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.