New Poll from Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research Shows Strong Support for Chemical Safety Bill

More than three-quarters of voters support a new bill to fix America’s badly broken chemical safety law. The legislation, sponsored by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and David Vitter (R-LA), represents years of negotiations and would empower EPA with tools necessary to ensure the safety of chemicals and significantly strengthen health protections for American families.

“Our current system is badly broken. Today’s law provides virtually no assurance of the safety of the chemicals in the products we buy at the store, from cleaning supplies to couches,” said Jack Pratt, Chemicals Campaign Director. “This poll shows that the public, by a wide margin, wants Congress to come together and get this problem fixed.”

The poll indicates wide spread impatience with calls to delay action. Sixty-four percent of voters want action now on a bill that improves the chemical safety system, rather than waiting for a perfect solution. That number rises to 75 percent among Democrats, who are the most anxious for action.

That sentiment may be driven, in part, by the public perception that the federal government already reviews chemicals before they are allowed in stores. Nearly three-quarters believed that is already the case.

“The good news is that by taking a bi-partisan approach, this bill has a real chance to become law – after decades of failure on this issue. There are now ten Democratic and ten Republican co-sponsors to the legislation, a rare event in highly polarized Washington” said Pratt.

The Udall-Vitter bill, formally The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, would fix the biggest problems with our current law. Notably the bill mandates safety reviews for all chemicals in active commerce and requires a safety finding for new chemicals before they can enter the market. It would explicitly require protection of vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women and provide EPA with enhanced authority to require testing of both new and existing chemicals.

More information on the bill is available on EDF’s website.