Legislature(2013 - 2014)BUTROVICH 205
02/19/2014 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB161 | |
| SB151 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 161 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 151 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 151-HIGH-RISK CHEMICALS FOR CHILD EXPOSURE
2:10:03 PM
CHAIR STEDMAN announced that the final order of business would
be SB 151. He said it was the first hearing on the bill. The
intent is to have the sponsor introduce the bill, take public
testimony, and hold it in committee.
DAVID SCOTT, Staff, Senator Donny Olson, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented SB 151 on behalf of the
sponsor. He informally called SB 151 the "Children's Safe
Product Act." He explained that the bill would prohibit and ban
products containing certain flame retardant chemicals known as
"chlorinated tris." It would also require the Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) to participate and be a member
of the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse. It requires DEC to
publish a list of chemicals of high concern for children and
periodically update the list. Some states are banning
chlorinated tris and there is a national effort to update a law
passed in 1976 called the Toxic Substance Control Act. The new
law is called the Chemical Safety Improvement Act.
MR. SCOTT presented the sections of the bill. He explained that
Section 1, beginning on page 1, line 8, requires DHSS to publish
a list of chemicals of high concern. It requires that before
placing the chemical on the list, the department shall determine
that the chemical is of high concern and that it has been
identified by a government entity to be based on credible
scientific evidence. The section also provides ways to determine
that there is a high potential for children to be exposed to a
chemical of concern.
2:14:05 PM
MR. SCOTT continued to explain that beginning on page 2, line
17, the bill provides that the list of chemicals may be reviewed
and revised. Beginning on page 2, line 20, prohibitions
regarding the tris are listed and beginning on page 2, line 20,
the penalties are set out. Beginning on page 3, line 8, the
rules for participation in Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse
are given.
MR. SCOTT related that page 3, line 17, allows the department to
adopt regulations. The definitions begin on page 3, line 19.
He said Section 2 of the bill provides that violating AS
18.31.640 would be an unfair trade act. Section 3 is transition
language that states by January 1, 2016, the department will
publish the first list of chemicals. Section 4 is instructions
for the revisor and Section 5 is the effective date.
2:16:01 PM
MR. SCOTT noted two fiscal notes, one from DEC and one from
DHSS. He referred to a handout entitled "What's on Your List?"
and letters of support and opposition in members' packets. He
related that in favor of SB 151 are the Alaska Fire Chiefs
Association, Alaska Nurses Association, and the American
Sustainable Business Council. Against the bill are the Alaska
Chamber of Commerce, and the American Chemistry Council, who are
both in favor of reforming the 1976 Act [by passing the national
Chemical Safety Improvement Act.] He pointed out that the
sponsor is aware of that but does not believe Congress will act.
CHAIR STEDMAN said there were two fiscal notes, one from DHSS
for $37,000 in general funds to develop an inventory of
chemicals of high concern in children's products and one from
DEC for $370,000 in general funds for two new environmental
program specialist positions.
CHAIR STEDMAN opened public testimony.
2:18:08 PM
JESSICA WALSH, Registered Nurse, Student, American College of
Nurse Midwives, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB
151. She spoke of her job as a nurse caring for women and
educating them on how to avoid toxic chemicals that are known
endocrine disruptors. She shared the devastating effects of
toxic chemicals on children. She told of an experience of
mattress shopping and the inability to purchase one without
flame retardants. She maintained that flame retardant chemicals
have not been shown to have a benefit for reducing mortalities
from fire. She urged the committee to protect children from the
effects of harmful chemicals.
2:21:37 PM
PAMELA MILLER, Executive Director, Alaska Community Action on
Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB 151. She
said that this year at least 33 states have stepped up to
address this issue. She stressed that the federal law is
outdated and Congress has failed to fix the law. She thanked the
sponsor for introducing SB 151, which gives Alaska the
opportunity to better protect the health of children by
establishing a list of chemicals of high concern. She listed
possible harmful effects of these chemicals.
2:25:03 PM
KYLE GREEN, Firefighter, Fairbanks Firefighters Association,
Fairbanks, Alaska, testified in support of SB 151. He noted the
provisions in the bill will protect firefighters, as well as
children. He said studies have found that smoke transports toxic
chemicals that are harmful. The cancer rate for firefighters has
increased. The use of flame retardants has not shown a decline
in fire damage. He provided alternatives such as educating the
public in fire prevention and implementing residential fire
sprinklers.
2:27:48 PM
PATRICE LEE, representing herself, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified
in support of SB 151. She said that Alaska should do everything
possible to protect children from harmful chemicals. She opined
that industry should have to prove that the materials they use
in products are safe before they can use them. In other modern
countries, such toxics are not allowed in children's products.
She concluded that healthier children equal less expensive
health care and a brighter future.
2:29:27 PM
JOEL CRAFT, Service Provider, Children's Programs, Kawerak,
Inc., Nome, Alaska, testified in support of SB 151. He
encouraged Alaska to do everything possible to protect the
health of children. In October 2013, the Alaska Federation of
Natives passed a resolution supporting chemicals policy reform
at the state level. He said SB 151 is a step in the right
direction toward protecting the health of present and future
generations. He voiced concern about the high rate of birth
defects in Alaska Native infants, which are the highest in the
nation and twice the rate of white infants born in Alaska. He
spoke of the harmful effects of the tris chemicals. He thanked
the sponsor.
2:32:13 PM
BRIAN PARTCH, Firefighter, Alaska Professional Firefighters
Association, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB 151.
He noted a higher rate of cancer in firefighters due to flame
retardants. He listed other methods that are more effective for
fighting fires. He noted that fire investigators are also
exposed to chemicals when investigating the cause and origin of
fires.
2:34:14 PM
JEFF TUCKER, Fire Chief, North Star Fire Department, North Pole,
Alaska, testified in support of SB 151. He noted a letter of
supported provided to the committee. He echoed the comments of
previous firefighters in support of SB 151.
2:35:02 PM
TIFFANY IMMINGAN, representing herself, Savoonga, Alaska,
testified in support of SB 151. She noted that toxic chemicals
have an impact on her community. She said in one year there were
19 deaths from cancer and illnesses. She said there is PCB in
traditional foods on the island. She thanked Senator Olson for
introducing the bill that would protect children from toxic
chemicals.
2:37:12 PM
TIM SHESTEK, Senior Director, State Affairs, American Chemistry
Council, Sacramento, California, testified in opposition to SB
151. He noted that he has submitted written comments to the
committee. He highlighted major concerns with the bill as
drafted. The bill requires the drafting of a list of chemicals
that may be used in consumer products, but it is silent on how
that information might be used or communicated to the public,
retailers, or others. Assessing the safety of a chemical
compound requires looking both at the potential hazard and
exposure. He explained that the mere presence of a product does
not mean that the product is harmful or violates safety
standards or law. The bill would list chemicals without any
information about what the information means or doesn't mean.
He referred to the sponsor's opening comments that alluded to a
congressional effort to update the Federal Toxic Substance
Control Act. He spoke in favor of the passage of the Chemical
Safety Improvement Act currently pending in Congress, which is
supported by over 100 business groups, organized labor, and both
U.S. Senators from Alaska. The bill would significantly change
the way chemicals are regulated and provide U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency with the authority to conduct safety
assessments on chemicals based solely on consideration of risk
to human health and the environment, and the ability to focus in
on sensitive sub-populations, such as children.
He concluded that the Chemical Safety Improvement Act strikes
the right balance in establishing a predictable and workable
regulatory environment for U.S. manufacturing, as well as U.S.
retailers.
2:40:06 PM
THOMAS OSIMITZ, Ph.D., Toxicologist, American Chemistry Council,
Charlottesville, Virginia, testified in opposition to SB 151. He
described his role as a toxicologist. He stated that the issue
of TCPP, one of the three chemicals mentioned in the bill, is
very confusing. He maintained that there are many differences
between the three tris chemicals. He noted that TCPP has been
extremely well studied and is used in foam insulation, not as a
fire retardant in clothing or beds. He clarified that TCPP is
not a carcinogen and does not have the properties listed in the
bill as a chemical of high concern. He requested that any
reference to TCPP as a flame retardant be removed from the bill.
2:43:12 PM
SUSAN WALSH, Nurse, Alaska Nurses Association, Ketchikan,
Alaska, testified in favor of SB 151. She said she has provided
written testimony to the committee. She agreed with previous
testifiers in support of SB 151. She shared her experience with
congressional efforts to update the 1976 Federal Toxic Substance
Control Act. She noted the cost of SB 151 is $400,000; however,
she asked the committee what the cost of not implementing the
bill would be. There is a significant rise in autism, birth
defects, and learning disabilities with the introduction of
toxic chemicals. She said understood the Chamber's opposition to
the bill because of the potential for loss of business.
She said the Alaska Nurses Association passed a resolution in
October calling for municipal chemical policy reform at the
state level that reduces the use of toxic chemicals and requires
that less harmful chemicals be substituted whenever possible. It
would ensure adequate information on the health effects of
chemicals is available to the public before the chemicals are
introduced on the market. She concluded that SB 151 is a
critical bill for the protection of children, firefighters, and
other vulnerable populations.
2:46:05 PM
BETHANY BUCHANAN, M.D., Family Nurse Practitioner, Alaska Nurse
Practitioner Association, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in
support of SB 151. She described the operation of the endocrine
system and how chemicals disrupt it. She described afflictions
as a result of chemical exposure. She stressed that life relies
on biochemical transmission and exposure to chemicals cause
life-long chronic problems.
2:48:15 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if there is a list of chemicals that
affect the endocrine system.
MS. BUCHANAN listed ingredients in plastic, dioxins, DDT, and
lead.
SENATOR MICCICHE requested written testimony.
MS. BUCHAAN offered to do so.
2:49:34 PM
CHAIR STEDMAN closed public testimony.
CHAIR STEDMAN held SB 151 in committee.