bill passed the Senate and now heads to the President’s desk for his signature.