A Comparison of REACH & the Bipartisan TSCA Reform Bills

The European Union can claim to have the most ambitious chemical legislation in the world, called REACH regulation. The EU is actively spreading knowledge of REACH around the globe, thereby encouraging foreign governments to contemplate the adoption of REACH. As a result, REACH is exerting influence on environmental policy discussions in many countries. In the United States, the chemical industry, the authority, and environmental advocacy groups have expressed interest in modernization of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976, the major U.S. regulatory law applicable to industrial chemicals. It has been theorized based on 'California effect' that Europe may seek to export its stricter environmental standards under REACH to the United States. Thus, it is interesting to examine whether the environmental, health, and safety practices and values found in REACH are impacting the TSCA reform debate in the US,and the attempt to export the stricter EU chemical standard in REACHfails or succeeds in the case of the USA.