Senators Must Support The Safe Chemicals Act

FROM National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)

Tell your Senators to SUPPORT S. 3209, The Safe Chemicals Act of 2010. Urge them to ensure that this legislation invests in more efficient, effective, and humane testing (1) by requiring non animal methods be used and (2) by providing funding to develop and validate alternatives as quickly as possible.

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INFORMATION / TALKING POINTS

Summary of bill

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would require extensive testing on industrial chemicals and chemical mixtures to determine their safety for human health and the environment. Although manufacturers are required to test their products for safety before releasing them in commerce, this information is not available to the public.

The Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 would amend the existing Toxic Substance Control Act to change the way chemicals used in commerce are regulated. Under the proposed provisions, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would create a comprehensive requirement for the submission of data from manufacturers, including information on substance characteristics and on hazard, exposure, and use of chemical substances and mixtures. This includes data on new and current chemicals in use.

While a wide scale assessment of chemical safety is long overdue, the bill includes a list of testing expected to be used by manufactures to demonstrate the safety of their products. This list includes the use of animal tests. This could result in the use of millions of animals to test thousands of chemicals, which would take years to complete.

HOWEVER, this animal testing provision is subject to another provision, Section 31, which specifically addresses the reduction of animal-based testing. This includes:

• using existing data instead of performing new tests on animals
• using test methods that eliminate or reduce the number of animals used
• forming industry consortia to combine data on specific chemicals
• using parallel submission of data from animal-based studies and emerging non-animal  methods
• funding research and validation studies to reduce, refine, and replace the use of animal tests in accordance with this subsection

In addition, an advisory board, the Interagency Science Advisory Board on Alternative Testing Methods, will be formed within 90 days of enacting this Act to provide independent advice and peer review to the EPA and Congress on the scientific and technical aspects of issues relating to minimizing the use of animals in testing of chemical substances or mixtures.

Thank you for everything you do for animals!