For Immediate Release

Environment Wins as House Strengthens Toxics Use Reduction Act

(Boston) – State Rep. John P. Fresolo (D-Worcester) today announced that the House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation to further reduce the use of toxic chemicals in Massachusetts.  If the measure passed by the House becomes law it would strengthen the Toxics Use Reduction Act of 1989, a measure hailed for decreasing the use of hazardous products without increasing the cost of doing business in the Commonwealth, by updating the law to reflect changes in state and federal statutes as well as advancements in reduction techniques.

“Since its implementation, the Toxics Use Reduction Act has decreased toxic chemical use by 38%, increased manufacturing by 21% and won the backing of a cross section of stakeholders,” said Rep. Fresolo.  “In short, the Act has proven to be a victory for both the Commonwealth’s environment and industry.  This legislation would build on that success by focusing on higher hazard chemicals and reducing duplicative reporting burdens on businesses.”

Specifically the legislation proposes to: streamline reporting provisions to correspond with federal guidelines; lower the threshold for reporting higher hazard substances and increase outreach to companies that use higher hazard chemicals to encourage appropriate substitutions; reduce or eliminate fees for lower hazard chemicals; and allow companies to perform alternative resource conservation plans in years when repeated preparation of Toxics Use Reduction Plans would be unlikely to result in further toxic use reduction.

The legislation, which now heads to the Governor’s desk, follows the House’s approval of comprehensive mercury management legislation designed to regulate the sale and disposal of mercury, the well-known environmental contaminant and public health threat.