According to report of 12 May 2015 of TIA (Toy Industry Association), TIA called for comprehensive reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and establishing a federal law to address chemical use nationally so as to curb the continuous increase of regulation at the state and county level.

In the past few months, unnecessary and overlapping chemical regulation bills were passed or proposed in states and counties such as New York, Oregon, Maine and etc. to ban the use of certain chemicals in children’s products, which materially threatened the development of the industry. Therefore, TIA on behalf of its members and the industry pushed against redundant local laws and at the same time supported a federal approach to address chemical use nationally.

“One of the biggest challenges for TIA members is the barrage of state and local attempts to ban the use of certain chemicals in children’s products, when these products are proven to be perfectly safe,” said Ed Desmond, TIA executive vice president of external affairs.

TIA hopes that passage of TSCA reform will curb the growth of these local laws. Mr. Desmond added that a federal approach to chemical regulation could avoid the problems inherent in a series of potentially inconsistent county and state regulatory programmes.

As mentioned in the TIA President’s Letter, it is known that TSCA reform bills are now being under consideration in both the Senate and House for the first time in nearly 40 years thanks to the months’ meetings and efforts of TIA members.

In the meanwhile, TIA will host its 8^th Annual Washington, DC Fly-In (June 2-4), during which participants can communicate with Congress members and key policymakers face to face.

Remarks:
Toxic Substances Control Act (referred to as “TSCA”) was implemented on 11 October 1976 and took into force since 1 January 1977. With its supervision authority as the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), TSCA covers the management of industrial chemicals during production and circulation process.