WASHINGTON — In a hearing yesterday before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, a representative of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and two other trade groups proposed a risk-based model that the Environmental Protection Agency can use to review chemicals in commerce.

The subcommittee is considering potential changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, which provides the EPA the regulatory authority over chemicals in commerce.

Bill Greggs, representing GMA, the Consumer Specialty Products Association and the Soap and Detergent Association presented a model the EPA could use to help prioritize existing chemicals in commerce in a “logical and efficient manner,” taking into consideration both hazards and potential exposures.

“A single factor, whether based on hazards or potential exposures, is not sufficient for a chemical to be deemed as a high priority chemical,” the trade groups said in a statement. “This will result in everything being a priority, and if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.”

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