House Democrat Seeks Chemicals Data

A key member of Congress is asking top executives at 15 chemical companies whether their firms produce or process persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances. The request came in a letter sent earlier this month by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.). He is the top Democrat on a congressional committee that is considering reform of the federal chemical control law, the Toxic Substances Control Act. PBT substances are major targets of revised chemical regulatory systems in Canada and the European Union. Waxman asked the CEOs to respond with the names of the PBT substances that their companies now make or process; the volumes manufactured and sold annually between 2005 and 2010; the consumer products in which the chemicals were used; and any labels or warnings about the materials’ hazards, use, handling, or disposal. He set a deadline of April 22 for the companies to respond. Waxman sent the letter to the CEOs of 3M, Ashland, BASF, Bayer MaterialScience, BYK USA, Chevron, Clariant, Cytec Industries, Daikin America, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Henkel, Huntsman Advanced Materials, Lubrizol, and PPG Industries.