Occupational and Environmental: ‘Toxic disaster’ alert amid rule changes

A Turnbull government move to slash industrial chemical regulation could create ‘‘toxic chemical disasters’’ and leave the public and officials oblivious to the risks, critics have warned. Cancer Council Australia, unions and public health advocates have expressed alarm over the proposed changes, which mean more than 99 per cent of new industrial chemicals will not be officially assessed for threats to public health and the environment before being introduced to the public. Under a bill introduced by Assistant Health Minister David Gillespie, industry would be allowed to self-assess whether a chemical new to Australia was low-risk and therefore ‘‘exempt’’, meaning it could be brought to market without being reported to the regulator or having its safety assessed. About 10,500 new chemicals were reported to the regulator, the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS), last financial year.

Age, 21/08/2017, Page 5; Sydney Morning Herald, 21/08/2017, Page 1

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