Calls in Congress to reform the country's major chemical statute have been renewed after a recent Chicago Tribune investigation on the flame retardant industry.

Late Friday, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called for overhauling the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, the country's only major environmental law to have never received a significant congressional update.

Durbin threw his considerable political weight behind New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg's "Safe Chemicals Act" (S. 847), which has been stalled in the Environment and Public Works Committee.

"The U.S. EPA, wittingly or unwittingly, has allowed the manufacturers of toxic chemicals to flood American households with substances that abundant scientific evidence finds harmful," Durbin said. "We have to come together on a bipartisan basis to pass the Safe Chemicals Act and provide Illinois families with the basic level of safety they expect."

The Tribune series exposed many steps taken by the flame retardant industry to ensure its products would be required for household furniture and other goods. According to the Tribune, companies manipulated scientific studies, financed phony public campaigns and paid fire officials across the country to accomplish its regulatory goals.

Public health advocates have touted the series as a potential "game changer" for their thus-far unsuccessful attempts to modernize TSCA. Industry, which has said it supports TSCA reform but not Lautenberg's bill, responded by saying it is committed to safe products and rebutted the allegations of deceptive public campaigns.

"Safety is a top priority for the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and our member companies," the group said in a statement. "Companies go to great lengths to make their chemicals safe -- for industrial uses, for commercial uses and for consumer uses."

The trade group added: "ACC always strives to conduct its advocacy work in an open and transparent manner, based on science."

Durbin, however, appears undeterred. The Democrat sent a letter to EPA asking the agency what it needs in order to guarantee the safety of chemicals in commerce and called TSCA "antiquated and ineffective." He sent an additional letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission urging the agency to finalize a new flammability standard that was proposed in 2008. Durbin also asked Underwriter Laboratories, an independent product safety group, about the effectiveness of flame retardants and what other fire safety measures can be taken for furniture.

Lautenberg's bill would overhaul TSCA by placing the burden on chemical manufacturers to prove their substances are safe before they go on the market. It would also give EPA significantly more authority to regulate chemicals and increase transparency surrounding the safety of substances.

Durbin plans to send a letter to his colleagues urging them to support the legislation.

Lautenberg applauded Durbin's work.

"Senator Durbin has been a longtime co-sponsor of the Safe Chemicals Act, and I welcome his leadership in helping move these reforms forward," he said.

Lautenberg had intended to hold a markup on the legislation at the end of last year after conducting a series of stakeholder meetings with Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.). The Democrat, who has introduced TSCA reform legislation in the past, had been hoping to attract bipartisan support for the bill before moving forward, but at this point no Republicans have signed on. He has vowed to hold a markup this year, however (E&E Daily, Dec. 14, 2011).

ACC, while maintaining that it supports TSCA reform, has strongly opposed Lautenberg's bill, with frustration between the two sides bubbling over at a hearing last November (E&E Daily, Nov. 30, 2011).

The trade group also maintains that despite claims by public health groups, EPA already signs off on the safety of chemicals before they go on the market.

"Through the new chemicals program, EPA has full authority -- and uses it -- to collect information about new chemicals, demand additional information and testing, limit uses to manage potential risks and deny the application for manufacture if the agency cannot establish that the new product will not pose an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment," ACC said in a statement.

Durbin's efforts won praise from public health groups, which see his reaction as breathing new life into Lautenberg's legislation.

"Senator Durbin has long been a champion of public health, so we're not surprised the Chicago Tribune's investigation into flame retardants and the shenanigans of the chemical industry caught his attention," said Environmental Working Group co-founder and President Ken Cook.

Others more aggressively targeted ACC. Andy Igrejas of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, said the Tribune shed a "long overdue light on the industry."

"They have been touting their integrity and voluntary programs for years and years. What are they doing as a result of these revelations?" he said. "The story strikes at the very heart of the credibility of the American Chemistry Council."

Click here to read Durbin's letter to EPA.

Click here to read Durbin's letter to CPSC.