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Emphasis on the responsible handling, use, transportation, and storage of chemicals is woven throughout ACD Responsible Distribution®’s Guiding Principles. A condition of ACD membership is a company’s commitment to the continuous improvement of the chemical distribution industry’s responsible management and handling of chemicals. Sound chemical management policies that safeguard the environment and the public are achieved by following scientific evidence and through open dialogue between industry and the government.
For more information on specific chemical management policies, please explore the topics below and browse ACD’s resource database. For the latest actions in these areas, follow us on X and visit our Newsroom.
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The food market is a substantial and growing segment of ACD members’ business. More than 60 percent of ACD member companies distribute or process chemicals that will ultimately become ingredients in food. Keeping the U.S. food supply safe through Responsible Distribution and compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration food safety regulations is of upmost importance to ACD members.
ACD supports harmonized policies and standards that maintain the highest levels of food safety. These policies should reflect best practices supported by science and be fairly and reasonably enforced.
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In 2016, President Barack Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (LCSA) into law. This measure updated the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time since its enactment in 1976. ACD supported this TSCA reform effort in Congress. Under the law, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with prioritizing chemicals, conducting risk evaluations on high priority chemicals, and implementing risk management rules to address unreasonable risks. ACD is concerned some of EPA’s policies in implementing the new TSCA are too restrictive, including the agency’s “whole chemical” approach to risk evaluation and management rather than a risk-based, “conditions of use” approach. ACD supports a transparent, balanced, and consistent approach to TSCA implementation that protects the public and the environment without stifling innovation or restricting businesses’ growth.
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Under the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), employers must evaluate potential hazards of chemicals and communicate information about these hazards and appropriate protective measures to employees through hazard classification, safety data sheets (SDS), and labels. OSHA periodically updates the HCS. These revisions have a significant impact on chemical distributors as they must update their SDSs, labels, and training to conform to the changes. OSHA proposed new updates to the HCS in February 2021; and ACD is concerned about several of the proposed changes including the definition of bulk shipment, a proposal to include “date released for shipment” on labels, and a requirement to include information on downstream uses and potential reactions on SDSs. ACD has communicated these concerns to OSHA through written comments and letters as well as oral testimony. OSHA has sent the final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for their final review. The official rule is expected to be published by the end of 2023.
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For further questions about ACD’s Chemicals Management Issue Page, please contact Nicholas Breslin, Manager of Regulatory Affairs at nbreslin@acd-chem.com.