Safe Chemicals Act of 2011

openUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

14 April 2011

Last action

27 December 2012 · Reported

Status

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 578.

Summary

Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate a rule that establishes: (1) the data that constitute the minimum data sets for chemical substances; and (2) requirements for chemical manufacturers and processors to submit and update their minimum data sets. Sets deadlines for the submission of minimum data sets for chemical substances placed on the prioritization list established by this Act and for new substances. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) require the testing of, and the submission of test results for, any chemical substance; (2) require submission of a sample of any substance for testing; and (3) impose restrictions on violators of testing requirements, including a prohibition against manufacturing, processing, or distributing chemical substances or mixtures. Prohibits any person from manufacturing or processing a new chemical substance unless the person notifies the Administrator about the person's intention to manufacture or process the substance and the Administrator finds that the manufacturers and processors have established that the substance meets the applicable safety standard or that it is not, and is not expected to be: (1) manufactured or released into the environment in excess of specified volumes; (2) a known, probable, or suspected reproductive, developmental, neurological, or immunological toxicant, carcinogen, mutagen, or endocrine disruptor; (3) persistent and bioaccumulative; or (4) found in human blood, fluids, tissue, food, drinking water, air, residential soil, or house dust at a level not naturally found in that medium. Prohibits any person from manufacturing or processing an existing chemical substance for a use that was not ongoing prior to this Act's enactment or at a volume that is significantly increased, unless the substance meets the applicable safety standard and other specified requirements. Requires the Administrator to develop, publish, and update a list of chemical substances warranting placement within one of three priority classes. Directs the Administrator to assign: (1) 20 to 30 substances as priority class 1 (requiring immediate risk management), applicable to a substance that is, or that is degraded and metabolized into, a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substance with the potential for widespread exposure to humans and other organisms; (2) substances as priority class 2 (requiring a safety standard determination), if the Administrator finds it is uncertain such substance would satisfy such determination, prioritizing those substances that present the greater risks to human health or the environment; and (3) substances as priority class 3 (requiring no immediate action), applicable to a substance that does not and would not, at any stage of its lifecycle, pose any risk of adverse effects to human health or the environment under existing, proposed, or anticipated levels of exposure , production, or pattern of use. Requires substance manufacturers and processors to: (1) bear the burden of proving that chemical substances meet applicable safety standards; and (2) provide sufficient information for the Administrator to determine whether such standards have been met. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) notification of pending safety determinations; (2) requirements for substances that meet safety standards; (3) conditions on substance manufacturing, processing, use, distribution, or disposal that may be imposed in safety determinations; (4) chemical substances or mixtures that may present a substantial endangerment to health or the environment; and (5) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), including a prohibition against any person manufacturing, processing, or distributing PCBs in other than a totally enclosed manner. Prohibits federal agencies from conveying, selling, or distributing elemental mercury. Requires the Administrator to: (1) publish a list of each chemical substance that is manufactured or processed in the United Sates; (2) establish an Internet-accessible, public database of information on the toxicity of, use of, and exposure to chemical substances; (3) establish a Children's Environmental Health Research Program within EPA; (4) minimize the use of animals in testing of chemical substances or mixtures; (5) create market incentives for the development of safer alternatives to existing substances; and (6) develop and publish action plans to reduce disproportionate exposure to toxic substances. Revises provisions concerning the disclosure of data by narrowing the conditions under which data about chemical substances may be treated as confidential business information. Authorizes the Administrator to prescribe regulations to carry out the provisions of the Stockholm Convention, the Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, and the Rotterdam Convention.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

14 April 2011
Introduced
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Source: IntroReferral
14 April 2011
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
Source: IntroReferral
17 November 2011
Committee
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-984 With the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health.
Source: Committee
24 July 2012
Committee
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearings held with the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health .
Source: Committee
25 July 2012
Reported
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Source: Committee
27 December 2012
Calendars
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 578.
Source: Calendars
27 December 2012
Reported
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with amendments. With written report No. 112-264. Minority views filed.
Source: Committee
27 December 2012
Reported
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with amendments. With written report No. 112-264. Minority views filed.
Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Reported to Senate · 27 December 2012 · Official file
Introduced in Senate · 14 April 2011 · Official file

Documents

6 official files

Reported to Senate (text)
Reported to Senate · EN · 27 December 2012
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Reported to Senate (PDF)
Reported to Senate · EN · 27 December 2012
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Reported to Senate with amendment(s)
summary · EN · 27 December 2012
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Introduced in Senate (text)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 14 April 2011
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Introduced in Senate (PDF)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 14 April 2011
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Introduced in Senate
summary · EN · 14 April 2011
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Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.

Sources

PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.

Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/senate-bill/847
Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/112/s/847
us · 112-s-847 · source updated 7 April 2025