Bill Text: GA SR1162 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Environmental Protection Division; urge to develop a Toxic Use Reduction Strategy

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-14 - Senate Read and Referred [SR1162 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2011-SR1162-Introduced.html

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12 LC 40 0161

Senate Resolution 1162

By: Senators Orrock of the 36th, Henson of the 41st, Jones of the 10th, Fort of the 39th, Jackson of the 2nd and others

A RESOLUTION

Urging the Environmental Protection Division to develop a Toxic Use Reduction Strategy; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, every Georgia citizen has a right to a healthy and safe environment, which requires that our air, water, earth, food, and consumer products be of a sufficiently high standard of safety that individuals and communities can live healthy, fulfilling, and dignified lives; and

WHEREAS, historically, many environmentally harmful activities have been stopped only after they manifested extreme environmental degradation or exposed people to harm; and

WHEREAS, chemical safety laws in Georgia and the United States are long overdue for a transformation which would allow them to prevent, rather than permit, harm to human health and the environment; and

WHEREAS, the average American today has 116 chemicals in his or her body's blood or tissues, some of which are even present before birth; and

WHEREAS, of the more than 80,000 chemicals currently used in United States commerce, approximately 62,000 were grandfathered in by the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), even though only about 200 have ever been fully tested for their impacts on our health and the environment, and only five of those 62,000 chemicals have been banned under Section 6 of the TSCA, none since 1990; and

WHEREAS, recent resolutions in states and cities across the country encourage reform of chemical safety laws at the state and federal level; and

WHEREAS, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has recently suggested several strategies for reforming the TSCA, including requirements for greater disclosure by chemical producers of use, hazard, and exposure information; hazard based assessment of all chemicals by the federal Environmental Protection Agency; phasing out the use of persistent, bioactive toxins; and stronger protections for workers exposed to chemicals; and

WHEREAS, the APHA has called on state legislatures to address chemicals policy at the state level for similar purposes and with similar goals; and

WHEREAS, citizens of Georgia have a right to know what chemicals and other toxic hazards are used, manufactured, transported, and released into their communities; and

WHEREAS, each community should have complete and accurate information on potential human health and environmental impacts associated with the selection of products, services, operations, or plans of industries, utilities, and government agencies; and

WHEREAS, certain technologies and practices are routinely assumed to be "innocent until proven guilty" with regard to harmful side effects, and such assumptions often allow irreversible harm to occur before action is taken; and

WHEREAS, producers and proponents should bear the burden of demonstrating and maintaining safety of consumer products, projects, and technologies, in part by conducting business with transparency at all levels and fully disclosing all product ingredients; and

WHEREAS, the ideal chemical safety policy would support innovation in the marketplace and provide incentives for the development of safer alternatives by putting new safer chemicals on the "fast track" to the market; and

WHEREAS, a law such as the proposed Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 would require the EPA to identify and restrict the "worst of the worst" chemicals, require basic health and safety information for all chemicals, and greatly reduce the burden of toxic chemical exposures on minorities and low-income communities.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources is urged to develop a Toxic Use Reduction Strategy within one year of passage of this Resolution. The strategy should identify short-term and long-term goals for the reduction of toxic use in Georgia industries, utilities, and government operations; create a program to provide technical assistance and incentives to Georgia industries and utilities on toxic use reduction and to facilitate the adoption of safer alternative products, processes, and technologies; and promote the examination of a full range of alternatives with an emphasis on selecting the alternative with the least potential impact on human health and the environment.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, as part of the Toxic Use Reduction Strategy, the evaluation of potential alternatives should consider all reasonably foreseeable costs, including raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, use, clean-up, disposal, and health costs, even if such costs are not reflected in the initial price. Short-term and long-term benefits and time thresholds should be considered when making decisions. Decisions should be transparent, part of a participatory process, and informed by the best available information.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Georgia is urged to develop a purchasing policy for goods and services which will simultaneously prevent and reduce the use of toxic chemicals and advance the use of safe and environmentally healthy chemicals in Georgia.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources.